Stark Tank

Take your entrepreneurial idea to the next level!

Stark Tank, based in Stark County, Ohio, aims to foster entrepreneurship among local high school students, encouraging them to develop their entrepreneurial skills while learning more about what it means to own your own business. This collaborative initiative involves Junior Achievement of North Central Ohio, Stark Education Partnership and Strengthening Stark, all working together to spark innovation in the county.

The program invites Stark County high school students with business or product ideas to pitch them to a panel of local entrepreneur judges. Participants have the chance to win up to $2,000, generously provided by these local business owners, serving as both a reward for students' innovative ideas and an investment in the future of entrepreneurship in Stark County.

There are two high school divisions for the 2025 Stark Tank:

High School: Established Teams
High School: Conceptual Teams

More details below!

High School Edition: Established Teams

Submissions must be established in nature, defined as a commercial enterprise with a business plan, staff (individual or team), and product or service model in production.

Eligibility: Any student attending a Stark County High School with a great entrepreneurial idea is eligible to participate in the competition.

High School Edition: Conceptual Teams

Submissions must be conceptual in nature, defined as an abstract and original idea created by the pitching individual or team and without a product or service model in production.

Eligibility: Any student attending a Stark County High School with a great entrepreneurial idea is eligible to participate in the competition.

Rules

Pitch competitors:

May submit up to two (2) entries: one (1) as an individual and one (1) as part of a team.
Must be high school aged and enrolled in a Stark County school or reside in Stark County (if homeschooled or enrolled in an alternative form of educational institution).

Submission eligibility and process:

Districts can and are encouraged to have multiple individual student and team entry submissions.
If submitting for the High School Edition: Conceptual Teams, submissions for the must be conceptual in nature, defined as an abstract and original idea created by the pitching individual or team and without a product or service model in production.
If submitting for the High School Edition: Established Teams, submissions must be established in nature, defined as a commercial enterprise with a business plan, staff (individual or team), and product or service model in production.
Videos must be submitted 60-seconds in length and in an MP4 format.
All requested information on the submission form must be completed to be eligible to compete.

The Stark Tank Committee has the sole discretion to determine if ideas and concepts are deceptive, insincere, offensive, immoral, or unethical and thus subject to disqualification for entry and the final competition.