Bold ideas from four local students are among just 60 semifinalist submissions selected from over 3,700 nationwide to pitch at the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, June 15-16 in downtown Flint.
FLINT, Mich., June 10, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Four students from Florida have been selected as semifinalists in the Mott Million Dollar Challenge, a national pitch competition for K-12 students.
More than 5,300 young people from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. submitted over 3,700 business ideas and social solutions to the Challenge. From those entries, 1,500 submissions were selected in the first round. Now, the creators behind the top 60 ideas are advancing to compete at a live national event in Flint, Michigan next week.
The Florida semifinalists and their ideas are:
SlotSnap — Zakaria Messelman (11th Grade, Dr. Kiran C. Patel High School, business pitch): A booking app that alerts users when appointment cancellations become available and allows them to instantly claim open time slots with one-tap scheduling.
ProdigyPro — Aiden Azoy and Anthony Tan (11th Grade, Alexander W. Dreyfoos School of the Arts, social pitch): An AI-powered entrepreneurship platform that helps students develop business ideas, receive feedback, and access opportunities regardless of their location, school, or professional network.
Stoset: A Common Thread Marketplace — Claire Chaumont (12th Grade, Dr. Kiran C. Patel High School, social pitch): A sustainable clothing-swapping marketplace that rewards users for trading used apparel, making fashion more affordable, accessible and environmentally friendly.
As semifinalists, each project will be awarded $5,000. The students will pitch live in front of judges during the final competition June 15-16 in Flint.
Funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation as part of its centennial celebration, the Mott Million Dollar Challenge is administered by the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in collaboration with VentureLab, Young Entrepreneur Institute (YEI), the Afterschool Alliance, Collaborative Communications and the 50 State Afterschool Network. The Challenge is designed to shine a light on entrepreneurship education as a meaningful way to help students build skills they need to navigate and shape the future.
Learn more about the Mott Million Dollar Challenge and explore semifinalist ideas at https://mottmillion.org/60-semifinalist-pitches/.
Contact:
Jen Peters
[email protected]
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SOURCE Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
