STARTedUP Foundation

What happens when students get to build passion projects? Brett Taylor (at Terre Haute North Vigo High School) gave his students a challenge: build something that matters to you & then pitch it! Here’s what was on stage: ↳ Merom Activity Center focused on revitalizing a beloved community space ↳ THN Manufacturing aimed to expand hands-on collaborative learning in school ↳ Project HALO designed a social media platform promoting positivity ↳ Project North created gamified walkthroughs for historic buildings and campuses. For Brett, the moment of pride came after the competition, when every student stayed to ask for feedback. Not for a grade, but to grow! If you’re an Indiana teacher who wants to help students connect their passions to education, we have something for you! The STARTedUP Innovation Accelerator Level 1 Certification program is a free, self-paced starting point for all teachers, regardless of subject!

What a week! Here's how we have been celebrating Global Entrepreneurship Week! ✨Design Thinking at Maker13 Kevin facilitated hands-on design thinking activities with 240 students in Southeast Indiana 🎤 Indiana State University’s Student Entrepreneurship Day Alyssa spoke on Wednesday to an energized group from 5–6 schools across the Wabash Valley to empower students to take the next step! 📘 Celebrating Alumni at Indiana Economic Development Corporation’s Entrepreneurship Indiana Yearbook Launch We were thrilled to see several former STARTedUP students and alumni recognized for their ventures — including Ruby Campbell-Carpenter, Kyla La Rue, Lydia Yoder, Caylyn Pruitt and Faith N. Spencer! 🏥 Innovation in Healthcare! Alyssa and Ava attended the Healthy Care, Healthy Costs: Innovation Competition Final Showcase, an accelerator supported by Parkview Health, Butler University, and Hylant. Huge congratulations to our very own Alexis Karahalios for becoming one of only 4 finalists and pitching Septo on the big stage! 🏫 Classroom Visit at Hanover Central High School Don visited Mary Albrecht’s classroom at Hanover Central High School to talk with students about innovation and entrepreneurship. 🏙️ STARTedUP Booth at 16 Tech’s Innovation Hub On Tuesday, 16 Tech Innovation District featured us with a booth highlighting our programs, with Ava spreading the news to community members and students excited about entrepreneurship education! 🎸 Teacher Accelerator Call with a Surprise Guest This week’s Teacher Accelerator session featured Cameron Johnson, a band member for Lenny Kravitz. He joined us fresh off the stage in Sydney, Australia! SUCH a memorable moment for our teachers and team. 🏛️ A Shoutout from the Governor And to top it all off, STARTedUP received recognition from Governor Braun, who shared his support for expanding STARTedUP programming to all 92 counties. We couldn’t be more excited about the momentum ahead!

These students are working to convert plastic waste into fuel. Their lab partners? Navy engineers! At Terre Haute North Vigo High School, teacher Jasen Gibbens connected his students with engineers at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division. Now, students are exploring how to turn plastic waste into usable fuel (via 🔥pyrolysis). Here's the thing: connections like this don't happen by accident. Gibbens built these partnerships by asking, reaching out, and showing what his students could do. If you're an Indy teacher who wants to test out innovation, the STARTedUP Innovation Accelerator Level 1 Certification program is a free, self-paced on-ramp for teachers like you! And if you want to learn how to build networks like Gibbens did? That's what Level 2 is for!

Over 20 schools tuned in to hear from Green Beret, speaker, and the first above-the-knee amputee to return to combat in Army Special Forces - Nick Lavery! Here are our biggest takeaways from his talk! ➤ Emotional regulation is a superpower. When stress spikes, emotions can cloud your judgment. Nick taught our students that learning to stay calm under pressure (whether it’s the classroom, boardroom, or battlefield) is the key to making clear, logical decisions when it matters most. ➤ Resilience is built, not born! Toughness is forged through struggle, setbacks, and failure. Pain can become an amazing teacher if you’re willing to listen, and the hard moments in life have the potential to shape the strongest parts of us. ➤ Discipline beats motivation. Every time. We all love feeling energized and inspired… but motivation fades. Discipline is what carries you through on the days you don’t feel like showing up. Nick shared that even he feels unmotivated most days, but his discipline is a foundation that never wavers. ➤ Patience ≠ procrastination. It’s inevitable. Your mission in life will evolve, and that’s okay. But whatever you pursue, success requires patience, consistency, and long-term investment. Good things take time, and starting now matters more than having everything figured out. ➤ Triple down on what you can control. Nick shared stories of recovery after injury, including the simple act of lifting a single leg in the hospital as his “Day 1” win. When life throws you a setback, shift your focus from what you can’t do to what you can do, and build from there. Overall, Nick reminded us that hardship isn’t the enemy. Apathy is. Character, purpose, and strength are built through action, humility, and relentless consistency. We are incredibly grateful to Nick for sharing his raw honesty and hard-earned wisdom, and to all the teachers and students who showed up ready to learn, grow, and ask powerful questions. This conversation will stay with us for a long time! Below are some student letters sent to Nick and his team!

These students just x4 sales at their school coffee shop. How? Their teacher handed them the reins! At Lowell Senior High School, Debera Hinchy teaches business concepts AND lets her students live them. Her class rebranded the Red Devils Bistro, a student-run coffee shop and handled everything: market research, logo design, social media strategy, even a customer rewards system that tracks loyalty through QR codes. By launch week, sales had increased fourfold with +20 students in leadership roles. That's what happens when students get to own their learning. If you're an Indy teacher who wants to test out innovation/entrepreneurship in your own classroom... ↳ 🧰 Your starter kit: The Innovation Accelerator Level 1 Certification program It's free, self-paced, and built for every subject. (students blurred for privacy!)

A student built a ChatGPT integration that impressed a CFO. & it started with a classroom project. At Amp Lab at Electric Works, teacher Matthew Gebhard partnered with Matt Bennett, CFO of Kelley Automotive Group to challenge students to analyze REAL automotive financial data. One student built a tool that connects to the SEC's database, pulls live data, and auto-generates financial ratios. Now, Kelley is exploring how to use it in their business! That's what happens when students get to learn like innovators. If you're an Indiana teacher who wants to make learning more hands-on, here's your starting point! ↳ The STARTedUP Innovation Accelerator Level 1 certification program It's free, self-paced, and built for every subject area. (student blurred for privacy!)

Two Indiana teachers just got recognized for something worth paying attention to. 💪 What they do: Help students think creatively and act on their ideas. 🏆 The recognition: Advocates for Youth Innovation from The Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest.  🧑🏫 The teachers: Kris (Williams) Fleming and Debera Hinchy. Here's what stands out! Both teachers are celebrating what happens when students follow their curiosity. This type of teaching is growing. Innovation and entrepreneurship aren't buzzwords anymore. They're showing up in science classes, English projects, art studios, and math lessons across the state. If you've been curious about what innovation could look like in your classroom... ⭐ The January cohort of the STARTedUP Innovation Accelerator Level 1 Certification program is now accepting applications. It's a free, self-paced starter kit for Indiana teachers in any subject. No special skills needed, just curiosity about what your students might create!

130 teachers across 87 schools are trying something different in their classrooms... Their students are spending class time solving problems they care about, And creating inventions, businesses, nonprofits, services - you name it! If you want to try this in your classroom - here's your is your STARTER KIT ↳ The STARTedUP Innovation Accelerator Level 1 Certification program Six short lessons that help students spot problems, design solutions, and pitch ideas. It's free, it's flexible, and it doesn't require you to be a "business teacher." English students tackle communication barriers. Science classes can redesign lab safety. Math students rethink how their school handles scheduling. Art, social studies (anywhere students are curious, really) this works. 💡 Try it out & see what your students come up with. The January cohort is open to apply, free for all educators!

Happy halloween everyone! Today 20 classrooms across Indiana had the incredible opportunity to hear from Nick Lavery - an active Green Beret, amputee, and true embodiment of resilience! Nick spoke powerfully about discipline, emotional regulation, and overcoming adversity, and had such thoughtful answers for student questions. His message resonated deeply with both students and teachers, and we’ve already received an overwhelming wave of positive feedback from schools across the state! Thank you, Nick, for your service, your example, and your willingness to pour into the next generation. Your story challenged and inspired us all!

Last week, our teachers had the chance to hear from Bob Dalton, founder of Sackcloth & Ashes! Bob’s journey began at 24, when his mother became homeless, and from that, he started Sackcloth & Ashes, a company that donates a blanket to a local shelter for every blanket sold. He went from selling blankets out of his car to landing orders from Anthropologie, and now, he’s leading a new venture called LOCL, a community-first platform designed to rebuild human connection in the digital age. Here are our biggest takeaways from his talk! Start with empathy → Real innovation begins when we understand others’ stories and challenges, just like Bob’s business was born from his mother’s experience. Think local first → The most meaningful change happens in our own backyards. Sustainable impact starts with strengthening communities and not scaling too fast. Redefine success → Profit and purpose don’t have to compete. Social entrepreneurship can be both sustainable and deeply human. Community over content → As technology evolves, connection (and not consumption) will drive the next generation of change. Overall, Bob reminds us about the importance of both grit and compassion. Entrepreneurship isn’t just about ideas or products, but rather about understanding people. When students learn to solve problems rooted in empathy and community, they’re already shaping a better world. We are so grateful to Bob for sharing his story and insights, and to our Accelerator teachers for engaging in the conversations that keep inspiring their students!