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Business Plan Challenge

Juniors win RE Business Plan Challenge with proposal for concussion glasses

Sydney Gould '25 and Rebecca Paresky '25 won the 2024 RE Business Plan Challenge with their proposal for NeuroView, special glasses powered by electrochromic technology that alleviate photophobia symptoms caused by concussions. With their selection on March 5 over four finalist student groups, Gould and Paresky advanced to the 2024 Innovate South Florida Business Plan Challenge on April 10.
The five groups of students pitched their business plans to a panel of RE alumni judges: Daniel Simon '00, Genna Selesnick '07, E.J. Magnusson '07 and Terron Ferguson '04. Each team had 10 minutes to describe its plan, followed by questions from the judging panel. At the end of the night, the judges deliberated behind closed doors before announcing that Gould and Paresky had won.

"You did a fantastic job, and we were very impressed by the polish of your presentation," Magnusson said when the winners were announced.

"Once you graduate college, if you want a job, let me know," joked Simon, who has worked in the financial services sector for nearly 30 years. "You did a phenomenal job."

The proposals in order of presentation:
  1. Eduardo Michelsen '25 presented TutorLink.ai, AI-driven matching and analytics for personalized tutor-student connections. He is working on the plan with Wes Griffin '26 and Elliot Gross '24, who did not participate in the pitch because they are not students in AP Macro/Microeconomics.
  2. Noah Martin '25, Mateo Heitner '25, Jonah Fishman '25 and Harrison Lamnin '25 presented The Macro Patch, a patch that instantly tracks nutrition and health markers to help wearers make dietary decisions that will help them lose weight. 
  3. Charles Albanese '25 and Reid Rosenberg '25 presented Wander, an app that offers affordable personalized outdoor adventures with access to equipment, gear and guides.
  4. Gould and Paresky presented NeuroView, special glasses powered by electrochromic technology (tint-changing) to alleviate photophobia symptoms caused by concussions. "NeuroView is not just a product, it's a life enhancer," said Paresky. 
  5. Kennedy Hagen '24 and Mia Escoto Cordova '25 presented CulturaSphere VR, a virtual reality headset that enhances language learning for business or personal use by offering cultural information as well as pure language training. A member of the team, Julia Lewkowitz '25, was not in attendance.
Humanities faculty member Brandon King served as emcee and organized the event along with event founder and Humanities Department Chair Jen Nero. The event took place in partnership with Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship. The student presenters had reached the finals in the Posner Lecture Hall at the Fernandez STEM Center by advancing from classroom competitions in the AP Macro/Microeconomics classes with King and Global Studies and Entrepreneurship classes under Benjamin Yeo.
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Founded in 1903, Ransom Everglades School is a coeducational, college preparatory day school for grades 6 - 12 located on two campuses in Coconut Grove, Florida. Ransom Everglades School produces graduates who "believe that they are in the world not so much for what they can get out of it as for what they can put into it." The school provides rigorous college preparation that promotes the student's sense of identity, community, personal integrity and values for a productive and satisfying life, and prepares the student to lead and to contribute to society.