From Ideas to Impact: Behind the Scenes at the TYE State Competition 2025

“If one thing was made known from the state competition, it was that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in our students, and they are going to make positive change in our communities and beyond.”

On Sunday, May 18th of this year, members of the TYE Oregon community gathered at the PSU Metro Region Innovation Hub for the State Competition. Bright and early, the beautiful venue rapidly filled up with competitors and spectators eager for the pitches to come. The top 12 teams of Oregonian student entrepreneurs, hailing from our Community Program and from a variety of local high schools, delivered their pitches one by one. Each presentation was executed with depth, each idea considered from a variety of angles, each plan carefully researched. The students’ passion for their business ideas was clear, and they tackled problems from littering to nature education to hospital robes. Witnessing the competition unfold from my post at the pitch timer, I was deeply impressed. The diversity of ideas struck me, as well as the high quality of work done. 

Biodegradable phone cases, educational board games, artistic trash cans, a trading and bartering app, anti food-waste services, a tinnitus solution device, sustainable stuffed animals, cooling water bottles, a focusing app for teens, and a better hospital robe. Tangible technologies, social solutions, and more were presented, each addressing a truly unique problem. Through extensive, quality customer discovery, teams identified and defined real, acute needs and the specific groups they affect. Big or small, each team presented a clear customer base, identifying a real gap in the world. Beyond that, students succeeded in coming up with a variety of creative, innovative solutions that promised meaningful impact, considering and expounding upon the physical implementation of their products in detail. Letters of intent, fleshed-out prototypes, solid go-to-market plans, and in-depth financial analysis made it clear that these teams knew their stuff. 

Big thanks go out to all of our judges, supporters, teachers and mentors. Your support for this new generation of entrepreneurs is invaluable. If one thing was made known from the state competition, it was that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in our students, and they are going to make positive change in our communities and beyond.