In the News

Entrepreneurship thrives on ideas, innovation, problem-solving and, sometimes, getting the right ideas in front of the right people.

A team of student entrepreneurs from Naperville, IL, striving to make traveling easier, was among the finalists in a national competition.

A team of Naperville-area teen entrepreneurs who created a business designed to make travel smoother will compete this coming week as one of five national finalists in the INCubatoredu National Pitch competition in Chicago.

One of Mundelein High School's Incubatoredu program startups, "Safe Sip," recently moved on as a finalist in the INCubatoredu National competition. Safe Sip, a drink-spiking detection product, is one of the top five Incubator startups in the country competing for this national honor. The Safe Sip startup was created by five senior girls at Mundelein High School. 

Rounding out its fifth year at Vandegrift, the Entrepreneurship/INCubatoredu program has grown to become one of the most popular course requests among students. Taught by teachers Erin Mathis and Erin Lucas, the course allows students to spearhead the creation of their own unique businesses, whilst incorporating vital knowledge of business management and marketing research. 

How do high school students start their own businesses? This question echoes inside the minds of many budding teenage entrepreneurs with ambitious dreams and diligent spirits. Age, limited resources and other restrictions pose challenges to high schoolers. Despite these obstacles, seniors Rohan Gorti, Arin Jain and Zubin Khera did just that in their junior year. 

When Amaan Rumi’s business incubator team at Westlake High School came up with the idea to create an app that helps people manage medications and keeps track of things like conflicting drugs and patient allergies, he thought of his grandmother. 

The Lakota West team – MatchedUp - is among five high school groups nationwide invited to travel to Chicago later this month to compete in the “INCubatoredu National Pitch” for thousands of dollars in start-up funding.