Photos: Jacqueline Dunlap
A new competition united young innovators at Minnetonka High School.
On October 24, students from The Blake School, Minnetonka High School and Wayzata High School gathered together for the inaugural YouthTankMN, an entrepreneurship competition wherein five teams competed for $800 in prizes. “Our first-place team, RootIQ, received $500 and earned a spot in the Minnesota Cup Youth Division semifinals, giving its members the opportunity to continue developing and presenting their venture at a statewide level,” Olivia Duplessis says.
Duplessis, an Edina resident and a senior at The Blake School, co-organized the event alongside fellow seniors Grace Jayaraman from Minnetonka High School and Michael Vaynberga from Wayzata High School. “The event grew out of the entrepreneurial communities already established at our schools, including Minnetonka’s Shark Tank Club, which was co-founded last year and has grown to 95 members, and The Blake School’s Women in Business club, which has received over 100 student sign-ups,” she says.
What made the first YouthTankMN meaningful to Duplessis was the collaboration between schools and student leaders. We spoke with her to learn more about the event.
RootIQ was the winning team of the inaugural YouthTankMN competition. RootIQ proposes using compact, weatherproof sensors connected to an app on which farmers could monitor crop conditions in real time.
Where did the idea for YouthTankMN originate? The idea behind YouthTankMN came from our shared interest in making entrepreneurship more accessible to high school students and creating opportunities that extended beyond individual school communities.
As one of the leaders of Women in Business at Blake, I’ve helped organize events connecting students with business leaders and entrepreneurs. Through those experiences, I’ve seen how valuable it can be for students to engage with professionals, ask questions and begin thinking seriously about their own ideas.
Working with Grace and Michael, we wanted to build on that foundation by creating a competition where students from different schools could come together, pitch original ventures, receive feedback from experienced professionals and potentially take their businesses to the next level. Bringing the event to life required extensive collaboration. Together, we coordinated participating schools, recruited teams, connected with judges, organized the competition structure, managed event logistics and worked to create a meaningful experience for everyone involved. Our student executive teams were also instrumental in promoting the event, preparing participants and ensuring everything ran smoothly on competition day.
One of the things I’m most proud of is how student-driven the entire process was. We weren’t simply participating in an existing opportunity; we were working together to create one for other students.
Who were the judges, and how were they selected? Our judging panel included Jessica Lambrecht, [marketing manager at Bailiwick]; Kailin Oliver, [director of the Minnesota Cup]; and Jim Wall, [senior principal and client partner at Slalom], who generously volunteered their time and expertise to evaluate the student ventures. We wanted judges who could provide thoughtful, constructive feedback and challenge students to think critically about their business models, growth strategies and long-term potential.
The goal was to make the experience as valuable as possible for every participant, regardless of where they placed. Having the opportunity to pitch directly to professionals and receive real-world feedback was one of the most important aspects of the competition.
We were also fortunate to partner with the Minnesota Cup, which provided an exciting opportunity for the winning team to advance to its Youth Division semifinals.
Five teams comprised of students from The Blake School, Minnetonka High School and Wayzata High School participated in the first YouthTankMN.
What aspect of the event were you looking forward to most? Before the event, I was most excited to see students from different schools come together around a shared interest in entrepreneurship. So much of what we do as high school students happens within our own school communities, and I think there’s tremendous value in creating opportunities that connect students across those boundaries. Seeing everything come together on Saturday was incredibly rewarding. After weeks of planning, coordinating with our executive teams, communicating with participants and preparing for the competition, it was exciting to watch students confidently present their ideas and engage directly with our judges.
Five teams competed for $800 in total prizes, with $500 awarded to first place, $200 to second and $100 to third. A huge congratulations to RootIQ for taking first place and securing a spot in the Minnesota Cup Youth Division semifinals! Their achievement was an exciting example of what YouthTankMN was designed to accomplish: helping students take their entrepreneurial ideas beyond the classroom and connect with opportunities to pursue them further.
What stood out to me most was the level of creativity, preparation and ambition demonstrated by the participants. Every team brought something different to the competition, and I hope they left feeling encouraged to continue developing their ideas. I also think the event demonstrated what’s possible when students from different schools work together toward a common goal. Grace, Michael, I and our executive teams put a tremendous amount of time and effort into making YouthTankMN happen, and seeing students benefit from something we built together made that work worthwhile.
Ultimately, I hope YouthTankMN continues to grow into an annual opportunity that connects young entrepreneurs across the Twin Cities, encourages collaboration between schools and gives students the confidence and resources to pursue their ideas.
