Secondary students pitch night
Inaugural pitch night for high school startup founders held at the Macquarie University Incubator.
The energy and creativity of Sydney high school students took centre stage last Thursday at the inaugural Secondary Student Startup Pitch Night hosted by Macquarie University Incubator in conjunction with Young Wisdom.
Ten student-led startups ranging from Years 9 to 12 were invited to pitch after completing a comprehensive application, to raise awareness of their innovative ideas, seek real-world feedback, and compete for a $1000 prize pool (top three and People’s Choice Awards).
All participating teams will also receive ongoing support from the Macquarie University Incubator x Young Wisdom Secondary Schools Program as they continue to develop, launch and scale their startup ventures.
The Grand Prize of $500 went to a young innovator turning humidity into electricity – who even had a working prototype powering a couple of small lights during their pitch! All-girl teams took out Second Place and the People’s Choice Awards, with an app idea to assist teachers and students facing dyslexia, and a way of reducing food waste and overspending on groceries, respectively. Third Place went to a solo founder working on a cybersecurity solution to keep homes safe from increasing attacks.
Melissa Ryan, Director Incubation and Entrepreneurship at Macquarie University, kicked off the event by welcoming students, parents, teachers and other supporters from our innovation ecosystem. “Young students developing creative and entrepreneurial skills is growing in importance as our society changes at pace. The Macquarie University Incubator Secondary Student Program and pitch night represents a crucial platform for nurturing the next generation of change makers and innovators.”
Melissa Ryan also served as a pitch judge alongside Roger Yu, an MQ Incubator resident and founder of SAM.Coach, and Melissa Ran, Senior Entrepreneurship Educator at Young Wisdom and Sydney startup ecosystem champion.
The judges had a very difficult job as each and every team pitched so well and were tackling very different problems with an equally diverse range of products and services as solutions.
Shahe Momdjian, founder of Young Wisdom, served as MC on the night and said: “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with the Incubator team to create this platform for young entrepreneurs to be discovered and celebrated for all their efforts. Unlike usual showcase or demo nights, this isn’t an end point of a program; it’s the start of our continued support and advocacy of these emerging startups and founders.”
Overall, the whole evening was a testament to the creativity, passion and potential of Sydney's youth in driving positive change through entrepreneurship and innovation.
To enquire or get involved, email: incubator@mq.edu.au.