The Big Stage: 2026 INCubator Final Pitch Night

 

From classroom concepts to the high-stakes spotlight of the pitch stage, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and thriving across Glenbard District 87. On May 4th, the second-annual districtwide INCubator Final Pitch Night brought together Glenbard’s rising student innovators for the culmination of a year-long journey. Selected finalists from each of the four Glenbard schools were competing for a $5,000 prize to be used toward growing their business. 

The INCubatoredu program at Glenbard District 87 takes students on a comprehensive entrepreneurial journey – from ideation to execution. Teams of students work together all school year to create and fully develop a product or service, putting their thoughts and ideas into action by creating a business startup. Local business professionals volunteer as coaches and mentors for each of the student teams, sharing their knowledge, expertise and experience. In partnership with the College of DuPage, students receive dual credit for the Entrepreneurship 1161 course.

Each school held a semifinal pitch competition in the spring to determine the one team that would represent their school at the 2026 Final Pitch Night. The 40 total teams were whittled down to four finalists:

• Quikovery (Glenbard East): compact, adjustable muscle roller that helps competitive athletes recover faster.
• APF-1 (Glenbard North): versatile athletic cleat designed for multiple sports with interchangeable soles for different field conditions.
• SeatScene (Glenbard South): bleacher seat rental service for local school events that provides affordable, comfortable seating.
• SipSafe (Glenbard West): a discreet, reusable device that fits onto the bottom of a straw and uses built-in test strips to instantly detect common drink-spiking agents.

In a format inspired by Shark Tank, student teams pitched their products to a panel of five judges. The thorough presentations featured deep dives into how their products work, market analysis, financial modeling and future sales projections. Following each presentation, the judges stepped in with follow-up questions and observations, offering the kind of real-world feedback and strategic advice necessary for any budding business to truly flourish.

At the evening’s conclusion, the panel of judges named Glenbard West’s SipSafe team as the event winner of the $5,000 prize check. The SipSafe team members are senior Kate Gusanders, senior Asiyah Hussain, sophomore Makenna Grady, sophomore Hannah Kalten, and sophomore Quinn Stallings.

 

Building the Team and Refining the Concept
The SipSafe team formed at the beginning of the school year through a “speed dating” exercise designed to foster collaboration. During the activity, students moved around the classroom to share their strengths and interests before submitting a shortlist of three preferred teammates. Using this feedback, teacher Ronald Brock organized the class into teams of four or five. Although the SipSafe members didn’t know each other personally at the start, they formed an immediate bond.

The first semester served as a rigorous proving ground, dedicated to researching the market, gathering feedback, and refining a viable solution. The SipSafe team latched onto the idea of creating a product that would promote drink safety in a variety of environments. Initially, they envisioned a light-up ice cube that would detect foreign substances in a drink. “But we quickly realized after our research that a lot of people thought that it was unsanitary and the actual chemical reaction was difficult to make,” Grady said. This led the team to pivot first to a light-up straw and, ultimately, to the final design: a discreet, revolving attachment that slides onto the bottom of any standard straw. It contains three certified drug-detection test strips that detect GHB, Ketamine and Rohypnol. If the test strip changes color, it means a substance has been detected in the drink.

The next step was the most daunting: actually building the product. Stallings spearheaded the manufacturing process using 3D printing — a skill he had to learn from scratch. “We chose 3D printing because it was simple, consistent, and easy to make our product with,” Stallings said. “We ended up printing around 20 prototypes to get to our best one.” This phase proved to be the most challenging part of the journey, requiring months of troubleshooting and trial-and-error. “Our product is composed of an inner part and outer part,” he said. “It took me a solid two-and-a-half months just to get one part of it down.”

 

Navigating Logistics
Simultaneously, the other team members worked on the “bones” of the business, handling various aspects including digital marketing, website presence, and supply chain logistics. Navigating the manufacturing world was a major challenge, yet it was essential for calculating production costs and final sales projections.

To overcome these hurdles, the team turned to mentor Larry Johnson for vital assistance. A volunteer in the Entrepreneurship class, Johnson is a seasoned financial executive with over four decades of experience in commercial banking, real estate lending, and financial services. “Larry was a huge help throughout,” Grady said. “He got us in contact with the main manufacturer that we ended up getting our cost of goods sold data from, as well as the different costs of the molds and how the product would be produced. That was a huge pivotal point for our product.”

 

Gaining Momentum and the Final Pitch
Beyond the classroom, the team accelerated their growth by participating in several high-profile pitch competitions. Their circuit included the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, the InnoVators Showcase & Pitch Competition at Illinois State University, and the INCubatoredu product fair at the Technology Center of DuPage. “It allowed us to go to new places, spread the word and build our brand,” Kalten said. “More people were learning about us, and we also received feedback from actual business entrepreneurs. That really helped to push us as we develop the company.”

When Glenbard’s Final Pitch Night arrived in May, the team’s practice reps paid off once they hit the stage. The group felt like they thrived under the pressure. “We care a lot about our brand and our business and we want it to succeed,” Gusanders said. “We did have a little bit of nerves, but at the end of the day, we knew all of our information, we knew our presentation. Once we got up there, it was kind of like autopilot, and it went really well.”

 

Lessons Learned
As graduation and the end of the school year approach, the SipSafe team reflected on the INCubator program as a deeply rewarding experience that fostered growth in various aspects of their lives.

“I think the biggest things were presentation skills and networking,” Hussain said. “We met a lot of important people and mentors that helped us along the way, which is pretty challenging to do outside of any other kind of class. It also gave us good public speaking skills and confidence, which I think you can use for just about everything in your life.”

The program also emphasized the power of collaboration. “This class helps everyone learn how to work with a group,” Gusanders said. “You have to hold yourself accountable and you also have to hold your group members accountable, because work in the group should be balanced equally. It really helped us with time management, group work, and bouncing ideas off of each other.”

“Another really good thing about the class is that you get out what you put in,” Kalten said. “So if you put in a lot of effort, if you all really contribute in the group and have the same passion, you will see it all pay off in the end.”

 

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Want to help shape the future of student innovators? Our Dual Credit Entrepreneurship program is seeking local volunteers to serve as mentors and coaches. Contact: Susannah Wagner (Assistant Director of Teaching & Learning) at [email protected] or 630-469-9100 ext. 5146.