School of Business Sponsors First High School Entrepreneurship and Artificial Intelligence Pitch Competition
More than 100 students submitted videos integrating AI into their business ideas
Building on the success of its annual Trading Day competition and demonstrating its commitment to empowering students to use the latest technology to create innovative solutions to real-world problems, the Stevens School of Business conducted its first High School Entrepreneurship and Artificial Intelligence Video Pitch Competition.
The new program was an opportunity for high school students to showcase their entrepreneurial spirit through artificial intelligence. Each entrant was tasked with creating a 3-5 minute video pitch for their business idea, including the problem it solves, their solution and the role AI plays, a market analysis and the potential business impact.
“Our undergraduate curriculum includes an entrepreneurship track. We wanted to create a program to get high school students involved, and AI is the hot topic today,” said Lindsay Hartelius, the School of Business Associate Director of Undergraduate Outreach, Reputation and Alumni Affairs. “As part of my role, I’ve been involved with national clubs like the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA). I’ve seen the skills and creative ideas students demonstrate at those groups’ state and national competitions, and we wanted to give them another opportunity to showcase their abilities while at the same time exposing them to what Stevens offers.”
Each of the more than 100 submissions was judged on five criteria: innovation and creativity, application of AI, feasibility, presentation skills and business impact. A panel of judges consisting of Stevens faculty, staff and alumni determined the top three finishers, who won $500, $250 and $100, respectively.
The inaugural winner was Brinda Paladugu, a freshman at Lynbrook High School in San Jose, California. Her project addressed the issue of food waste through ED (Expiry Date & Environmental Damage), an AI -powered grocery assistant that helps track grocery expiration dates and the environmental impact to help people “eat greener and live cleaner.”
“Brinda was impressive and stood out right away by confidently presenting her memorized pitch,” said Josa Balisi, Senior Manager of Academic Operations for Undergraduate Studies. "Her grocery app idea was both practical and thoughtful, addressing concerns of unintentional food waste, unnecessary financial loss due to wasted grocery expenses and their environmental impact. The app felt relatable, useful and practical and something that all individuals and families could benefit from.”
“The biggest challenge I faced was coming up with and choosing an idea,” Brinda said. “With such an open-ended prompt, I had millions of thoughts running through my head. I really liked having this creativity and freedom, however, it was hard to focus on one area and problem, so I picked the problem I thought was most important to me, food waste and climate change.
Click the names below to learn more about the project and watch the video.
2025 Results
FIRST PLACE
Brinda Paladugu
Freshman | Lynbrook High School | San Jose, California
ED — Expiry Date & Environmental Damage
SECOND PLACE
Jenna Kabore
Junior | Bergen County Technical High School | Teterboro, New Jersey
Check AI
THIRD PLACE
Noah Rozin
Junior | Staten Island Technical High School | Staten Island, New York
Resilio AI