Three High Schoolers Won a Global Pitch Contest. Here Is the Recipe.

Three students from Skyline High School in Sammamish, Washington: Ashish Naik, Shaurya Duggal, and Kruthik Ankam. Their company, DuggAI, took first place and a $3,000 prize at the 2026 TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Global Pitch Competition, which ran June 11 to 13.

According to GeekWire, over 35 teams from 27 chapters competed, with finals held at Bellevue College in Bellevue, Washington, and at Kerala Startup Mission in India. It was a three-peat for the Seattle chapter, which has had five winning teams at the global event over the past three years.

Third place went to Hydrobin, a team of five from Interlake High School in Bellevue: Ananya Sharda, Aarav Narayan, Yatharth Kothari, Adithya Gogini, and Nissi V. They won $1,000.

Ages weren't listed, but these are high school students. Which means regular kids with homework, sports, and group chats built real companies and defended them in front of judges.

That three-peat matters because it suggests the result wasn't luck. Seattle's chapter has built a system of mentors and sponsors, and it shows in the results year after year.

DuggAI is an AI agent that handles software engineering tickets. It sorts them, adds context, and resolves them, so developers can spend their time building the product instead of wading through small requests.

Hydrobin, operating under EcoProducts LLC, makes reusable packaging from ocean-bound plastic. The idea is to replace single-use containers for consumer and shipping uses.

Notice something about both ideas. Each one starts with a problem a person can describe in a sentence. Developers lose time on tickets. Single-use plastic piles up. That's the secret ingredient in almost every good pitch: a problem so clear that a judge nods before you finish talking.

You don't need to build an AI agent to practice this. Try writing your own idea as "People who ___ have trouble with ___, so I will ___." If the sentence feels clumsy, the idea probably needs another day of thinking.

TYE is run by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) and teaches students in grades 9 to 12 how to build companies from scratch. GeekWire reports it has run for more than 20 years and operates in over 40 cities worldwide. A YourStory article explains it was started by TiE Boston in 2005 and named TYE Global in 2009.

Format varies by chapter. TiE Chandigarh describes a nine-month course from September to April, with classes taught by entrepreneurs and case studies from business school professors, ending in a pitch competition in June. TiE Delhi describes a shorter run of about two months of Sunday sessions. Topics include opportunity identification, design thinking, market research, business models, financial planning, and pitch decks.

The Seattle cohort for 2025-2026 was backed by 22 mentors from local tech leadership and more than 25 sponsors. That's the real advantage of a program like this. Students don't just get a class. They get grown-ups who've done it, willing to give honest feedback.

It's more organized than you might guess.

In the Seattle events, GeekWire says 18 teams from the U.S., Canada, and Singapore competed in semifinals on June 12. Judges advanced three. On June 13, those three faced the top three teams from India for the global title. Ten judges took part in the Seattle chapter finals and the global semifinals.

A typical pitch covers five things:

• The problem and who has it
• Your solution and how it works
• Who will pay, and how much
• Who else is solving it, and why you're different
• What you need next

YourStory describes TYE lessons that even include a 30-second introduction meant to "intrigue listeners." Practice that. If you can't explain your idea in 30 seconds, a judge with a full day of pitches won't wait for the other three minutes.

One more tip: practice the question-and-answer part as much as the pitch itself. Ask a friend to fire off the toughest questions they can think of, such as "Why would anyone pay for this?" and "What stops a bigger company from copying you?" Judges love founders who stay calm, answer directly, and admit what they don't know yet. A confident "I haven't tested that yet, but here is how I would" beats a made-up answer every time.

Plenty. Most of what these high schoolers did starts much earlier.

A 9-year-old with a lemonade stand has already found a problem (people are thirsty), made a product, set a price, and picked a location. What's missing is the habit of asking questions and writing things down.

Try this with a younger child. After any small sale, ask four things: Who bought from us? Why? What did it cost us? What would make them buy again? That's market research, financial planning, and customer feedback, wearing a sticker that says "lemonade."

Older kids, ages 12 and up, can add a one-page plan. Write the problem, the solution, the price, and three costs. If you want help structuring it, Foundra Kids offers simple planning lessons, or a plain notebook works too.

Because teens can't see their own blind spots yet, and neither can most adults.

TYE pairs students with experienced people. In Delhi, each team gets an assigned mentor, typically a CEO or senior industry professional. In Seattle, 22 mentors supported the 2025-2026 cohort. Yashovardhan Wagh, the program chair and founder of recommerce company gone.com, told GeekWire, "In the world of AI, the earlier you get into entrepreneurship, the better."

You can find mentors without a formal program. Ask a teacher who runs a side business. Ask a family friend who owns a shop. Ask a parent's colleague for twenty minutes. Come prepared with three specific questions, and thank them afterward.

Most people say yes to a polite, specific request. The ones who say no usually just need more time, so try again in a month.

Start with the TiE chapter list. The program runs in over 40 cities, so there may be a chapter close to you. Many schools also run business clubs, DECA, FBLA, or Junior Achievement programs. Local libraries and chambers of commerce sometimes host youth pitch nights.

Costs vary. TiE Chandigarh lists a fee of INR 5,000 for its nine-month course, which covers materials and a bootcamp. Check each chapter's own page for current details, since fees, dates, and formats differ.

If nothing exists nearby, start your own mini version. Gather four friends, pick a problem in your school, and meet every Sunday for eight weeks. Hold a pitch night at the end and invite a parent, a teacher, and someone from your community to judge.

Write your problem sentence. Test it on three people who aren't related to you. Ask them one thing: "Would you pay for this?" Write down their exact words.

Then record a 30-second pitch on your phone and watch it back. You'll spot the "ums" and the unclear parts right away. Redo it twice.

Key takeaways:

• DuggAI and Hydrobin both started with a problem anyone could understand.
• Programs like TYE give students mentors, deadlines, and real judges.
• A 30-second pitch is a skill you can practice at home.
• You can build your own club if no program exists nearby.

What is TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE)? It's a program for students in grades 9 to 12, run by The Indus Entrepreneurs, that teaches them to start companies and pitch them.

Who won the 2026 TYE Global Pitch Competition? DuggAI from Skyline High School in Sammamish, Washington, won first place and $3,000.

What does DuggAI do? It's an AI agent that triages, adds context to, and resolves software engineering tickets.

Do students need a finished product to enter? Not necessarily. TYE programs focus on identifying a problem, building a plan, and pitching it. Check your local chapter for rules.

How much does a program like this cost? It varies by chapter. TiE Chandigarh lists INR 5,000 for its course. Always confirm with your local chapter.

Can younger kids join? TYE is for grades 9 to 12, but younger kids can practice the same skills with a small business, a problem sentence, and a short pitch at home.

1. Seattle-area young entrepreneurs capture third straight win in global TiE startup pitch contest (GeekWire)
2. Can entrepreneurship be taught to school students? This TiE initiative shows how (YourStory)
3. TiE Young Entrepreneurs Program (TiE Chandigarh)
4. TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TiE Delhi)