Top student ideas win grand prizes in Mott Million Dollar Challenge

FLINT, Mich., June 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- A patch designed to make injections less painful for kids. An app-based solution to educate students about saving water. A wearable device that enables medical professionals to capture more details during diagnostics. These were among the top six winning ideas that took grand prizes of $25,000 each in the final stages of the Mott Million Dollar Challenge held in Flint on June 15 and 16. The national youth pitch competition had a prize pool totaling $1 million and engaged more than 5,300 young people across the country who competed as individuals or in teams of up to three.

Funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation as part of its centennial celebration, the Mott Million Dollar Challenge was administered by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship in collaboration with VentureLab, Young Entrepreneur Institute, the Afterschool Alliance, Collaborative Communications and the 50 State Afterschool Network.

"Watching these young people pitch their ideas with such confidence and passion was a powerful reminder of why we support entrepreneurship education," said Ridgway White, president and CEO of the Mott Foundation. "Every young person deserves the opportunity to build the skills and mindsets they need to shape their future."

Since its launch at the outset of the year, more than 5,300 K-12 students representing all 50 states and Washington, D.C., submitted over 3,700 pitch videos to the Challenge. Hundreds of volunteer judges reviewed the videos to select 1,500 ideas as winners in the first round. From those, they selected the top 60, and the creators behind those ideas competed in the semifinal and final rounds over the past two days.

The Challenge recognized top ideas across two categories — business ideas and social solutions — and three grade divisions. In addition to the grand prizes, the competition recognized 12 finalist ideas with $10,000 each and two People's Choice awards of $2,500 based on public voting.

The winning submissions reflect the breadth of ideas shared throughout the Challenge — from innovative products and technologies to solutions designed to strengthen schools, unite communities and solve everyday problems.

Grand Prize Winners

K-4 Business Challenge Winner: Sticky Pals w/ Magic Medicine — Kailyn Brown (Columbia, SC, grade 3). Fun animal-shaped patches with a special numbing medicine so injections can be given with less pain and stress for kids.

5-8 Business Challenge Winner: ReHappy — Siddharth Vikram (Carlisle, MA, grade 7). An app designed to guide kids through rehabilitation and physical therapy in an engaging, supportive way.

9-12 Business Challenge Winner: Aucura — Kayley Xu (San Diego, CA, grade 11). An innovative wearable device that enables medical professionals to capture more cardiac and pulmonary detail during auscultation than a traditional stethoscope.

K-4 Social Challenge Winner: KindLeaf Card Company — Siya Krishna (Parlin, NJ, grade 2). A greeting card containing a paper leaf or heart with embedded seeds, so the recipient can replant the shape and grow a beautiful plant.

5-8 Social Challenge Winner: Save Drop — Nithya Tammana (Monroe Township, NJ, grade 6). A nonprofit that educates students on saving water, paired with an app where students track their water savings and earn prizes.

9-12 Social Challenge Winner: Naturista — Aditya Herekar (Edison, NJ, grade 11) and Karan Verma (Frisco, TX, grade 11). A biodegradable, natural coffee pod for pod coffee makers that eliminates the plastic waste produced by traditional pods.

People's Choice Award Winners

Business Challenge People's Choice Award: Double D 4000 — Joshua Gagakuma (Grand Prairie, TX, grade 4) and Yahshua Gagakuma (Grand Prairie, TX, grade 3). A folder designed to help kids with ADHD using daily planners, color-coded trackers, a whiteboard and more to stay scheduled, calm and happy.

Social Challenge People's Choice Award: ProdigyPro — Aiden Azoy (Royal Palm Beach, FL, grade 11) and Anthony Tan (East Hypoluxo, FL, grade 11). An efficient AI-powered entrepreneurship support platform designed specifically to help young founders build and grow their ventures.

"The Mott Million Dollar Challenge has been so amazing, and I felt like it really changed the lives of every kid here," said Siddharth Vikram, whose idea, ReHappy, earned the grand prize in the 5–8 business category. "Just to get to a successful point, it's like climbing a staircase of failures and opportunities, and the prize of the Mott competition is a huge step."

The Mott Million Dollar Challenge reflects the broader goals of entrepreneurship education: encouraging young people to explore opportunities, think creatively and see themselves as leaders.

"What has been most inspiring throughout this Challenge is seeing young people recognize the value of their own ideas," said J.D. LaRock, NFTE president and CEO. "Whether they were selected as winners or not, thousands of participants developed skills, confidence and an entrepreneurial mindset that will serve them well into the future."

To learn more about the Challenge and explore the winning ideas, visit mottmillion.org.

Editor's Note: Additional event photos are available upon request.

Media Contact: Jen Peters
[email protected]

SOURCE Charles Stewart Mott Foundation