FISHTANK
Where young entrepreneurs pitch innovative ideas, receive expert feedback, and compete for resources to turn their business concepts into reality
August 2-3, 2025
Benedictine University Goodwin Hall of Business, Lisle
What is Fish Tank?
Welcome to the Tank!
Inspired by the world-renowned series, Shark Tank, the Fish Tank competition invites 3rd-9th grade students in the Chicagoland area to identify a market opportunity and introduce a new business, product, or service.
Hosted at Benedictine University Goodwin Hall of Business on August 2nd & 3rd with some of Naperville's biggest business owners and leaders, participants will take their big innovations to an even bigger stage.
2025 Fish Tank Contest
An enhanced competition experience featuring two days of pitching, mentorship, and celebration of youth entrepreneurship.
Day 1: Preliminary Round
August 2nd, 2025
- All participants pitch their ideas to high school business students
- 5-minute pitches followed by 5-minute Q&A sessions
- Top 12 finalists selected to advance
- Evening mentorship sessions and workshops for finalists
Day 2: Final Round
August 3rd, 2025
- Top 12 finalists pitch to a panel of industry leaders
- 5-minute presentations with demos and 10-minute Q&A sessions
- Top 4 winners awarded $750+ in prize funding
- Awards ceremony and celebration
Prize Structure
Fish Tank 2025 Highlights
Moments from this year's competition
Fish Tank Competition Winners
Celebrating the innovations that rose to the surface with bold ideas, polished presentations, and the potential to make waves far beyond our tank.
The Better Investor
AbduRahman Yuldash
The Better Investor makes growing your money feel less like guesswork and more like a game you can actually win. It replaces fear and FOMO with clarity, teaching timeless investing wisdom through AI coaching that talks with you, not at you. Through the web app, you can earn XP, unlock titles, and watch your confidence grow as your portfolio does too.
Runner-Ups
MagicPillow
Arjun Singh & Arjun Malhotra
Magic Pillow is the world's first pillow that dreams as big as you do. It heats when you're cold, cools when you're sweaty, tracks your sleep, and keeps your neck happy through every nap and flight—all for under $80. Built for travelers, hot sleepers, and anyone tired of restless nights, it makes comfort feel a little more like magic.
EverFresh
Saravan & Shanvitha Palakruthi
EverFresh is a smart stand that keeps food fresher for longer, tackling spoilage in a $30B market. With built-in preservation tech and refillable pouches, it helps households waste less, save more, and enjoy food the way it's meant to taste—fresh.
Agritech
Ohm Patel, Nikhil Naveen, Sai Sirasani, & Krish Mittal
Agritech is where agriculture meets technology. It uses innovation in applications of AI, robotics, biotechnology, and data analytics to make farming more sustainable and resilient. From precision irrigation and soil sensors to autonomous tractors and vertical farms, Agritech is redefining how the world grows food.
SGS
Sanvi Das & Ovee Yande
SGS is a smart gardening system that takes the guesswork out of growing. Using automated sensors, timed watering, and real-time data, it keeps your plants healthy no matter how busy you are. Every plant parent deserves to be a pro!
Finals Judges
Industry leaders who evaluated our top 12 finalists and selected the 2025 champions.
Aleck Matambo
Senior Director of Global Procurement @ Google
Aleck Matambo led global procurement at Google, managing $16B in annual spend across EMEA, APAC, and LATAM. He developed the company's first AI-native procurement tool, automated contract analysis, and drove a global savings program that improved efficiency by over 10%. He also established the One Google Negotiation Program and Cloud & AI Strategic Alliances Platform, delivering $1B in annual value across 50+ major deals.
Ryan Havlick
Venture Partner @ Multimodal Ventures
Ryan Havlick is a Venture Partner at Multimodal Ventures, a Chicago-based seed-stage fund investing in Y Combinator–backed startups. He helps evaluate potential portfolio investments, enhance Midas (the firm's proprietary data tool), and refine investment strategy and due diligence. He relies on data-driven analysis to assess startups like those BizBuzz kidpreneurs are developing for Fish Tank.
Isha Elandassery
Founder @ Naperville Rising Women in Business
Isha Elandassery is a junior at the Kelley School of Business, where she studies finance and serves as president of the university's Girl Up United Nations chapter. As a former guest speaker for BizBuzz and 2024 Fish Tank judge, she's excited to return once again to create “biz” and “buzz.”
Usha Shedge
Founder @ Smart Sakhi
Usha Shedge is a social entrepreneur and technologist passionate about using innovation to drive community impact. After 18 years in IT and Business Intelligence, she founded initiatives empowering thousands of youth and women farmers through sustainability projects and mission-driven enterprise.
Geetha Pilli
Director of Enterprise Architecture @ Core-Mark International
Geetha Pilli leads technology strategy, system integration, and digital transformation across high-volume retail and supply-chain operations. With an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, she drives initiatives that leverage IoT and AI to enhance efficiency and business value.
Nara Rosie
Consultant @ PwC
Nara Rosie brings strategic advisory experience from PwC, helping organizations embrace the consulting mindset behind building scalable, resilient ventures—and inspiring young founders to think the same way.
Preliminary Judges
Emerging leaders and alumni who guided every team through the opening round of pitches.
Andrew Bukowski
Co-Founder @ SmartSeat
Andrew is an incoming freshman at Yale University. He raised $30K+ for SmartSeat, a health-tech startup tackling posture and seating-related issues, and was named a Coca-Cola Scholarship Finalist and Conrad Challenge Winner.
Anay Apte
Vice President @ Illinois DECA
Anay is an incoming freshman at the University of Pennsylvania. He leads 5,400+ DECA members statewide and brings hands-on engineering camp experience to help Fish Tank teams dream big.
Paul van der Vorst
Co-Director @ Naperville Children's Business Fair
Paul is an incoming freshman at the University of South Carolina. He helped incubate 400+ kid-run businesses selling to 5,000+ visitors and now mentors students through ideation and pitching.
Amy Yang
Harvard Book Prize Recipient
Amy is a rising senior at Naperville Central High School, passionate about grassroots advocacy and creative problem-solving that brings communities together.
Ansh Shah
2024 Executive Director @ BizBuzz
Ansh is an incoming freshman at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. A former BizBuzz executive director, he's back as a judge to cheer on the next generation of innovators.
Ready to Compete in 2025?
Registration for Fish Tank 2025 opens in Spring 2025. Join our mailing list to be the first to know!