Top 25 FulPitch Bay Area Semifinalists: high school students start companies in sustainable & inclusive consumer products, community services, & more

FRIDAY, APRIL 23, 2021, BAY AREA, CALIFORNIA — This year, hundreds of students across the East Bay Area applied to compete in Fulphil’s 2021 FulPitch Challenge for the chance to win a few thousand dollars in cash and prizes. The FulPitch Challenge asks youth to come up with innovative and impactful solutions to solve near-and-dear challenges present in their local communities and the world.

Over two rounds of intensive screening, industry experts, educators, and also top former entrepreneurship students from competing schools evaluated student ventures on their impact, innovation, efficacy, and more.

“Competing in business competitions was an amazing learning experience that took me out of my comfortability and opened up doors and networks that I’ll forever be grateful for,” said Osase Edogun, a former student of Mount Eden High School and top finalist in 2019. “Transitioning from competing to now screening applicants is such a humbling experience and makes me so excited for our generation to build wealth, triumph over challenging obstacles, and make an impact on people’s lives.”

The challenge culminates in a virtual pitch competition on May 4th of 25 semi-finalists, representing the top 5 per each of our Fulphil schools in the East Bay Area of Northern California!

Students were asked to submit a business plan, pitch deck, and TikTok elevator pitch. All submissions are judged based on their business models, social impact, feasibility, storytelling, and originality.

“I’m a huge fan of Fulphil and I absolutely love the process our students went through preparing for the FulPitch Challenge,” said entrepreneurship instructor Vanita Lee-Tatum. “It was a rigorous development process from start to finish. The skills our students acquired building a comprehensive business plan and delivering a professional business pitch is immeasurable!”

Meet the semifinalists

The top 25 semifinalists include the following:

San Leandro High School

• Princess Protection (founded by Alexia Carranza, Christine J Belenson, Jacqueline F Barocio): A fashionable wristlet with self-defense devices to give women the power and ability to protect themselves when going out
• Unconnected Apparel (founded by Jorge Trujillo) upcycling textiles to make an environmental impact
• Skraps (founded by Izba Haq, Michelle Lew, Rosa Dhamar): a company that sells high-quality eco-friendly products to reduce their carbon/methane footprint through upcycled and budget-friendly household items, clothing, and furniture
• The Culture (founded by Maya Ashrobi, Gods Will Uyong, Chinonso Elendu): African jewelry to reconnect African Americans to their cultural roots that go back centuries ago
• Power Plant (Trang Back, Mikhayla Zhey Ramos): Special bioengineered plants that act as an affordable source of light

Hayward High School

• Trash To Treasure (founded by Noah Monterroza-Sanchez & Esteban Cordova): A service transforming unwanted or broken materials into fashionable, wanted accessories and jewelry for all people
• Happy Curls (founded by Lexxi Romero-Williams): Healthy hair products to build confidence in young women to be comfortable in their own body
• Remi’s Arrangements (founded by Remi Stickmon): A service providing affordable fruit arrangements
• Woof Mix (founded by Jaqueline Vara Alba): A sustainable and nutritious dog treat company
• CuVion (founded by Rashel Osuna): Customizable PCs that look and run the way you want them to

Tennyson High School

• Las Plantas (founded by Andrea Magdaleno): A service that sells flowers to support other small businesses, charities, holidays, birthdays
• Skin Care Products (founded by Tatianna Cisneros): Skincare products that are clinically proven to help people who struggle with acne
• EntreUs (founded by Ilce Perez): Giving opportunities to students, school staff, and young entrepreneurs to sell or buy handmade products in a safe environment where sellers and buyers can be authenticated
• Olguin’s Auto Body Repair & Detail (founded by Brian Olguin Perez): A fast and efficient automobile repair and detail upgrading service
• JJ Scents (founded by Jonathan Alvarez): Self-care consumer products (candles, home scents, and perfumes) made for everyone and packaged sustainably

Arroyo High School

• Bobassential (founded by Ashley Bernados): Eco-friendly and customizable boba bags and straws to help embrace Asian culture and give exposure to Asian businesses
• Ruiz’s Helping Hands (founded by Arcelia Ruiz): A service to assist and provide extra care to our elderly when others are not able to attend to them
• Iron Front (founded by Cruz Garcia): a music group with an innovative approach to metal rock music
• Miggybar1Cutz (founded by Miguel Punzel & Carl Celedonia): a barbershop service to keep everyone fresh and clean
• Sweet Dreams Baked Goods (founded by Erika Ramirez): a delivery service for ordering pastries straight to your door from bakeries

Mount Eden High School

• The Community of Peace & Love (founded by Ruchita Verma): A platform for combatting stigma around mental health for adolescents
• Game On (founded by Bryce Jiminez): A platform connecting people, friends, and families across communities through gaming
• Sole Protect (founded by Sebastian Velazquez): An extra layer for the bottom of your shoe so your sol never gets dirty
• AK Designs (founded by Arianna Kahlik): A custom shoe company where the customer makes the design to bring their imagination to life
• Alyssa’s Aesthetic’s (founded by Alyssa Masis): An affordable lipgloss that focuses on giving a voice to the blind community

On May 4th the following 25 companies will be competing for the chance to win the Eden Area Innovation Award and our Que Phillips Social Impact Award. In our final round, semifinalists will pitch their startups for 5 minutes to a panel of industry expert judges and answer 3 minutes of Q&A.

“ When I competed a few years ago, I had the opportunity to my business idea to the Mayor Barbara Halliday of my city which is something that I never thought would happen,” says Edogun. “She loved my idea and mentioned we needed this in our community! Opportunities like that aren’t something that you encounter every day and I can’t wait to see what the future holds beyond this competition for our next generation and the greatness that will come out of them!”

Students from all schools also had the chance to compete in our TikTok elevator pitch competition, whose results will be released at our closing ceremony in 2 weeks.

The FulPitch Challenge is made possible through the generous support of the Eden Area Regional Occupation Program, Kathrina Miranda, Quency Phillips and other members of the Fulphil board, and most importantly, our dedicated teachers, including Rick Charles, Zennaita Bradford, Christina Charlton, Laura Jagroop, and Vanita Lee-Tatum

About Fulphil

Fulphil is a 501(c)3 that empowers high school students to make an impact on their communities by teaching social entrepreneurship. Learn more at fulphil.org

Find more, subscribe to our newsletter at fulphil.org or follow our announcements on LinkedIn and Instagram and #fulphil

For any further inquiries, reach out to our team at hello@ful-phil.org