Bold ideas from three 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/ -- Three students from New Jersey 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 New Jersey semifinalists and their ideas are:

KindLeaf Card Company — Siya Krishna (2nd Grade, Eisenhower Elementary School, social pitch): A plantable greeting card embedded with seeds that grows into flowers or herbs, reducing paper waste while supporting schools through a portion of every sale.

Save Drop — Nithya Tammana (6th Grade, Monroe Township Middle School, social pitch): A nonprofit that trains young water warriors to reduce household water waste, supported by a gamified app where students track their savings, share tips and earn prizes for conservation milestones.

Naturista — Aditya Herekar (11th Grade, John P. Stevens High School, social pitch): A sustainable coffee pod company developing fully dissolvable and biodegradable coffee capsules that reduce plastic waste, protect consumer health and maintain the convenience of traditional single-serve coffee systems.

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
peters@collaborativecommunications.com

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SOURCE Charles Stewart Mott Foundation