Two MCA groups have progressed to the Finals of Junior Achievement's Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge! The final round of the competition will take place on March 31, 2023. Best of luck to Plenty of Pockets and Fancy Plants!

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Plenty Pockets

Vivian Vazquez and Caroline Brady

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Fancy Plants

Sophia Greene, Raleigh Lusignan, Anne-Marie Howat

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ABOUT THE TYCIC

The Trust Your Crazy Ideas Challenge starts in the classroom during the fall semester with the Junior Achievement Catalyst curriculum, a five-session program that teaches the fundamentals of entrepreneurship and innovation. Students can trust their own “Crazy Ideas” by creating a business plan, which they can then submit in order to be considered for a spot as a semi-finalist.

Throughout the spring, semifinalist teams attend the Idea Accelerator workshop series. At these workshops, students hear from local entrepreneurs about marketing, manufacturing, funding, and more. Teams work with mentors from different industries to develop a pitch, a pitch deck, and a commercial for their Crazy Idea.

The Idea Accelerator workshops provide a platform to not only inspire students to anticipate and solve problems, but also develop impactful and real-world entrepreneurial, management, public speaking, and networking skills that they’ll need throughout their careers.

After the eight-week Idea Accelerator series, student teams give their pitch in front of a panel of judges at The Big Pitch.

The first place team at The Big Pitch will earn $5,000 in scholarships, $2,500 for their school, free Chick-fil-A for a year, and a spot at the state competition. Two runners-up at The Big Pitch will receive $2,500 in scholarships.

After the Big Pitch, the local winners will be invited to the State Competition, where they’ll compete against winners from Lafayette, Baton Rouge, and Shreveport. The Statewide Winner will earn $10,000 in scholarships and $5,000 for their school. The three statewide runners-up will earn $2,500 in scholarships and $2,500 for their school.