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High School Program

Our Purpose

The Incuba8 High School Program is all about igniting the spirit of entrepreneurship in students.

Our Program At-A-Glance

Our program currently runs for six weeks in the marketing and merchandising classes at Dow High School and Midland High School. It kicks off with concept identification. Students start by going through the process of finding a need that aligns with customer pain points and market opportunities.

The students form teams around an idea. Each group works together to develop a one page executive summary, conceptual prototype and 3 minute pitch which is performed live for local investors and entrepreneurial experts.

The program involves a half-day prototyping field trip at Incuba8LABS where students work directly with mentors and people who have gone through the prototyping process.

Our teams have submitted their executive summaries to the University of Iowa’s BizInnovator competition. Each team has three people from the community review their executive summary before it is submitted. Our students have placed in the BizInnovator competition every year since our program started in 2015.

The Incuba8 High School Program wraps up with a field trip and pitch day competition.

Our Success

In the past three years we have had 62 teams and over 230 students from Dow High School, Midland High School, and the Midland Academy participate in our program. Our teams that placed in the University of Iowa’s BizInnovator’s competition are:

2017 – Finalists: Stick N Safe (DHS), Easy Scooper (DHS), Ball No Fall (DHS), ClipThat (DHS)
Winners: Stick N Safe (1st place, $1500), Clip That (3rd place, $500)
2016 – Finalist: iVolunteer (DHS)
2015 – Finalists : CacoonMocks (DHS), Penorganized (DHS), Atlantis Fins (DHS)
Winner: CacoonMocks – (3rd place, $500)

Program Costs

Our high school program costs about $2200 per class. Schools have been able to secure grant money and receive private donations to help cover the expense.

Interested In Bringing Incuba8 to Your School?

We’d love to talk. Please email Caryn Shick at [email protected] or call us at 989-430-3518 to set up a time to learn more.

Help Support Us

Putting on this program is a lot of work. We are always looking for financial donors, prototyping mentors, executive summary reviewers, mentors, and program volunteers. Contact us if you would like to get involved.