Tennessee student advances to national finals of the Mott Million Dollar Challenge in Flint, Michigan

A bold idea from a local student is among just 60 semifinalist submissions selected from over 3,700 nationwide to pitch at the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, June 15-16 in downtown Flint.

FLINT, Mich., June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Maximilian Perkins from Franklin, Tennessee has been selected as a semifinalist in the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, a national pitch competition for K-12 students.

More than 5,300 young people from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. submitted over 3,700 business ideas and social solutions to the Challenge. From those entries, 1,500 submissions were selected in the first round. Now, the creators behind the top 60 ideas are advancing to compete at a live national event in Flint, Michigan next week.

Maximilian Perkins, a 7th-grade student at Poplar Grove Middle School, invented The Smart Pot after struggling to care for the family's plants while they were out of town. After discovering that some plants had been overwatered while others had dried out, Max realized that plant care needed to be smarter, not harder. The Smart Pot uses a simple hydraulic mechanism to deliver the right amount of water directly to plants, reducing waste and helping prevent overwatering and underwatering. Unlike expensive automatic watering systems that can malfunction, The Smart Pot is designed to be affordable, reliable, and easy to use. By helping plants receive the water they need while reducing unnecessary water use, Max's invention offers a smarter solution for plant owners of all experience levels.

"Plant care needed to be smarter, not harder," said Maximilian in the business pitch to the Mott Million Dollar Challenge.

As a semifinalist, the project will be awarded $5,000. Maximilian will pitch live in front of judges during the final competition June 15-16 in Flint.

Funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation as part of its centennial celebration, the Mott Million Dollar Challenge is administered by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in collaboration with VentureLab, Young Entrepreneur Institute (YEI), the Afterschool Alliance, Collaborative Communications and the 50 State Afterschool Network. The Challenge is designed to shine a light on entrepreneurship education as a meaningful way to help students build skills they need to navigate and shape the future.

Learn more about the Mott Million Dollar Challenge and explore semifinalist ideas at https://mottmillion.org/60-semifinalist-pitches/.

Contact:
Jen Peters
[email protected]

SOURCE Charles Stewart Mott Foundation