Education Advanced Sponsors 3rd Annual Texas High School Ideas Challenge

Entrepreneurship is an attitude that acts on opportunity.

The McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship at Texas A&M University, the hub for entrepreneurship for both current and former students of the university, saw a need and opportunity to also ignite and nurture the spark of entrepreneurship for the next generation. Launched by the McFerrin Center in 2021, the Texas High School Ideas Challenge, open to all high school students across the state of Texas, is designed to encourage students to explore entrepreneurship and foster development of an entrepreneurial mindset, with more than $10,000 in cash prizes awarded to winning teams.

Due to restrictions in place, the inaugural event in 2021 was held exclusively in a virtual format, with a transition to an in-person event on campus in 2022, giving high school students the opportunity to visit campus and be introduced to Texas A&M, the McFerrin Center and the Aggie entrepreneurial ecosystem.

For the third annual challenge in 2023, applications opened in late 2022, inviting Texas high school students aged 14-18 to submit their idea as a team or individual, via a compelling application demonstrating creative, careful and methodical planning. With applications closing Wednesday, March 15, the McFerrin Center will be hosting a virtual application workshop Monday, Feb. 27 from 4-5:30 p.m. to assist interested students and educators with the application process.

Following the application period and screening, finalist teams will be invited to attend the Texas High School Ideas Challenge Tuesday, May 2 on the campus of Texas A&M in College Station. The challenge is structured with each team presenting their idea twice during the day, each time to a different panel of judges. The presentations consist of a 5-minute pitch of the idea, followed by a 5-minute “Q&A” with the panel. Judges, selected from the McFerrin Center’s network of mentors, successful entrepreneurs and Texas A&M faculty, look for competitors who have an outstanding idea and clearly indicate that their idea creates value, can defend their idea against other ideas in the competition, and demonstrate to the judges that the idea is viable in the marketplace with clear evidence that the idea is attractive to a customer. Ideas are scored based on idea uniqueness, target market, competitive advantage, resources, goals and presentation content.

At the conclusion of the presentation, or “pitch,” portion, the challenge transitions to The Crowd Fund Showcase and Awards Reception (sponsored by Education Advanced, Inc.), where finalist teams have the opportunity to display their idea, meet and engage with guests, and continue to pitch their idea to earn guests’ “investments” of “McFerrin Money.” While the judges determine the winners of the top idea prizes based on the pitch presentations given during the day, the showcase guests and their investments determine the winners of “The Crowd Fund” prizes.

Rudy A., a then junior from Centennial High School in Frisco, walked away with top honors and $2,500 in 2022 for his pitch of WorkBee, a business concept developed with his partner Sarthak D., also a junior, who was unable to attend the competition.

“A friend who applied for this challenge knew I had this idea, and he suggested I apply as well. I did, and then suggested a different friend also apply with his idea,” said Rudy. “I feel like that sums up entrepreneurship. Healthy competition, but always looking to help and assist others who are also trying to pursue and build their own ideas.”

“The best takeaway from [the day] was the feedback I received from the judges following my pitches,” he said. “One even told me it was probably the best pitch he’d ever heard, including from college students. That really made me feel like not only do I have a great idea, but the time, effort and energy I put into preparing for this challenge really paid off. I’m already thinking of a new idea to apply again and come back to Aggieland [in 2023].”

In 2022, 42 teams, comprised of more than 100 students from 18 Texas cities, were selected as finalists and invited to compete in person. With successful growth in only its first two years, the McFerrin Center looks to continue growing the challenge to include more applications and participating finalists each year.

To learn more, see a list of past finalists and winners, or recommend a high school student, please visit the Texas High School Ideas Challenge program page.