Las Vegas Students Pitch Their Business Ideas at CES 2019

Las Vegas Students Pitch Their Business Ideas at CES 2019

Las Vegas, (January 11, 2019) – Today, three teams of Las Vegas-area student entrepreneurs pitched their original business concepts to tech experts at CES 2019® – the largest, most influential tech event in the world.

Each of the Clark County, NV students has successfully completed the CTA Future Innovators program – established by CTA and EVERFI in 2015 – and the Venture-Entrepreneurial Expedition program, learning the fundamentals of launching a business. CES is open to consumer technology professionals who are at least 18 years of age.

“Nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit is key to closing the nation’s skills gap and equipping students with the foundational skills they need to become tech leaders of tomorrow,” said Jennifer Taylor, vice president, U.S. Jobs, CTA. “CTA is committed to building the next generation of innovators through its Future Innovators program and Eureka Park section of CES, where more than 1,100 startups from around the world showcase their innovations. And we congratulate each of the finalists who pitched their concepts today.”

The entrepreneurs judging today’s competition were former Shark Tank entrepreneur Robbie Cabral, CEO and founder, BenjiLock; Tom DeVesto, founder/designer, Como Audio; and Mara Lewis, co-founder, ID8.

 “We look forward to this every year and it’s exciting to see what the competition has grown,” said Jon Chapman, president of global partnerships, EVERFI “Together with CTA, we’re providing these students with a rare opportunity to present their business plans at the global stage for innovation and cultivating the next generation of community leaders.”

 The winning team featured three students from Northwest Career & Technical Academy. These students invented MONEYBYTE: a wearable device that connects to an app that tracks spending to improve financial literacy habits.

Winning students from the CES2019 final round.
Developed MONEYBYTE: a wearable device that connects to an app that tracks spending to improve financial literacy habits.

Other pitch ideas presented today included:

Aver:  Device to prevent cybersecurity attacks.

GamerCool:  An actively cooled gaming chair.

The Future Innovators Program has reached more than 5,100 Clark County students across 91 classrooms, two-thirds of which are in low-to-moderate income schools. The program has yielded impressive results in terms of impact and knowledge gains.