Two District 211 teams win $20,000 for business ideas

Posted June 29, 2017 11:00 pm

Submitted by District 211

Alex Brztowski, Katherine Perez, Nemecio Luna and Reil Snow pitch their product, The Janus Pack, to a panel of investors during the District 211 Business Incubator Pitch Night event. Courtesy of District 211

Two District 211 student teams win $20,000 for their business ideas

Students in Palatine Schaumburg High School District 211's Business Incubator program spent the school year developing business ideas to try to bring them to life with the help of investors.

The best teams from about 50 districtwide were selected to compete for funding. After planning and preparation, each team presented its idea to a panel of judges this past May in hopes of being awarded seed money from the District 211 Foundation.

Two teams won $20,000: GreenDirt from Conant High School and Snow and Co. from Palatine High School. GreenDirt also was invited to compete at the INCubatoredu National Pitch Competition this month at the Loyola Corby Law Center in Chicago.

Students enrolled in the Business Incubator class learn what it takes to be an entrepreneur, as well as how to be successful in creating their own product or service. The course covers marketing, human resources, accounting and the legal aspects of operating a business.

Students work not only with their classroom teacher, but also community experts and mentors.

Here's a look at the two winners and four finalists at pitch night:

• GreenDirt - Conant High School

Students: Akash Moozhayil, Kunal Mahajan, Stoil Ionov, Rohan Antony, Patryk Barszczuk

Mentor: David Wolff of Wolff's Fleamarket

Company overview: "GreenDirt addresses the problem of food waste. We collect scraps from local restaurants, convert to a premium gardening product, vermicompost, which we sell to local nurseries and garden centers."

• Snow and Co. - Palatine High School

Students: Alex Brztowski, Katherine Perez, Nemecio Luna, Reil Snow

Mentor: CJ Ritterbusch of Concord Marketing Solutions

Company overview: "The Janus Pack is the solution for students who need to charge their electronics while helping students with organizational skills."

• KickCarrier - Schaumburg High School

Students: Katherine Edeus, Daniel Galovich, Lisette Hurtado, Vincent Kandefer

Mentor: Jon Zaley of Odem Expo

Company overview: "KickCarrier is a platform where sneakerheads can buy, sell, or trade shoes. If it doesn't sell, we will buy it!"

• ProjecTapp-Tapp Camp - Conant High School

Students: Eliot Chang, Mitesh Patel, Michael Kim

Mentor: Jim Gallo of Specialty Finishing Group

Company overview: "ProjecTapp is a mobile app developer providing an incubator-type platform that integrates TappCamp, a coding educational and training service. TappCamp educates students in grades 5-12 to become app writers and future app developers for ProjecTapp."

• BlissFoot - Fremd High School

Students: Laura Bienek, Aarsh Desai, Hanna Murakami, Luke Schoffstall, Gianfranco Torres

Mentor: Chris Banakis of Acuity Advisory Partners LLC

Company overview: "BlissFoot provides competitive long distance runners and other endurance athletes with on-the-go protection against friction, and the resulting irritation, in order to reduce discomfort and enhance performance."

• InnerMap - Hoffman Estates High School

Students: Chloe Jefferson, Edlawit Zerihun, Errick Delaney

Mentor: Sheila Serafin of RIM Logistics

Company overview: "InnerMap will design and create indoor mapping for large public buildings such as malls, airports and stadiums. The software and app will provide consumers with step-by-step directions, as well as allow retailers to push advertising and promotions to potential customers."

Alex Brztowski, Katherine Perez, Nemecio Luna and Reil Snow pose after winning $20,000 seed money for their product, The Janus Pack, which is the solution for students who need to charge their electronics while helping students with organizational skills. Courtesy of District 211

Akash Moozhayil, Kunal Mahajan, Stoil Ionov, Rohan Antony and Patryk Barszczuk won $20,000 seed money for their company, GreenDirt, which addresses the issue of food waste by collecting scraps from local restaurants and converting them to a premium gardening product. Courtesy of District 211

Akash Moozhayil, Kunal Mahajan, Stoil Ionov, Rohan Antony and Patryk Barszczuk won $20,000 in seed money for their company, GreenDirt, after presenting to a panel of investors during the District 211 Business Incubator Pitch Night. Courtesy of District 211

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