2024 Innovate WithIN Regional Qualifiers

Sixty-one teams from across Indiana will compete for the chance to go to the State Finals in June and win $25,000 in seed funding and $10,000 in 529 funds

11 March 2024 - Indianapolis - The STARTedUP Foundation’s Innovate WithIN is the largest high school pitch competition in the country and has grown year-over-year - with 2024 being another record breaking year. There were nearly 3000 students who signed up to compete with a 28% increase in the number of teams who submitted a finalized pitch which included a three-minute video pitch and a lean business model canvas.

“While we have seen a growth in the number of pitches submitted, we have also seen a huge increase in the quality and thoughtfulness that each student team put forth when developing their business idea,” said Don Wettrick, co-founder and CEO of the STARTedUP Foundation. “It has been amazing for our team to witness the mindset shift in students across the state as they learn to view problems as opportunities.”

Much of the reason for this growth is the expansion of the STARTedUP Innovation Educator Fellowship. In partnership with Google, thirty-five passionate and innovative educators from across the state were selected to participate in the 2023-2024 cohort, focusing on ways to encourage students to look at the world through the lens of an entrepreneur - identifying unique ways to fix the issues they see in their community, state or the world. This April, 28 of the fellows have at least one team competing in the Regional Competitions.

Sixty-one student teams from across Indiana will be competing for ten spots in the State Finals taking place on June 21st. The top team will be selected at each of the six regions during the competitions hosted by: Indiana University Indianapolis, Purdue University’s Purdue Innovates, Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest, Maker13, University of Evansville, and Parkview Mirro Center for Research & Innovation. The remaining four teams will be selected by The STARTedUP Foundation and an impartial group of judges.

“One of the strategic goals of Purdue University Northwest is to foster innovation. We are excited to support this year’s Innovate WithIN competition as PNW and the Society of Innovators continue to invest in entrepreneurship and innovation in Northwest Indiana and beyond,” said Jason Williams, managing director for the Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest. “The students participating in Innovate WithIN are developing real solutions for real problems. We know that by investing in these young innovators, we’re giving them an opportunity to not only apply what they’re working on in the classroom, but also to apply this to real problems that exist in our communities today.”

The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) has been a consistent supporter of the Innovate WithIN program and has been critical in growing the competition to what it is today. All Innovate WithIN regional finalists will meet with their local Indiana Small Business Development Center, the IEDC’s small business technical assistance team, to prepare for the regional competition as they build and clarify their business plan, improve their pitches, and receive feedback from professionals in their field of interest.

This year, Beck’s Hybrids and G-Unity Foundation will also be mentoring regional finalists. Beck’s is offering support to seven teams (denoted by an asterisk below) launching businesses in the natural resources and agricultural industries and G-Unity will be mentoring Afrotopia, who they also awarded $2000 in seed funding this February as part of Curtis Jackson’s (better known as the artist “50 Cent”) efforts to enhance student businesses in urban areas.

In addition to supportive services, each of the regional competitors receive scholarship offerings from the following postsecondary institutions: DePauw University; Franklin College; Grace College; IKORCC (Indiana-Kentucky-Ohio Regional Council of Carpenters); Indiana Tech; Indiana University Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering; Purdue University Fort Wayne; Purdue University Northwest; and University of Evansville.

All individuals from across the state are invited to attend their local competition and experience these impressive student pitches. More details and registration information can be found at: startedupfoundation.org/pitch

The pitch competitions will take place on the dates below and include the following teams:

University of Evansville (Region 1) - April 15th; 9:00AM - 1:00PM CST
RSVP to attend in person or join the livestream: startedupfoundation.org/region-1

• Bliss Recovery

• Peyton Rowe, Terre Haute North Vigo High School

• Cassidy Sullivan, Terre Haute North Vigo High School

• Boomerang Learning

• Kris Lau, Signature School

• Abdul-Aleem Muhammed, Signature School

• Parth Patel, Signature School

• Caseflood.ai

• Ethan Hilton, Signature School

• Emily Rudolph, New Tech Institute

• Tolen Schreid, Signature School

• Custos

• Kaelin League, New Tech Institute

• Rylie Schelb, New Tech Institute

• DiemondCuts

• Johnna Riger, New Tech Institute

• DocuAI

• Kyah McLeod, Terre Haute North Vigo High School

• Nathan Millington, Terre Haute North Vigo High School

• Double Date It

• Lexi May, Terre Haute North Vigo High School

• Kaylee Eaker, Terre Haute North Vigo High School

• HHangers

• James Belmar, Terre Haute North Vigo High School

• Hydroxy*

• Lenea Elliot, Perry Central Jr-Sr High School

• Matthew McKeehan, Perry Central Jr-Sr High School

• Colten Mitchell, Perry Central Jr-Sr High School

• Victus Energy

• Jacob Barnwell, New Tech Institute

• Elie Duff, New Tech Institute

• Jeremy Watson Jr., New Tech Institute

Purdue University - Purdue Innovates (Region 2) - April 16th; 9:00AM - 1:00PM EST
RSVP to attend in person or join the livestream: startedupfoundation.org/region-2

• ClearChoice

• Alessandro Salerno, University High School of Indiana

• Epi-Patch

• Max Ledingham, Carmel High School

• Alexander Lu, Carmel High School

• Adithyan Naren, Carmel High School

• Guildya

• Eli Guerra-Ramirez, Ben Davis High School

• Yaretzy Lopez, Ben Davis High School

• InsightUp

• Siri Byrisetty, Carmel High School

• Grace Larkey, Carmel High School

• Kent Fujita, Carmel High School

• Measurably MRI

• Sydney Ladine, Carmel High School

• Maddy Lathrop, Carmel High School

• Finley Phillips, Carmel High School

• QuickSports

• Prabanjan Jayachandran, Zionsville Community High School

• Kaden Oberlander, Zionsville Community High School

• ShellSafe

• Pragathi Arunkumar, Carmel High School

• ShowerShield UV

• Arushi Nadagatti, Carmel High School

• Chukwudumebi Nwafo, Carmel High School

• Dhanya Pathangi, Carmel High School

• Sky Sight Lawn Services*

• Jacob Braun, Westfield High School 

• Hayden Rebar, Westfield High School

• Benjamin Wiggins, Westfield High School

• The Fridge Bridge

  • Ryan Cesare, Westfield High School

  • Cameron Fox, Westfield High School

  • Nick Gerow, Westfield High School

Indiana University Indianapolis (Region 3) - April 23rd; 9:00AM - 1:00PM EST
RSVP to attend in person or join the livestream: startedupfoundation.org/region-3

• Afrotopia (Team 50)

• Tumim Gebrewold, Speedway Senior High School

• BudgetPal

• Saanvi Ibrahimpatnam, Fishers High School

• Mia Noel, Fishers High School

• Bussl

• Kieron Bishop, Herron High School

• Liam Green, Herron High School

• Leland Rowe, Herron High School

• EK Designs*

• Evelyn Hinshaw, Speedway Senior High School

• Idalia Inman, Speedway Senior High School

• Kayla Reeves, Speedway Senior High School

• Firen’t

• Gavin Blackwell, Noblesville High School

• Ash Holmes, Noblesville High School

• Tyler Rohn, Noblesville High School

• HydroGrease

• Asofi Imana, Herron High School

• Zoë Raye Stallings, Herron High School

• InstrumentALL

• Harshita Multani, Franklin Central High School

• KIL

• Isabella Pearson, Noblesville High School

• Logan Rieman, Noblesville High School

• Katie Wernke, Noblesville High School

• MentorConnect

• Toben Mesterharm, McKenzie Career Center for Innovation & Technology

• Kenneth Rabe, McKenzie Career Center for Innovation & Technology

• Ashton Whittington, McKenzie Career Center for Innovation & Technology

• PinPoint Allergy

• Genesis Austin, Speedway Senior High School

• Jayden Brosman, Speedway Senior High School

• The Trust Clip

• Elijah Lavengood, Noblesville High School

• Summer Rempe, Noblesville High School

• Giovanni Streckfuss, Noblesville High School

Purdue University Northwest & The Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest (Region 4) - April 19th; 9:00AM - 1:00PM CST
RSVP to attend in person or join the livestream: startedupfoundation.org/region-4

• Equi

• Abigail Bisig, Hobart High School

• Escape the Silence

• Lauren Dumaresq, Munster High School

• Charity Ibikunle, Munster High School

• Hero Cycle

• Amauria Buck, Hammond High School

• Akeelah Williams, Hammond High School

• Hoodie Haven

• Lily Decker, Lake Central High School

• Mia Hulverson, Lake Central High School

• Emma Slavena, Lake Central High School

• Johnson Sports Memorabilia

• Joseph Johnson, Lowell Senior High School

• SafeTrips

  • Noah Kaiser, Hobart High School

  • Mikel Ivey, Hobart High School

• SafetyGlow

• Ashton Verbish, Hanover Central High School

• Scent Seal

• Josephine Pirok, Munster High School

• Nabeel Rabie, Munster High School

• Brooke Weatherly, Munster High School

• The Squeeze with Ease Brush

  • Taylor Rothrock, Lowell Senior High School

• Wringo

• Connor Gomez, Munster High School

• Ameen Musleh, Munster High School

• Vasili Papageorge, Munster High School

Parkview Health (Region 5) - April 22nd; 9:00AM - 1:00PM EST
RSVP to attend in person or join the livestream: startedupfoundation.org/region-5

• All Nighter Games

• Isaiah Clark, Carroll High School

• Discard Normality

• Hilmija Hasic, AMP Lab at Electric Works (Snider High School)

• ElecTrack Studios

• Liam Campbell-Carpenter, AMP Lab at Electric Works (North Side High School)

• Jude Ratajczak, AMP Lab at Electric Works (South Side High School)

• Fern Learner Farms*

• Link Morehead, AMP Lab at Electric Works (Northrop High School)

• Mahlan’s Drone Photography

• Mahlan Dircksen, Garrett High School

• Pristine Power Pros

• Nash Brown, DeKalb High School

• Pure Living

• Mariah Wright, DeKalb High School

• Rolley Navarro

• Rogelio Navarro, AMP Lab at Electric Works (Snider High School)

• Skyguard*

• Luke Herring, Southwood Jr-Sr High School

• Landon Mitchell, Southwood Jr-Sr High School

• Brody Overlander, Southwood Jr-Sr High School

• The Crate of Curious Things

• Joshua Steely, Manchester Jr-Sr High School

Maker13 (Region 6) - April 25th; 9:00AM - 1:00PM EST
RSVP to attend in person or join the livestream: startedupfoundation.org/region-6

• Bluer Waters*

• Tucker Harris, Floyd Central High School 

• Tyler Harris, Floyd Central High School

• William Trask, Floyd Central High School

• CayPops

• Caylyn Pruitt, Columbus North High School

• EmpowerSmall

• Atharv Pawar, Columbus North High School

• Fresh Start Bins

• Jacob Rennekamp, Seymour Senior High School

• Forever Flowers

• Sara Lamping, Oldenburg Academy

• Lillian Schelber, Oldenburg Academy

• Kate Weber, Oldenburg Academy

• Get Up! Babysitting Co.

• Izabelle Munn, Columbus North High School

• Gogh Bloom*

• Emma Gober, Jac-Cen-Del High School

• Sophia Sullivan, Jac-Cen-Del High School

• Aveyana Williams, Jac-Cen-Del High School

• Jackson County Drone Service

• Bryce Peak, Brownstown Central High School

• Second Serve Threads

• Thaddeus Eaglin, Oldenburg Academy

• Rachel Lamping, Oldenburg Academy

• Sadie Wachsmann, Oldenburg Academy

• Vicente Clothing

• Elmer Vicente, Seymour Senior High School