BUILD.org declared the winning high school team, Choice 1 Landz from Roosevelt S.T.A.Y. Academy, the first-place winner of the 2023 BUILDFest Metro D.C. Youth Pitch Challenge. The final round of the Challenge, designed to empower young entrepreneurs with real-life experiences, skills, and an entrepreneurial mindset, saw 7 talented high school students pitch their innovative business ideas to a panel of three VIP judges at BUILDFest Metro D.C. on June 15th. The judges were: Dora Gougoufkas, Capital One; Reginald Exum, Citi and Peter Cline, The Rock Creek Group.
The three Finalist teams who participated in the competition were: Choice 1 Landz from Roosevelt S.T.A.Y. Opportunity Academy ; DAliiaccessories from Theodore Roosevelt High School and Team MAGS from Theodore Roosevelt High School.
All teams pitched their businesses live on June 15th, after which the VIP judges announced that Choice 1 Landz captured the title of 2023 BUILDFest Metro D.C. Youth Pitch Challenge Champion. Choice 1 Landz is a landscaping business that aims at giving second chances to at-risk youth while beautifying the community.
” There’s no greater vantage point to see students come alive and the full, transformative power of what we do than BUILDFest. It truly is the best of BUILD”, said Karleton Thomas, BUILD Metro D.C. Regional Executive Director.
The BUILDFest Metro D.C. Youth Pitch Challenge is a platform for young entrepreneurs from schools and community-based organizations to compete in BUILD’s Design Challenge where they create entrepreneurial solutions to everyday challenges for people in their communities. Highlighting BUILD’s mission to arm youth with real world skills, the competition aims to foster innovation, entrepreneurship, and leadership skills in high school students, paving the way for a more prosperous future. The competition was open to our 250 plus students, after which the top three teams competed at BUILDFest event sponsor, EY’s offices for cash prizes.
As the winner of the competition, Choice 1 Landz received a cash prize of $1,500, in 2nd place was DAliiaccessories winning $1,000, and the 3rd place winner was Team MAGS winning $750. Some awards were also given and are listed below:
- Community Partner Spark Award – EY
- Community Advocate Spark Award – Julie Tibbets, Goodwin
- Teacher of The Year – Carleather Ponder, Theodore Roosevelt High School
- Outstanding Board Leadership – Dora Gougoufkas, Capital One
For more information about BUILDFest Metro D.C. 2023 Youth Pitch Challenge, please visit https://build.org/dc/buildfest2023/.
