Youth Business Venture Challenge

On Saturday, September 28, 2025, the Berkeley Summit House co-hosted the Youth Business Ventures Competition (YBVC) in collaboration with the Silicon Valley Youth Entrepreneurship Program (SVYEP). This marks the first partnership between the two organizations, united by a shared mission to empower young innovators with the advice, networks, and confidence to pursue bold ideas. For Berkeley Summit House, co-hosting YBVC reflected its commitment to fostering innovation at an early stage. By partnering with SVYEP, the event amplified its impact, reaching over 290,000 high school students nationwide with the invitation to participate. This year’s competition drew 54 applications, each including a complete business plan and pitch video. After a rigorous review, the selection committee narrowed the pool to 15 finalist teams who advanced to the live pitch event at Stanford on Sep 28, 2025, judged by their business model, market opportunity, creativity & originality, scalability & growth potential, presentation quality, feasibility & risk, and finally social and industry impact. View the Vlog here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryTiR92ZpRg

SEP
28
Sunday, 9/28/2025 (PST)
11:00am - 5:00pm
View


The Judges

The final presentations were evaluated by a distinguished panel of judges:

  • Alan Du - General Partner at PayPal Ventures, specializing in investments in enterprise SaaS, cybersecurity and AI
  • Robert Parker – Former Microsoft, Amazon, and Samsung executive, now founder of Perceptix.AI.
  • Michael Preibisch – Tech lead at World (formerly Worldcoin), advising startups on scalable AI and infrastructure.
  • Hongxia Sun – Founder of Berkeley Summit House, dedicated to building global communities of innovation.
  • John Whaley – Founder of Inception Studio, serial entrepreneur in AI and cybersecurity, and lecturer at Stanford.
  • Tiffany Zhong – CEO of noplace, widely recognized as the “Gen Z Whisperer” and Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree.


The Winning Teams

Three ventures stood out among the finalists and took home the top awards:

  • First prize: SchoolAce (Aiden Shankar)– An AI-powered education platform offering personalized tutoring, intelligent grading, and teacher co-pilot tools, already piloted in schools.
  • Second prize: SafeLock (Vivian Zhang, Hannah Li, Pranav Swaminathan, Ryan Abraham) – A biometric gun-safety lock with fingerprint authentication and real-time app monitoring, designed to prevent unauthorized firearm use.
  • Third prize: PawScan (Aarush Channapragada, Aleeza Khan) – A veterinary software startup leveraging AI and CT scans for early cancer detection in pets, targeting thousands of U.S. hospitals.

The Youth Business Ventures Competition demonstrated the extraordinary creativity and drive of today’s youth. With a record reach of students across the country, dozens of strong applications, and inspiring final pitches, the event highlighted how collaboration between Berkeley Summit House and SVYEP can accelerate the entrepreneurial journeys of young leaders.

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