Five Teams are Semifinalists in the ThinkBIG! Business Challenge

Five teams from the Upper School Fellowships in Business and Finance competed and advanced to the semi-final round of the ThinkBIG! Business Challenge sponsored by The Veale Foundation. As semifinalists, the teams are invited to attend an executive coaching day and receive guidance from entrepreneurial professionals in the Cleveland business community. The final four teams will compete live at the thinkBIG! Summit in March and have a chance to win $8,000 in prizes.

Here are the Hathaway Brown teams and their pitches: 

Marianna Steele ’23 and Lauren Voinovich ’23

Second Chance is a revolutionary start-up recycling tracking service with a sleek attachment (G.R.E.T.C.H.E.N.) that goes on each consumers’ recycling bin, paired with an expansive app that tells them all they need to know about recycling policy, staying sustainable, and keeping their carbon footprint as low as possible.

Eesha Talasila ’23

VCircles is a contact tracing app made to fit the needs of high school students. It incorporates unique features to promote COVID-19 safety. 

Sofia DiCello ’23 & Sophia Azizuddin ’23

Apollo is a small tracking device that people with fast-paced lifestyles can use to keep track of their important items. Businesspeople can track their phones and wallets while they are traveling and parents can track baby monitors or their children's favorite stuffed animals. The overall goal is to limit some of the stress of everyday life which may be caused by losing something that throws off one's schedule. The devices would be compatible with an app that shows the exact locations of the items that are patched. Also, the intention is to make a home insert that would allow people to receive detailed locations of the items within their homes.

Christina Bencin ’23 & Emily Wilson ’23

QuickHelp is an app that takes a new approach in assisting those with suicidal actions and thoughts as it provides the comfort of a support system (people who love and support the user) and on top of that, also provides the user with a calendar to track their progress on defeating their self-harm behaviors and other bad habits.

Kaila Morris ’22 & Rhea Mahajan ’22

Nature of Kindness is a Cleveland-based nonprofit that aims to spread positivity through environmentally- friendly kindness packages.