Texas
High School
Ideas Challenge

Application Opens Online — Dec. 1

Application Deadline — March 15

Final Pitch Event, Showcase & Awards Reception — Spring 2025

Applications will be open annually from December 1-March 15.

All Texas high school students may participate and students may submit ideas individually or as a team.

To enter the Texas High School Ideas Challenge, competitors must complete and submit an entry form through the designated online system. By submitting an idea, all competitors certify that all ideas submitted are their own original work and that they have read and accept all terms, conditions, and rules of the competition.

After the application deadline, all entries will be reviewed in a Pre-Screen Round and scored by a hand-selected group of judges. Finalists will be selected from this Round and invited to pitch their ideas at the Final Pitch Event. Winners will be announced and awarded prizes during an Awards Reception that same evening.

Eligible applicants should meet the following criteria:

• Any Texas resident who is in high school and between the ages of 14-18 can participate in the challenge.
• Applicants may choose to enter as an individual or as a team. Teams are allowed up to 6 members, should be student led and composed of members willing to work together on all aspects of the competition.
• Each individual/team may submit as many ideas as they wish; however, each idea will require a separate application, and a single person will be allowed to participate in no more than two ideas as a Finalist. 
• The age limit is strictly enforced. Students younger than 14 may not participate. Students ages 14-18 who have graduated high school or are enrolled full-time in college courses are also unable to participate in this competition.
• Completion of product development or company formation are not a requirement to enter the challenge, but competitors are welcome and encouraged to take their idea to the next level. 

NOTE: Rules and exceptions are at the discretion of the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship. Submission content must be appropriate for the student, judge, sponsor, and volunteer audience. Inappropriate content will result in disqualification. Direct any questions about eligibility to the McFerrin Center at McFerrinCenter@tamu.edu.

After the Pre-Screen round of online review and scoring, the Finalists will be announced as the Texas High School Ideas Challenge Finalists. These teams will be provided additional information in order to prepare the following:

Each Finalist (whether individual or team) will have 5 minutes to present the idea to a group of judges followed by 5 minutes of questions from the judges. Teams will be cut off after 5 minutes of presentation time and at the end of 5 minutes for Q&A, regardless of the content covered. 

Attendance is required to participate at the Final Pitch Event. We only require that one author present the idea, so all authors are not required to attend, although it is recommended. 

In developing the idea, we encourage authors to anticipate judges’ questions. The presentation before the small groups of judges will be a low-pressure event. Be assured, the judges are there to help and provide feedback, not intimidate. No PowerPoint presentations will be used during the final presentation.

All finalists will also display their ideas at a showcase following the closed pitch competition, with guests invited to visit each finalist team’s display to learn more about the students and their idea, hear their pitch, and even “invest” in the ideas they find most exciting, with The Crowd Fund Awards given based on guest “investments”! An awards reception will immediately follow the showcase to celebrate the ingenuity and entrepreneurial interests of the competitors.

Based on the scoring provided by the judges at the Final Pitch Event, cash prizes will be awarded to individuals or teams with the top ideas. The three top-scoring teams will receive cash prizes, in addition to 4 Honorable Mention prizes, and 3 People’s Choice winners selected by the Awards Reception audience.

These cash prizes will be awarded to the individual participants listed for each winning team and will be divided between all entered competitors on the winning entries. They are non-equity, non-ownership cash awards and winners are encouraged to utilize these funds in a manner consistent with their entrepreneurial goals. 

*Cash prize amounts vary from year to year based upon sponsors and will be announced during the application period.  

Judges are hand-selected by the McFerrin Center from our network of mentors, successful entrepreneurs and Texas A&M University Faculty. 

The judges are looking for competitors who have an outstanding idea and clearly indicate that their idea creates values. Judges are also looking for competitors with an idea that is able to defend itself against other ideas in the competition. Finally, each idea should demonstrate to the judges that it is viable in the marketplace with clear evidence that the idea is attractive to a customer. As a whole, an application should serve as a convincing argument as to why the idea is valuable, unique, viable, and needed.

Pre-Screen Judging Criteria

Via an online reviewing process, judges from the academic and business community will evaluate written entries in each of the following areas to identify the Finalist ideas: Idea Uniqueness, Target Market, Competitive Advantage, Resources and Goals.

Judges’ Rubric

Presenters and Ideas will be judged in each of the following areas: Idea Uniqueness, Target Market, Competitive Advantage, Resources, Goals, Presentation Delivery, Presentation Content and Q&A.

The Texas High School Ideas Challenge would not be possible without the support of our generous sponsors! If you’re interested in sponsoring a prize, sponsorship opportunities range from $750-$2,500.

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Thank you to our 2024 Texas High School Ideas Challenge Sponsors!

Top Idea Winners
1^st Place ($2,500): BioBionics | Centennial HS & Flower Mound HS | Frisco/Flower Mound
2^nd Place ($2,000): Silent Safety | Centennial HS | Frisco
3^rd Place ($1,750): Autima | College Park HS | The Woodlands
Honorable Mention ($750): EcoBox | Centennial HS | Frisco
sponsored by Drs. Sanjukta & Saurabh Biswas
Honorable Mention ($750): EcoCents | Westlake HS | Austin
sponsored by TASMAN Sign & Graphic Solutions
Honorable Mention ($750): PlaySafe | Westlake HS | Austin
Honorable Mention ($750): Portahoop | Vandegrift HS | Austin

The Crowd Fund Winners
1^st Place ($1,500): Thermalerts | Westlake HS | Austin
2^nd Place ($1,250): SkinSavers | Central HS | San Angelo
3^rd Place ($1,000): SafetyPal | Emerson HS | McKinney

Top Idea Winners
1^st Place ($2,500): Slap Daddy Koozies | Vandegrift HS | Austin
sponsored by High-Piled Permits, Active Industrial Fire Protection
2^nd Place ($2,000): Racquet Armor | Centennial HS & Frisco HS | Frisco
3^rd Place ($1,750): ReactGlove | DeBakey High School for Health Professions & The Awty International School | Houston
Honorable Mention ($750): Easy Hang | Samuel V. Champion HS & Boerne HS | Boerne
sponsored by Mays Family Foundation
Honorable Mention ($750): LivLive | Westlake HS | Austin
sponsored by Mays Family Foundation
Honorable Mention ($750): Pop Pop’s Dandy Dog | Lake Creek HS | Montgomery
sponsored by Mays Family Foundation
Honorable Mention ($750): SignHi | The Woodlands College Park HS | Spring
sponsored by Mays Family Foundation

The Crowd Fund Winners
1^st Place ($1,500): Easy Hang | Samuel V. Champion HS & Boerne HS | Boerne
sponsored by Education Advanced, Inc.
2^nd Place ($1,250): DIabeticsOnTheGo | Central HS | San Angelo
3^rd Place ($1,000): Infiniti Board | Centennial HS | Frisco
sponsored by Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets

Top Idea Winners
1^st Place ($2,500): WorkBee | Centennial HS | Frisco
sponsored by Active Industrial Fire Protection
2^nd Place ($2,000): FYDER, LLC | Alamo Heights HS | San Antonio
sponsored by CareerPhysician, LLC
3^rd Place ($1,750): Com.Post | Round Rock HS | Round Rock
sponsored by Education Advanced
Honorable Mention ($750): Stoozies: The Heated Shoetree | Canyon HS | New Braunfels
sponsored by Critical Environments Group
Honorable Mention ($750): iPath American English | Centennial HS | Frisco
sponsored by Education Advanced
Honorable Mention ($750): sMile | Centennial HS | Frisco, TX
sponsored by Startup LLC
Honorable Mention ($750): Traverse Marketplace | Vista Ridge HS | Cedar Park
sponsored by Mays Family Foundation

The Crowd Fund Winners
1^st Place ($1,500): M.T. Equipment Backpacking Table | Westlake HS | Austin
sponsored by Nexersys (XFit Inc.)
2^nd Place ($1,250): FYDER, LLC | Alamo Heights HS | San Antonio
sponsored by Startup LLC
3^rd Place ($1,000): Let’s Keep Talking | Elkins HS | Missouri City
sponsored by Mays Family Foundation

$750 Honorable Mention Prize: Farmer Adam – A&M Consolidated, College Station

$750 Honorable Mention Prize: CollegeHype – Clint ISD Early College Academy, Clint

$750 Honorable Mention Prize: Allowance – Vista Ride High School, Cedar Park

$750 Honorable Mention Prize: Student Power – The Village School, Houston

$1,000 Sixth Place Winner: SOle Cold – Boerne Champion High School, Boerne

$1,250 Fifth Place Winner: Environmate – Centennial High School, Frisco

$1,500 Fourth Place Winner: DropaBall – Boerne Champion High School, Boerne

$1,750 Third Place Winner: PRACTICE PALS – Klein Cain High School, Klein

$2,000 Second Place Winner: S.A.P.P.E. by MC – Frisco High School, Frisco

$2,500 First Place Winner: WalkThru – Vista Ridge High School, Cedar Park

The McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship is excited to announce the finalists for the 2024 Texas High School Ideas Challenge! These finalist teams will compete in the fourth annual competition May 21, 2024 at Texas A&M University.

Agsight | Frisco HS & Rick Reedy HS

AI & Computer Vision Driven Accident Prevention | Westlake HS

Aqua Pal | Hill Country Christian School of Austin

AquaReclaim | Jordan HS & Tompkins HS

Autima | College Park HS

BioBionics | Centennial HS & Flower Mound HS

BioSafe | College Park HS

Brace for Impact | Vandegrift HS

BREATHE ELEGANCE | Centennial HS

BrightFuture Sleeves | Compass Rose Legacy Secondary

CashClock | Walnut Grove HS

CereSPECT | Plano East Senior HS

ConnectED | Lone Star HS

CoZCars | Lake Travis HS

CyberSafeSmallBiz | Centennial HS

DiaVest | College Park HS

EasyBreathe | Westlake HS

EcoBox | Centennial HS

EcoCents | Westlake HS

ElderWise | Centennial HS

EMGuard | College Park HS

Enhanced Bio-Integration | Texas Academy of Math & Science & Uplift North Hills Preparatory

ErgoLoop | Friendswood HS

Ezra Tech Ranch Gear | Home School

Floralations | Emerson HS

JARC | Elkins HS

Lead-O-Meter | Centennial HS

Multisensor Technology for Search and Rescue | Awty International HS & Bellaire HS

NatLangAI | Liberty HS

PhotonGuard | Texas Academy of Math & Science & Uplift North Hills Preparatory

PlaySafe | Westlake HS

Portahoop | Vandegrift HS

Road to Kokua | Liberal Arts and Science Academy

Safe Where | Lake Travis HS

SafetyPal | Emerson HS

Silent Safety | Centennial HS

SkinSavers | Central HS

Styl-on | Vista Ridge HS

The Tailgator Cooler | Vista Ridge HS

Thermalerts | Westlake HS

Veiled Hijab Traveling Carrier | Clear Brook HS