March 19, 2026
Area high school students brought their business visions to St. John’s University on March 16 when The Peter J. Tobin College of Business hosted a funding competition, Shark Tank-style, awarding a total of $5,000 to three winning teams of entrepreneurs.
Student-entrepreneurs from across New York City’s five boroughs and beyond competed in Tobin’s first-ever High School Pitch Competition, an effort to engage them in St. John’s entrepreneurial culture while helping them build connections with other young entrepreneurs and business leaders.
More than 30 teams and 60 students presented ideas ranging from beauty aids to health-care technology, recreation devices, wellness apps, and more. First-place winners— Juliana Paladino, Emily Scanlon, and Olivia Sullivan of Saint John Vianney High School in Holmdel, NJ—earned $2,500 to support SlickBrush. This hairbrush includes a mechanism in its handle for storing and dispensing grooming products, including hair gel. The pocket can be removed and cleaned as needed.
The SlickBrush team believes it is tapping into a fashion trend rooted in workplace realities, Olivia said. “A lot of people have jobs that require their hair to be set back—health-care workers, food-service employees, athletes,” Olivia said. “The slick-back look is not going away.”
Two rounds of competition took place. In the preliminary round, students delivered three-minute “elevator pitches” of their business plans to event attendees, who evaluated them for creativity, innovation, market potential, presentation quality, and team passion. The five highest-scoring teams advanced to the final round, where questions from St. John’s expert judges on topics such as financial projections, market analysis, and growth strategies followed.
Interestingly, each team was paired with a St. John’s business student mentor, who helped competitors refine their plans and pitches. Ishaan Vereddigari and Prawah Parthsarthy, both from suburban Philadelphia, PA, worked with St. John’s senior Cara Dunleavy, who has participated in several entrepreneurship competitions herself.
“It was great to collaborate with a mentor like Cara,” said Prawah, who, along with Ishaan, developed Guardian PT, an injury prevention and recovery tool for athletes and coaches. “We have learned how much fun it is to express our ideas, create something new, and share it with the world,” Prawah added.
The competition was open to any high school entrepreneur or team of high school students (maximum three) from anywhere in the country with a business idea and the eagerness to pitch it before a live audience. “Entrepreneurship begins with an idea and the confidence to pursue it,” said Jason P. Berkowitz, Ph.D., Associate Academic Dean, Tobin College of Business. “By welcoming high school students to campus to share their ideas, we celebrate their creativity and ambition, while introducing them to the vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem at St. John’s.”
Students came from near and far, including Brady Lowe and Henry Stiglitz, who traveled from Mt. Lebanon High School in Pittsburgh, PA, to pitch JumpSense, an artificial intelligence-powered coaching tool for track and field athletes, particularly long jumpers.
Brady and Henry took home the third-place prize of $1,000. “We noticed there was unequal access to coaching and training in track and field in needier school districts; this can help level the playing field,” Henry explained.
Maciek Nowak, Ph.D., Dean, and Joseph H. and Maria C. Schwartz Distinguished Chair at Tobin College, welcomed the visiting students with words of encouragement and a pitch of his own—for St. John’s entrepreneurial culture.
“I am so impressed by the work you have all put into your ideas,” Dean Nowak said. “Nothing is stopping you from achieving the things you want. What we have done well here at St. John’s is to bring together the entire University in an entrepreneurial environment.”
According to Dean Nowak, the high school competition is another example of St. John’s commitment to innovation and entrepreneurship. The University’s Venture & Innovation Center (VIC), which opened in January 2024, helps bring to life potentially transformative product ideas created by members of the St. John’s community, including alumni, faculty, current students, and external partners.
Through the VIC, students can participate in the yearlong Start-up Incubator Program and the Start-up Boot Camp, an eight-week summer program designed to transform student ideas into viable ventures. Students can also compete for start-up prizes at annual events, including Johnny’s Innovation Challenge and the James & Eileen Christmas Business Plan Competition.
The visiting students seemed genuinely impressed with St. John’s entrepreneurial culture.
“We heard about this from some of our teachers, who thought we would benefit from the experience,” said DJ Daszkowski, who, like the SlickBrush team, traveled the two-plus hours from Saint John Vianney.
DJ and teammates Lucas Cerria and Mateo Formica pitched Cornboardz, a combination boogie board and cornhole game ideal for family beach fun. The trio earned the second-place prize of $1,500.
The Cornboardz team has already received one patent and is expecting another soon. Screws that support the cornhole board can be removed for swimming and reattached for beach sand and backyard use.
“We combine both of these great beach products into one, so when you are finished riding the waves, you can pop open the board and enjoy a game of cornhole,” DJ added.