Brian Schutt: Competition seeds future entrepreneurs in our soil

Entrepreneurship is the single best way to broadly increase opportunity and abundance. Across Indiana, there’s perhaps no more important program in seeding future entrepreneurs in our soil than STARTedUP Foundation’s Innovate WithIN, dubbed the most elite high school pitch competition in the country.

First, in terms of public dynamism, everything is downstream of entrepreneurship. U.S. Department of Labor data shows conclusively that almost all net new jobs come from businesses 5 years old or younger. Further, corporations that employ the majority of Americans weren’t always huge; they were once a startup. Government and not-for-profits require tax money and charitable donations; those coffers are empty if not for those businesses and those employees. Without the growth caused by entrepreneurship, society simply becomes the management of a static or shrinking pie of resources.

The reason entrepreneurship matters so much is that new problems are always emerging. An essential principle in entrepreneurship is to see new problems as opportunities. STARTedUP was founded on this principle. Since its inception in 2018, almost 10,000 high school students have participated in Innovate WithIN, which was created in partnership with the Indiana Economic Development Corp.

These student entrepreneurs are led by some of Indiana’s top teachers, many of which participate in the Innovation Educator Fellowship.

Innovate WithIN combines these innovative teachers and aspiring students with top-tier proprietary curriculum, then pits the ideas against one another through local, regional and state competitions.

As a byproduct, thousands of business ideas have been formed, and an estimated 60 businesses have been started by these teen founders. And, between prize money and follow-on venture capital, over $650,000 has been directed toward these enterprises.

The 2024 crop of participants is the largest yet, with 2,890 applications. Beginning last fall, six regions across the state filtered the competition down to 10 finalist teams competing for $25,000 for first (plus $10,000 in 529 college funds per team member), $5,000 for second, and $2,500 for third place.

While finals are judged live, anyone can influence the winner through the “People’s Choice Award” where team pitches are given via video and voted on by the general public on the STARTedUP site.

All finalists receive a trip to Washington, D.C., where they will meet several entrepreneurs and CEOs, and have a special meeting with Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Castillo. This trip allows the students to continue building their networks, practice their pitch and see what insights they can take from that entrepreneurial ecosystem back to ours.

“The program is critical for Indiana’s future. While the state finals spotlights high-performing teams, the competition’s true power lies in empowering thousands of students to transform mindsets—from seeing problems as roadblocks to opportunities for innovation, collaboration, and creating entrepreneurial outcomes. This shift breeds a generation of problem-solvers essential for Indiana’s continued progress,” founder Don Wettrick said.

The success of the program is bringing in fans and support across the state from colleges and universities to community foundations. Beyond here, it has caught the eye of some auspicious admirers and collaborators, including Seth Godin, Richard Branson and 50 Cent.•

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Schutt is co-founder of Homesense Heating & Cooling and Refinery46 and an American Enterprise Institute civic renewal fellow. Send comments to ibjedit@ibj.com.

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