Top 20 announced in 2023 high school Utah Entrepreneur Challenge

The High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge (HSUEC) announced the top 20 teams, out of more than 150 applications, for 2022-23 today. They will advance to the final stage of this business-idea competition, which is open to all high school students across Utah, ages 14-18. They are competing for $30,000 in cash and scholarships. This program is managed by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah, and sponsored by Zions Bank.

Each high school team faced the challenge of identifying a problem and proposing a creative solution. The teams submitted a broad variety of ideas. See the list below for details and descriptions of the top 20 teams.

The public is invited to vote online for the best idea in the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge. Online voting will be open March 16-24. The winner of the public voting will be announced at the final event. Vote online here.

"We have many exceptional teams competing in the high school competition this year," said Eliasib Paredes, the student director of the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge. "All of the top 20 finalist teams should be proud. We had many great applications, and our judges had a difficult time deciding the teams that are advancing."

The top 20 teams will advance to the final round, where they will meet for the last judging round. A public showcase and awards ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 25, 2-4 p.m. at Lassonde Studios. Everyone is welcome to attend this event.

"The final event for the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge is a great opportunity to see some of the brightest and most promising youth entrepreneurs in the state," said Anne Bastien, program director at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute. "We look forward to hosting them at the University of Utah and seeing who wins. This is always one of our most exciting events of the year."

The High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge is the youth version of the collegiate Utah Entrepreneur Challenge, another annual competition, which concluded last month and awarded $70,000 in cash and prizes.

Learn more about the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge at lassonde.utah.edu/hsuec.

Here are the top 20 teams for the High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge for 2022-23. These teams advance to the final event. They are listed in alphabetical order:

The Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is a nationally ranked hub for student entrepreneurship and innovation at the University of Utah and an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business. The first programs were offered in 2001, through the vision and support of Pierre Lassonde, an alumnus of the Eccles School and successful mining entrepreneur. The institute now provides opportunities for thousands of students to learn about entrepreneurship and innovation. Programs include workshops, networking events, business-plan competitions, startup support, innovation programs, graduate seminars, scholarships, community outreach and more. All programs are open to students from any academic major or background. The Lassonde Institute also manages Lassonde Studios, a five-story innovation space and housing facility for all students. Learn more at lassonde.utah.edu.