West-Central Indiana’s Top Student Innovators to Compete in Innovate WithIN’s Region 2 Pitch Competition
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (March 28th, 2025) – The STARTedUP Foundation’s Innovate WithIN competition, the nation’s largest high school pitch competition, is set to showcase the best young entrepreneurs in West-Central Indiana.
Across the state, 60 teams are competing in six regional pitch competitions, with 10 teams in each region. The winners of each regional event will move on to the State Finals in June at Butler University, where they will compete for $25,000 in seed funding, scholarships, travel experiences, mentorship, and additional entrepreneurial resources.
The Region 2 competition will take place at Kurz Purdue Technology Center on April 14, 2025, from 9 AM - 1 PM EST. Hosted in partnership with Purdue Innovates, this event provides young innovators a platform to present their ventures before a panel of esteemed judges, gaining valuable feedback and mentorship opportunities.
“Purdue Innovates is excited to host students from across the region pitching their ideas and pursuing their entrepreneurial ambitions,” said Purdue Innovates Incubator Associate Director Doug Applegate. “The work the STARTedUP team does to encourage and develop young entrepreneurs and innovators is critical to the success of our state and at Purdue, we are proud to support young people striving for top-tier education and entrepreneurial activity at the same time.”
Region 2 Student Teams:
BioKnead – Akshaya Lingala & Saesha Saha, Carmel High School
ColorCare – Ashlynn Swanson, Carmel High School
Infect-Age – EvelynRose Burch & Layla Kadourah, Noblesville High School
InfraPel – Juan Koothur & Swayam Patankar, Carmel High School
NSPHERE – Minseo Kim, Carmel High School
NextGen Research Institute – Prabanjan Jayachandran & Tianle Liang, Zionsville Community High School
OpenLot – Joshua Yi & Richard Geng, Carmel High School
PROject – Anna Liao, Carmel High School
SoleSwitch – Kasen Pepperman & Bradyn Livingston, Noblesville High School
SpheriLine – Kelly Fulk & Maxwell Gootee, Carmel High School
This year’s competition highlights the continued success of the STARTedUP Innovation Educator Fellowship, which has now expanded to include 100 educators. Over 30 fellows from 33 schools have teams participating in the regional pitch competitions, further demonstrating the program’s significant impact in fostering entrepreneurial education.
“We are excited to once again partner with Purdue Innovates to host Region Two. Year after year, Purdue Innovates has demonstrated that students can take an idea from high school and feel supported by a community that believes in their potential,” said Don Wettrick, co-founder and CEO of the STARTedUP Foundation. “This has consistently been one of our most competitive regions, and we look forward to the incredible ideas and energy that will come out of this year’s competition.”
The Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) and the Indiana Small Business Development Center have been longtime supporters of Innovate WithIN. All regional finalists will meet with their local ISBDC advisors to refine their business models and prepare for the competition with expert guidance. We also extend our appreciation to the Purdue Daniels School of Business, SEP and zWORKS for their support of this region’s pitch competition.
In addition, Innovate WithIN continues to secure scholarship opportunities for competitors through partnerships with institutions such as Depauw University, Grace College, Indiana Tech, Purdue University Fort Wayne, and Purdue University Northwest. These partnerships provide valuable educational opportunities for students, further supporting their entrepreneurial journeys.
The event is open to the public, and community members are encouraged to attend to support these young entrepreneurs. More details and RSVP information can be found at https://www.startedupfoundation.org/region-2
About Purdue Innovates
Purdue Innovates is a unified network at Purdue Research Foundation to assist Purdue faculty, staff, students and alumni in either IP commercialization or startup creation. As a conduit to technology commercialization, intellectual property protection and licensing, startup creation and funding, Purdue Innovates serves as the front door to translate new ideas into world-changing impact.
For more information on licensing a Purdue innovation, contact the Office of Technology Commercialization at otcip@prf.org. For more information about involvement and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact Purdue Innovates at purdueinnovates@prf.org.
About the STARTedUP Foundation
The STARTedUP Foundation is an Indiana-based nonprofit dedicated to transforming classrooms into hubs of innovation, entrepreneurship, and industry alignment. Through student competitions, educator fellowships, and real-world partnerships, STARTedUP inspires the next generation of problem-solvers and creators. Learn more at www.startedupfoundation.org.
