Diamond Challenge Stories

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Alumnus Michael Wiciak Develops Eros Aerial

Ever since he was a kid, Michael Wiciak had always loved flying drones. However, when he realized how limited and expensive the drones he purchased were, he set out on a mission to create his own. Check out SAB Sophia Oh’s article on Michael’s amazing venture here!

SAB Story: SustainABLE Start – Distributing Care Packages to NYC’s Homeless

Here at the Diamond Challenge, we are always looking for inspiring stories of how teen entrepreneurs everywhere are changing the world for the better. Chloe Trujillo, one of our Social Innovation track semifinalists, has been hard at work managing her nonprofit with fellow teammates to build and distribute care packages to New York City’s homeless population. Check out SAB Sophia Oh’s article on Chloe’s amazing organization here!

SAB Story: Why Join Diamond Challenge?

In this stirring article, SAB member Toluwalase Oseni provides some great insight into what makes the Diamond Challenge a unique entrepreneurship competition, and the numerous advantages and resources that it provides for high-schoolers everywhere. Check out his article here to truly understand the answer to the big question: Why join Diamond Challenge?

SAB Story: Do I Need a Team, and Why?

As you prepare for your Diamond Challenge submission, you may be wondering why we require all participants to form teams. Check out this article by SAB member Sophia Oh to see what the benefits of working on a team are!

In Hindsight: The World Shaping Diamonds

This holiday season, our team has been highlighting our amazing student community and sharing stories of how they’re changing the world. But with the unprecedented twists and turns that 2020 has brought to us all, it's become clear that these experiences have also...

SAB Story: Financing Your Venture

Are you struggling with finding ways to finance your business or social venture? If so, you’re not alone. Though it may be challenging for high school entrepreneurs, SAB member Sophia Oh has some awesome tips on how to make your ideas a reality. Check out her article here!

Diamonds Change the World

________________________________________________________________________________________ This holiday season, our team is highlighting our amazing student community and sharing stories of how they’re changing the world. Diamond Challenge alums, partners and supporters...

Meet Jottle: A Platform for Enhanced Note-taking

With rates of online and hybrid schooling increasing worldwide, many students face accelerated challenges learning in a virtual environment. Student Advisory Board Member Sophia Oh introduces us to Jottle, a website-based platform that aids students in taking easy, interactive, and memorable notes.

2021 Topical Prize Awards

The Diamond Challenge Team is honored to present this year’s topical prize awards. Established in 2019, topical prize awards recognize Diamond Challenge semifinalist teams that have shown significant promise and excellence in a particular field of entrepreneurial capacity. All topical prize awards are sponsored by innovative companies investing in the next generation.

Diamond Challenge is Ground Zero for Empowered Entrepreneurs

If you are an aspiring entrepreneur, when was the first time you knew business or entrepreneurship was for you? For thousands of students around the world, Diamond Challenge serves as “ground zero” for their entrepreneurship journey. Check out SAB member Ashley Lin’s inspiring article on how the Diamond Challenge is empowering entrepreneurs everywhere!

SAB Story: Opening the Doors to Virtual Space – A Tour of Virtual Reality

Whether it’s sitting in a classroom, going cliff-jumping, or playing on a minecraft server, virtual reality can emulate it all. In a computer-generated, three dimensional experience, users of virtual reality take an immersive journey away from the real-world. The endless possibilities manifest into different areas through entrepreneurship. Let’s explore these applications by taking a trip through virtual space!

Tackling COVID with 0-Gap Mask Founders

Entrepreneurs constantly identify problems experienced in the world around them, and in the wake of COVID-19, 2019 award winner Sarah Lee realized the Diamond Challenge community was leveraging the current environment to solve some of the world’s most pressing problems. Inspired by 2020 semifinalist teams focusing on filtration, Team RespirO2 Mask reignited their passion to tackle the problem of facial fit.

A clear vision of a brilliant future: 2020 Virtual Summit

University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship’s 2020 Diamond Challenge this year conquered its own big challenge: pivoting from a three-day campus program to two weeks of creative and expanded virtual sessions. The accompanying virtual Summit, a professional development and networking event, involved 73 semifinalist teams from 30 countries and 18 states.

Topical Prize Feature: The Gore Innovation Excellence Award

By: Grace Zhang | February 6, 2020 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Started as a concept in 2019, Topical Prize Awards recognize Diamond Challenge semifinalist teams that have...

Exploring New Territories: (Virtual) Summit 2020

At times like these, we find ourselves traversing new territory. When we realized that the writing was proverbially on the wall regarding our ability to host the 2020 Diamond Challenge Summit on the University of Delaware campus, our team never once questioned whether...

How Technology is Changing Marketing

Technology is rapidly changing just about every industry in the global economy. Since marketing is the string that connects each and every one of those industries, you can safely bet that technology will change marketing to the same, if not greater, extent.

Why Upcoming Entrepreneurs Should Learn to Code

You’ve heard it before and you’re about to hear it again: everybody should know how to code! Whether you’re working in agriculture, zoology, or anything in between, you need to know how to work with technology. As more software pops up across industries, that means knowing how to code!

Meet Vedavyas Jampanaboyana, An Entrepreneur Connecting Students Around The Globe!

Many young entrepreneurs have a lot of big ideas, but struggle to find the right guidance to make them a reality. Once entrepreneur Vedavyas Jampanaboyana observed this prevalent problem within the youth, he knew he had to do something to help. Along with his co-founder Reuben Reeves, they created the Global Innovation and Youth Leaders Summit (GIYLS), a non-profit platform dedicated to creating opportunities and connecting youth around the globe to solve real world issues. Check out his feature here!

An International Student Climbing The Diamond Challenge Ladder

In terms of the Diamond Challenge, Levan Jaliashvili has done it all: from competitor to online judge to team advisor, he has truly expanded his horizons as an entrepreneur. But how did he first hear about our competition? And where did his passion for entrepreneurship first originate? Check out this Diamond Challenge feature by our Student Advisory Board member Ashley Lin to find out!

3 Ways the Diamond Challenge Can Transform Your Life

The Diamond Challenge is more than just the world’s top-rated entrepreneurship competition for high school students. It is a life-long community for any teen from any location with any idea. We want to support your ideas so you can make an impact on the world. If you’re still on the fence about competing, here are the top reasons why you should submit your idea.

Diamond Challenge Top 20 Highlight: AloeAid

Burns are a common injury that can be quite painful, as well as expensive to treat. Co-founders Akshaj Jois and Siddhant Bhat immediately saw the need for a product that proved economically accessible while also serving as medical treatment. After combining their skills and inspirations, the idea for AloeAid, a novel bandage for burn victims, was born.

Diamond Challenge Top 20 Feature: Privasee

A simple action such as clicking on a website can extract so much data from one’s personal database, not to mention the constant surveillance and tracking patterns that feed into their databases. Privasee was developed specifically to combat these insecurities, with its design as a web-browser extension that provides features such as: privacy grades to help assess how private your information is on a certain website, tracker blocking, in-site data protection, and ad-blocking. The team entered Diamond Challenge 2019 with their noteworthy concept, ultimately finishing in the top 20 placing teams.

Diamond Challenge Feature: Sarah Lee

For many students, the summer signals a time of relaxation and growth where they have the chance to engage in a variety of educational opportunities to prepare them for upcoming school year. However, not all individuals have the means to participate in an enriching summer experience and can be burdened with a huge disadvantage compared to their peers. Sarah Lee, a former Diamond Challenge participant and Student Advisory Board member, is seeking to combat this inequality in her home country of South Korea through her non-profit, student-led high school organization “Bridge Publisher”. Read on to find out more about this amazing venture!

Diamond Challenge Feature: Meet the Diamond Challenge Coordinators!

The Diamond Challenge is the world’s largest entrepreneurship competition for high-schoolers that is an international feat of planning and organization. But have you ever wondered who is working tirelessly behind the scenes to make the Diamond Challenge a reality? Read on to find out!

10 Things You Probably Didn’t Know About The Diamond Challenge

The Diamond Challenge has always been a catalyst that propels high school entrepreneurs to the next level through transformative feedback, meaningful connections and resources. Check out these 10 facts that you might not have known about the world’s top-rated global entrepreneurship competition for high school students!

Diamond Challenge Highlight: Gen2Gen

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2019 finalist team, Gen2Gen. Learn about their business concept and how their experience with Diamond Challenge helped reaffirm their goals.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: SOBROS

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2019 finalist team, SOBROS. Learn about their business concept and how their experience with Diamond Challenge helped reaffirm their goals.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: The Oil Magnet

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2019 finalist team, The Oil Magnet. Learn about their business concept and how their experience with Diamond Challenge helped reaffirm their goals.

Diamond Challenge 2019 Finalist Pitches

Although the Diamond Challenge Summit took place nearly two months ago, we love reliving the special moments. We are pleased to share the Diamond Challenge 2019 finalist pitches with you.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: Natrion

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2019 finalist team, Natrion. Learn about their business concept and how their experience with Diamond Challenge helped reaffirm their goals.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: Optiglass

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2019 finalist team, Optiglass. Learn about their business concept and how their experience with Diamond Challenge helped reaffirm their goals.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: MatchMeds

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2019 finalist team, MatchMeds. Learn about their business concept and how their experience with Diamond Challenge helped reaffirm their goals.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: BACVision

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2019 finalist team, BACVision. Learn about their business concept and how their experience with Diamond Challenge helped reaffirm their goals.

From Diamond Challenge to Venture for America

We caught up with Devon O’Dwyer, Diamond Challenge 2014 alumna and Georgetown graduate! Learn more about her post-graduation plans and how Diamond Challenge helped prepare her for a successful career.

Diamond Challenge 2019 Finalists Announced

The fifth annual Diamond Challenge 2019 Summit took place last weekend at University of Delaware’s Clayton Hall Conference Center. After months of hard work, seven finalists took to the stage to showcase their world-changing ideas.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: Tara Balu

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2018 semifinalist, Tara Balu, to hear about her latest venture, current successes, and how the Diamond Challenge has prepared her for the future.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: Raylin Xu

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2014 winner, Raylin Xu, to hear about her latest venture, current successes, and how the Diamond Challenge has prepared her for the future.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: Noel McDonald

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2018 finalist, Noel McDonald, to hear about his latest venture, current successes, and how the Diamond Challenge has prepared him for the future.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: Ishan Kasat

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2018 winner, Ishan Kasat, to hear about his latest venture, current successes, and how the Diamond Challenge has prepared him for the future.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: Nicole Birkner

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2016 finalist, Nicole Birkner, to hear about her latest venture, current successes, and how the Diamond Challenge has prepared her for the future.

Diamond Challenge Pakistan Winners: 2016

Our partners in Diamond Challenge Pakistan hosted their preliminary rounds at the Girls High School “Hala” in February. Nine teams from 9th and 10th grades competed.

Diamond Challenge Q&A #5

Join the Diamond Challenge Team for our FINAL Diamond Challenge Q&A session of the season. We will answer your most pressing questions regarding the 2019 competition.

The Power of Experiencing Entrepreneurship in High School

Join us for our latest webinar with Laurie Stach, entrepreneurship educator, founder and maker. Laurie presently serves as the Founder and Executive Director of LaunchX. In this session, we will explore the power of entrepreneurship education, how she got her start, and how you can take action to transform your life through entrepreneurship.

Top 4 Reasons to Compete: Diamond Challenge 2019

The Diamond Challenge is more than just the world’s largest entrepreneurship competition for high school students. It is a life-long community for any teen from any location with any idea. We want to support your ideas so you can make an impact on the world. If you’re still on the fence about competing, here are the top 4 reasons why you should go out there and submit your idea.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: Alberto Casas

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2018 semifinalist, Alberto Casas, to hear about his latest venture, current successes, and how the Diamond Challenge has prepared him for the future.

Diamond Challenge Highlight: Shobha Dasari

We caught up with Diamond Challenge 2018 semifinalist, Shobha Dasari, to hear about her latest venture, current successes, and how the Diamond Challenge has prepared her for the future.

Diamond Challenge 2019 Q&A #4

Join the Diamond Challenge Team in our second to last Diamond Challenge Q&A of 2018! Let us know how we can help you as we near the Diamond Challenge 2019 submission deadline.

Diamond Challenge 2019 Q&A #3

Join the Diamond Challenge Team and the Diamond Challenge Student Advisory Board for our latest Diamond Challenge question and answer session.

Diamond Challenge 2019 Q&A #2

Join the Diamond Challenge Team, including the Student Advisory Board, for the second installment of our Diamond Challenge question and answer session! We broadcast live and respond to any and all pertinent Diamond Challenge inquiries.

Co-founder dynamics, becoming a teen CEO and balancing passions and responsibilities

Meet an amazing past Diamond Challenge participant and teen entrepreneur in the robotics and computer science spaces, Adithya Kumar, in our latest Diamond Challenge webinar. In this webinar, we will explore co-founder dynamics, becoming a teen CEO, how to balance passions and responsibilities while immersed in the startup world, and more!

Diamond Challenge Winner Shreyas Parab’s Entrepreneurial Journey

Meet the incredible Shreyas Parab! Shreyas is a past Diamond Challenge winner, teen entrepreneur extraordinaire, and is now studying at the prestigious Stanford University in California. Learn about his entrepreneurial journey in our latest Diamond Challenge webinar!

Making a Global Mark Through Social Entrepreneurship

Meet the incredible Antonio Fowl Stark, a young entrepreneur who continues to make a global mark by serving as the Director of International Operations at YSI, engaging with people and cultures all around the world, and more. During this live webinar, learn how to assess your business model, set a short and long-term strategy, identify the pros and cons of being a student entrepreneur, and learn about how to be profitable while still sustaining an impact through social entrepreneurship!

Diamond Challenge 2019 Q&A #1

Join the Diamond Challenge Team for the first ever monthly installment of our Diamond Challenge question and answer session! We are broadcasting live and responding to any and all of your pertinent Diamond Challenge inquiries.

The Journey of PromElle, 2017 Winners Nishka and Riya

Meet Diamond Challenge 2017 winners, Nishka Ayyar and Riya Gupta, as they re-count how they got to where they are today, and showcase how they’re taking the clothe-swapping industry by storm through their startup, PromElle!

Bringing an Idea To Life Through Tactfulness, Tech and Strategy

Tune in to our Diamond Challenge webinar with Ali Mannan! Ali works at the cross roads of business and technology. For the past two years, Ali has been working on the SpaceX Hyperloop pod design competition where he and his team presented their work to SpaceX and Tesla engineers.

Supporting Refugees through Social Impact

You will get the opportunity to meet Harshika Jha, a 16 year-old high school student and founder from Plano,TX who is dedicated to serving the refugee community. Learn about her entrepreneurial journey as a student, what challenges she faced, and how aspects of her academic journey led her to start her own nonprofit.

Cultivating Ideas to Produce Greater Social Impact

Meet Diamond Challenge Student Ambassadors Mir Olatunji and Sierra RyanWallick in our latest Diamond Challenge Webinar. Learn how to develop a sustainable social impact model, and get a sneak peek at the workshops they will be hosting at this year’s Youth Entrepreneurship Summit!

2018 Diamond Challenge Winners Announced

On Friday, April 7th, the winners of this year’s Diamond Challenge were announced at the Youth Entrepreneurship Summit (YES!) held in Clayton Hall. The competition was also broadcast live thanks to Capital One.

The League CEO To Speak At The Summit

Amanda Bradford will serve as one of this year’s keynote speakers during the Diamond Challenge Youth Entrepreneurship Summit (The Summit) on April 13, 2018 in the University of Delaware’s Clayton Hall. “I’m excited to empower young rock stars,” said Bradford.

5 Reasons To Attend The Summit

The big ol’ Summit is coming up! The Summit, brought to you by the amazing people who run the Diamond Challenge, is totally focused on youth and entrepreneurship and providing a unique and life changing experience to any aspiring high school entrepreneur.

5 More Reasons To Attend The Summit

The Summit provides a three day conference experience that focuses on youth entrepreneurs from around the world. High school students in attendance will be able to meet competitors from across the world and grow with other likeminded, motivated youth.

ScholarCHIPS Founder To Keynote Summit

Founder and Executive Director of ScholarCHIPS, Yasmine Arrington will serve as one of the keynote speakers at this year’s Diamond Challenge Youth Entrepreneurship Summit (the Summit) on April 12 at the University of Delaware’s Clayton Hall.

Workshops Offered For Teen Entrepreneurs

A series of workshops will be offered for high school entrepreneurs at this year’s Diamond Challenge Youth Entrepreneurship Summit (the Summit), which will take places between April 11 and 13 at the University of Delaware’s Clayton Hall.

Made By You Market Coming To Summit

The University of Delaware youth entrepreneurship summit provides a unique three day conference experience for high school students interested in entrepreneurship. The conference has been ranked as a must-attend event for young entrepreneurs.

Diamond Challenge Semifinalists Announced

Fifty teams from across the globe have been accepted into the semi final round of the Diamond Challenge. Created in 2012 by University of Delaware Horn Entrepreneurship and sponsored by Capital One, the Diamond Challenge is a global entrepreneurship competition for high school students.

How to Land Your Dream School

We chatted with Diamond Challenge winner and Stanford University student, Nicole Birkner, to learn about how to land your dream school!

Diamond Challenge 2018 Q&A

Do you still have Diamond Challenge 2018 questions? Program leads Julie and Rachel are here to answer any questions you may have.

How to Start and Scale an Idea

Meet multi-million dollar sock king, Brennan Agranoff, and Shark-Tank extraordinaire, Ben Stern, as they share their expertise on how to start and scale a brilliant idea!

A New Opportunity

My junior year, my team had planned to pitch our business, Voluntu, live in front of Diamond Challenge Judges. But we got a little hiccup. It turned out, the site no longer hosted live pitches for the Social Venture track and we had to submit our pitch virtually,

My Diamond Challenge Story

I signed up for the Diamond Challenge with a friend during my sophomore year of high school. Going in, I had some business experience through DECA, but I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Diamond Challenge Winners Announced

On Friday, April 7th, the winners of this year’s Diamond Challenge were announced at the Youth Entrepreneurship Summit (YES!) held in Clayton Hall. The competition was also broadcast live thanks to Capital One.

Why You Can’t Say No to YES!

The Inspiration. We are hosting two incredible keynote speakers, Haile Thomas and Justin Lafazan. Thomas, 16, is a Jamaican-American youth health activist, motivational speaker, teen vegan chef and the youngest certified health coach.

Virtual Track Semifinalist Teams Announced!

We are excited to announce the semifinalist teams for this year’s Business Concept and Social Venture Virtual Tracks! These teams are invited travel to the University of Delaware to pitch in this year’s semifinal round on April 6.

4 Insanely Cool Entrepreneurs Under 18

We love a good success story. In celebration of young entrepreneurs, we’ve regularly shared incredible startup stories on Facebook and Instagram. Here’s a roundup of four of the most impressive people in business.

Meet the 2017 Student Ambassadors!

17 students from all over the world join this year’s lineup The Diamond Challenge team is excited to introduce the 2017 Diamond Challenge Student Ambassador team!

Registration for DC 2017 Open

Registration is open for the 2017 Diamond Challenge! “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”-Wayne Gretzky, NHL Hall of Famer is right. Now’s your chance to take your shot! Dream big. Work hard. Have fun.

Diamond Challenge Moldova: 2016 Winners!

The winners of Diamond Challenge Moldova have been selected! Congratulations to Healthy Spray, ARTA Gallery, and Inside Math for taking the top three spots in last month’s round of judging. Inside Math, a team comprised of three students, won third place. They pitched...

Diamond Challenge in Georgia: A 2016 Success

This year, 39 students making up 12 teams took part in the preliminary rounds of Diamond Challenge Georgia 2016! Congratulations to the business concept team, Tushurai, who has been selected to move on and pitch at the semi-final round of the Business Concept...

The Moment You’ve Been Waiting for: Social Venture Finalists

Diamond Challenge is thrilled to announce our Social Venture Finalists! From February 17-24, we held public voting to see who you all thought was most worthy of taking their concept to the next step. The votes were combined with the team's written concept and video...

Submission Guidelines for 2016 Teams

The best preliminary round business concept submissions will tell a compelling story that provides a number of key components that are highlighted through the Ideas to Action and Venturing for Good  curriculum videos. Below you will find a list of the components to...

Example Project Timeline-5 Week Schedule

Happy Holidays to our wonderful entrepreneurial community! We have a special gift for this year's Diamond Challenge teams: an example timeline that your team could use to stay on schedule! Don't forget that submissions are due January 18th! Enjoy and break some new...

Catapult Incubator Partnership

More big news from Diamond Challenge HQ! Today we’re announcing our partnership with Catapult Incubator, a business and social venture development program designed for high school students. They have decided to donate a total of $10,000 in scholarship money to be...

Welcome to Mentoring 2.0!

Big news! We're very excited to announce our new online mentoring program for Diamond Challenge 2016 participants. Our new platform works to connect teams with entrepreneurs and entrepreneurially-minded professionals from around the world. What you will gain from our...

Jefferson Awards Foundation Partnership

The Diamond Challenge is excited to announce our new partnership with the Jefferson Awards Foundation, America’s most prestigious and long-standing organization dedicated to cultivating and celebrating public service! JAF was founded in 1972 by Sam Beard, Jacqueline...