Dallas ISD CTE students compete in the Hilltop Entrepreneurship Challenge

Dallas ISD’s Career and Technical Education Department recently hosted the “Hilltop Entrepreneurship Challenge.”

The in-person competition for Dallas ISD Career Institute Entrepreneurship students was held March 31 at the Price Career Institute South. More than 40 volunteers assisted with the presentations of over 150 student businesses. This event was a culminating activity for the Hilltop grant that was awarded in an effort to promote entrepreneurship for the Career Institutes for the 2021-2022 school year.

The event was designed to assess student understanding of the lean business model through a 3-minute fast pitch presentation of student-created businesses.  Based on the NFTE curriculum, the CTE department created a Hilltop Expectations and Timeline document. The yearlong course had the following deliverables:

• Hilltop Competition Parent Letter
• Student Business Idea 
• Materials/ Budget List 
• Lean Business Model 
• Executive Summary 
• Prototype Concept 
• Fast Pitch Deck Slides

Hilltop Entrepreneurship Challenge Winners by Career Institute:

Career Institute East Winners:

1. NWTA, created by Ivan Tello amp; Manuel Martinez, provides temporary roofs for construction contractors to prevent weather delay of projects.
2. Jsaw, created by Fabian Flores  amp; Jason Doss, produces a safety saw with a flesh- detecting sensor to decrease hazardous accidents.
3. Kamp;J Tool Rental, created by  Kevin Cruz  amp; Julian Moreno, rents tools to construction workers who arrive at the job site without appropriate tools.

 Career Institute South Winners:

1. Tkicks, created by Alberto Arroyo, gives you peace of mind by authenticating your sneakers BEFORE you buy, sell, or trade.
2. ErgoVest, created by Juan Vasquez, is a multipurpose work vest for blue-collar workers that corrects posture and provides back support with a detachable tool belt.
3. 12 o’clock, created by Drontrae Peoples, provides apparel for those whose sizes do not match the norm, at a more consistent price point. 

Career Institute North Winners:

1. Cosmic Energy, created by Luis Morel, provides a Bluetooth charger that plugs into a wall port and charges any device via Bluetooth. 
2. Solar Casez, created by Melanie Nunez, provides a phone case that automatically charges your phone and runs off of solar power. 
3. Inside GPS, created by Jonathan Gonzalez and Kate Welch, provides an app that provides blueprints of the interior of buildings.  

Learn more about Dallas ISD’s Career Institutes here.