Schools may be closed but that didn’t stop NFTE students from refining their business plans and pitches. Three businesses made it to the final round of competition in the 2020 Los Angeles Metro Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. Here are the results:

  • Mariela Cruz, a student at Nightingale Middle School in LA, took first place with her pitch for Sole, a shoe that can grow five sizes.
  • YingJun Tan, a student at Nightingale Middle School in LA, took second place with her pitch for Pedura, which provides children with a comfortable backpack and chair, opening the door to a better educational experience.
  • Ellie Gottlieb, a student at Ivy Academia in LA, finished in third place with her pitch for Reviva, a monthly subscription box service that provides vegan toiletries.

Mariela Cruz and YingJun Tan, the top two finishers, have qualified to compete in Nationals this year. They advance to the quarterfinal rounds in the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge this October.

They’ll be joined by two other winning entrepreneurs from West Region who have also qualified for Nationals:

  • Jalen Griffin, a student at Paramount High School in Paramount, CA will be pitching his business, ENTRPRNR, an app formatted as an online teaching platform that provides the most up-to-date information about how to become an entrepreneur.
  • Jacqueline Samalieno, a student at Capital High School in Santa Fe, NM will be pitching her business, Earthings, a gender-neutral clothing line that uses renewable resources.