From dance flyers to startup founder: Teen wins $10K investment

Eight weeks ago, Akshara Abbadi didn’t have a business idea, but last Wednesday, the St. Petersburg student walked away with a $10,000 investment after winning a Shark Tank-style pitch competition at spARK Labs.

Abbadi earned the top prize for LUMIVO, a platform that helps students discover scholarships, internships and fellowships through a personalized survey while tracking application deadlines. The judges selected her concept from six finalists who spent the summer building businesses from scratch.

The competition capped an eight-week accelerator hosted by the Harrington Foundation, founded by entrepreneur and investor Kevin Harrington, in partnership with Lemonade Standers. The latter organization was created by former Boeing leader Julie Bennett and Emily French after careers in marketing, operations and business strategy, where they negotiated multimillion-dollar contracts and led large corporate teams. They now use that experience to teach entrepreneurship through hands-on challenges rather than traditional classroom instruction.

Students didn’t begin by writing business plans. Instead, their first assignment was to earn $100 without asking their parents for money.

Some mowed lawns. Others baked treats, braided hair or sold handmade bracelets. Abbadi decided to teach dance, but creating flyers and promoting herself was unfamiliar.

“One thing I tried this week that I had never done before was creating flyers and promoting my own dance lessons to raise money,” she wrote during the program. “At first, it felt a little uncomfortable because I wasn’t sure how people would respond.”

As students enrolled in her dance lessons, she said it “showed me that taking initiative and putting yourself out there can lead to great opportunities,” she wrote.

From there, the pace accelerated. Students interviewed prospective customers, refined business ideas, built prototypes, launched websites and mobile apps, recorded pitch videos and tested their products with real users. By the end of the program, the 22 participants had completed more than 260 business actions, created 15 prototypes, built five websites and launched two apps.

While Bennett and French coached students through the curriculum, Harrington Foundation Executive Director Wendy LaTorre coordinated much of the program behind the scenes. She matched students with mentors whose professional backgrounds aligned with each business, giving participants direct access to entrepreneurs and executives who could critique their ideas, answer industry-specific questions and help prepare them for the final competition.

The program culminated in a business fair before six finalists pitched a panel of judges that included Harrington, David Chessler of Chessler Holdings, Vincent Cordo of Holland & Knight and Taylor Ranker of Questmont Virtual Family Office.

Bennett said choosing a winner wasn’t easy. “I feel like a mama bear and I’m so proud of them all,” she told the Catalyst. “The panel was really looking at the bigger picture and opportunity.”

French said every finalist made a compelling case before the judges reached their decision.

“Every student at one time was vying for that top spot,” she said. “Every pitch had its moment where they stood out.”

Although Abbadi left with the top prize, French said the program measures success differently than a traditional business competition.

“Getting out of your comfort zone is so important because action builds community and confidence,” she said. “With each success that they overcome, they build evidence for what they can do to overcome the next thing.”

“Akshara came into the program without an idea,” Bennett said. “By the end, she pitched the winning idea.”