Brandon Ateke wore the same socks he wore last year during the then Innovate WithIN competition to this year's now STARTedUP Summit & Challenge region four finals.
“I was wearing those socks intentionally, because I wanted to remind myself I've been here before and only this time I'm going to use this experience to grow from it and win,” said Ateke, in a video about his region four finals win.
Ateke's Course Caddy won this year's STARTedUP Challenge Region 4 pitch competition. The Munster High School graduate then went on to earn second place for Course Caddy in the state finals June 12 at the Clowes Memorial Hall on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis.
He credited teacher Krissy LaFlech for helping him along the process of developing his ideas.
Ateke said his ball retrieval system serves several purposes, including saved time and environmental impacts.
He plans to sell the technology to golf courses and players who want to save time and money on finding and buying golf balls. He plans to price Course Caddy at $500 each.
He said he would use his $1,000 prize from regionals to fund further testing and for future expenses. Now he has $5,000 more to develop his company.
Ateke was one of 10 regional finalists from Northwest Indiana competing in Region 4 of the 2026 STARTedUP Challenge, and 10 students who made it finals. The high school pitch competition, formerly known as Innovate WithIN, is in its ninth year of promoting young innovators.
The event also featured awards, including Emerging Educator of the Year won by Valentine Torres of Hobart High School.
This year's students competed in seven regions for a chance at a $25,000 prize. One team from each region was selected to move on to the state finals. Three wildcard teams also were chosen. Each team that advanced to state received $1,000 for each member up to three students. The 10 teams also participated in a six-week bootcamp.
“While only 10 teams take the stage today, every one of the 2,000-plus students who participated this year deserves recognition for their hard work and creativity,” said Craig Caldwell, dean of the Lacy School of Business at Butler University, in a press release. “The ventures these students built are remarkably sophisticated.”
This year's program was the largest ever, with 1,174 teams and 2,162 students competing.
Learn more about the Northwest Indiana finalists here. Some of the students in this year's challenge participated in STARTedUP's Innovation Accelerator. The next accelerator starts in August.
