Regional Students Compete in Entrepreneurship Challenge

Students from Northwest High School make their pitches during CEO Challenge:  Launch.  Photo courtesy Lenawee Now.

(March 30, 2023 2:12 PM ET) Earlier this month, the final part of the CEO Challenge: Launch took place at the Jackson Area Career Center. At this event, 13 teams of 3-6 high school students from Jackson and Lenawee  Counties gave a business pitch in front of a panel of judges.  After the initial Elimination rounds, the final three teams went against each other to compete for the grand prize of $1,000. 

In this year’s Launch event, 13 teams pitched their business concepts for the opportunity to win cash prizes awarded to the first, second, and third-place winners. Also, teams could win awards for the most innovative idea or best presentation.  Launch begins with 2 score-in rounds where teams pitch to two different panels of judges.  The teams’ scores for each round are combined and the top 9 teams are entered into a bracketed head-to-head competition to determine the winners. 

After much deliberation and careful consideration, the judges determined the order of the top three teams:  In third place, was Digital Wisdom, created by a team from Northwest High School. This start-up was on a mission to work with senior homes and help the elderly gain greater access to the internet to connect with family and find information.

The second-place winner, a team from Lumen Christi High School created 20-20-20 Vision. Their product protects computer workers from blue light, by creating a clock with built-in reminders to look away from one’s screen and look at objects in the distance for a set amount of time.

The first-place team consisted of learners from Jackson High School who invented Polar Pro and tackled the challenge of sports videographers’ Go-Pro batteries losing charge due to cold weather. They invented an insulating pack to keep the Go-Pro warm and help the batteries hold a charge.

Launch is the final stage of the CEO Challenge, a three-part series, designed to create enthusiasm among high schoolers around entrepreneurship, and teach them the necessary skills for the endeavor. Starting in January, area schools participated in the first part of the CEO Challenge: Spark. At this event, students heard from a panel of local entrepreneurs and participated in a structured activity where they created a fun business concept to pitch in a 2-minute infomercial.

Following that experience, individuals returned to their schools, and assembled teams, for Ignite, the second section of the CEO Challenge. Over the course of 6 weeks, students would develop a product or service, and strategy for turning it into a viable business. Participants learned from both teacher support, and independently from interactive modules put out by Junior Achievement, the organization administering the program. 

“This is always an exciting event,” said Jack Townsley from Lenawee Now and Junior Achievement board member.  “The students that participate in the CEO Challenge always amaze me with the creative and innovative business concepts they present.”