Texas
Open to all Texas High School Students with a BIG Idea!
Finalists
The Texas High School Ideas Challenge, hosted by the McFerrin Center for Entrepreneurship, is designed to encourage high school students to explore entrepreneurship and foster development of an entrepreneurial mindset. The Challenge is modeled after the Ideas Challenge, which is one of the McFerrin Center’s longest standing programs open each fall to current Texas A&M University students.
The submission of a winning idea will require students to prepare a compelling application that demonstrates creative, careful, and methodical planning but it will not require a fully developed business plan. Ultimately, the Texas High School Ideas Challenge will help students develop an ability to think in an entrepreneurial way and develop the competencies needed to identify and successfully implement new business ideas throughout their lifetime.
All Texas high school students aged 14-18 may participate in the Texas High School Ideas Challenge. Students may submit ideas individually or as a team. 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 on the campus of Texas A&M University. Winners will be announced and awarded prizes during an Awards Reception that same evening. Each finalist will also receive a certificate as confirmation of their participation.
There is no restriction on the number of individuals or teams per school or community that can apply, compete or advance to the final round, however, a single person will be allowed to participate in no more than two ideas as a Finalist. Teams may not consist of more than six students, and there is no limit to the number of ideas a team can submit, but each idea will require its own application.
Do you know a high school student that has great ideas? Let us know and we’ll provide all the information!
*The Texas High School Ideas Challenge is in no way affiliated with the 2021 High School Entrepreneurship Camp or StartupGrind BCS.
This year’s Texas High School Ideas Challenge is proudly supported by student leaders of the McFerrin Experience Team!
Application Opens Online — Dec. 1
Application Deadline — March 15
Final Pitch Event, Showcase & Awards Reception — April 17, 2025
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.
Thank you to our 2025 Texas High School Ideas Challenge Sponsors!
Top Idea Winners
1st Place ($2,500): BioBionics | Centennial HS & Flower Mound HS | Frisco/Flower Mound
2nd Place ($2,000): Silent Safety | Centennial HS | Frisco
3rd 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
1st Place ($1,500): Thermalerts | Westlake HS | Austin
2nd Place ($1,250): SkinSavers | Central HS | San Angelo
3rd Place ($1,000): SafetyPal | Emerson HS | McKinney
Top Idea Winners
1st Place ($2,500): Slap Daddy Koozies | Vandegrift HS | Austin
sponsored by High-Piled Permits, Active Industrial Fire Protection
2nd Place ($2,000): Racquet Armor | Centennial HS & Frisco HS | Frisco
3rd 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
1st Place ($1,500): Easy Hang | Samuel V. Champion HS & Boerne HS | Boerne
sponsored by Education Advanced, Inc.
2nd Place ($1,250): DIabeticsOnTheGo | Central HS | San Angelo
3rd Place ($1,000): Infiniti Board | Centennial HS | Frisco
sponsored by Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets
Top Idea Winners
1st Place ($2,500): WorkBee | Centennial HS | Frisco
sponsored by Active Industrial Fire Protection
2nd Place ($2,000): FYDER, LLC | Alamo Heights HS | San Antonio
sponsored by CareerPhysician, LLC
3rd 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
1st Place ($1,500): M.T. Equipment Backpacking Table | Westlake HS | Austin
sponsored by Nexersys (XFit Inc.)
2nd Place ($1,250): FYDER, LLC | Alamo Heights HS | San Antonio
sponsored by Startup LLC
3rd 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