The High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge (HSUEC) announced the top 20 teams that will advance to the final stage of the competition today. The competition is open to all high school students across Utah, ages 14-18. They are competing for $30,000 in cash and prizes. This competition is hosted by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, a division of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, and sponsored by Zions Bank.
Each high school team faced the challenge of identifying a problem and proposing a creative solution. See the list below for details and a description of the top 20 teams.
“We are so excited with all the participation we have had this year,” said Kearsa Hodgson, the student director of the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge. “The competition gets more rigorous with every season as more and more high school students participate in the challenge. I can’t wait to see the top 20 teams present on competition day, and I wish them the best of luck!”
The top 20 teams will advance to the final round, where they will meet for a final judging event and a public awards ceremony on March 30 at Lassonde Studios on the University of Utah campus. All are invited to the public ceremony on that day at 2:30-4 p.m. The public is encouraged to vote online for the best idea March 13-29.
“We are very impressed with the quality of submissions from high school students around the state,” said Anne Bastien, a director at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. “Every year, we see the teams getting better and better and more teams participating in the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge. Some of these teams will go on to build companies around their ideas. Others will use the experience to get into great colleges and build successful careers.”
The High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge is the youth version of the collegiate Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, which offers $100,000 in cash and prizes.
Learn more about the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge at lassonde.utah.edu/hsuec.
[Edit note: This press release was edited on March 18, 2019, to update the list of finalist teams.]
Top 20 Teams in the 2019 High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge
Here are the top 20 teams in the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge. These teams will advance to the final event. They are listed in alphabetical order:
- BeenAsked (American Fork High School) – A website facilitating finding dates and deals for school dances.
- Career Rocket (Waterford School) – A platform that facilitates educational connections between students and industry experts.
- CheapEats (Desert Hills High School) – An app that offers discounts for eating at restaurants during slow hours of the day.
- Cno2 (Park City High School) – Social application that incentivizes eco-conscious living by rewarding users for completing eco challenges.
- Dormmock (West High School) – A hammock made to be used indoors to save space and to help people who have back pain sleep more comfortably.
- Enable Helmets (Park City High School) – A helmet specifically designed for people with cochlear implants to be safely worn during sports and other activities.
- FamTrack (Karl G. Maeser Preparatory Academy) – Track your family goals in one app that combines goal planning, tracking and communication into one simple platform.
- Feudal (American Fork High School) – A platform that gives artists the ability to license their work to individual influencers and content creators.
- GrowGrub (Pleasant Grove High School) – A non-profit organization to recycle unused healthy produce, benefiting local communities.
- H2ONE: Vita Portable Water Filter (Bountiful High School) – A smaller, lighter, faster and cheaper UV water sterilizer.
- Little Healthcare (West High School) – An app that supports families to improve children’s drug adherence.
- Magnetic Hanger (Park City High School) – A clothes hanger that makes it easier to take clothes off the hook without damaging your hanger.
- Noisy NICU Cap (American Heritage School) – A cap that protects newborn babies’ from the loud sounds experienced in the NICU.
- Parallel (Bingham High School) – An easy-to-use crowdsourced parking app to benefit car owners and landowners.
- PowerPop (Leadership Academy of Utah) – A popsicle made to provide electrolytes that is made with natural ingredients.
- Sporknife (Park City High School) – The four-in-one environmentally friendly utensil that combines the knife, spoon, fork and straw.
- The Bad Hair Company (Desert Hills High School) – A subscription box providing affordable high-quality healthy hair care for men.
- The Full Use Pencil (Corner Canyon High School) – The environmentally friendly, no-waste pencil that is redesigned for greater usage of both graphite and eraser.
- The Gogg-Lator (Park City High School) – A device that connects your ski goggles and mask to keep your face warm while properly ventilating to prevent your goggles from fogging up.
- The Quick Pitch (Cyprus High School) – A baseball pitching machine with a connected ball this is automatically retrieved and reloaded.
2019 High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge Season Timeline
- Application Opens Online — Thursday, Sept. 20, 2018
- Application Deadline — Thursday, Feb. 28, 2019, at midnight
- Top 20 Finalists Announced — Tuesday, March 12, 2019
- Public Online Voting — Wednesday, March 13, 2019, through Friday, March 29, 2019
- Final Awards & Judging Event — Saturday, March 30, 2019 (the HSUEC judging will be held at the C. Roland Christensen Center, times TBD, and the final awards and showcase will be at Lassonde Studios, 2:30-4 p.m.)
About the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute
The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is a nationally ranked hub for student entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Utah and an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business. The first programs were offered in 2001, through the vision and support of Pierre Lassonde, an alumnus of the Eccles School and successful mining entrepreneur. The institute now provides opportunities for thousands of students to learn about entrepreneurship and innovation. Programs include workshops, networking events, business-plan competitions, startup support, innovation programs, graduate seminars, scholarships, community outreach and more. All programs are open to students from any academic major or background. The Lassonde Institute also manages Lassonde Studios, a new five-story innovation space and housing facility for all students. Learn more at lassonde.utah.edu.
