Three Jackson County students have placed in a regional qualifier for business pitch competitions.

The STARTedUp Foundation’s Innovate WithIN is the largest high school competition in the country and has grown year-over-year with 2024 being another record-breaking year, according to a news release from the foundation.

The Jackson County students who will compete in Region 6 are Bryce Peak of Brownstown Central High School, who recently won the 2024 Jackson County Maverick Challenge with his Jackson County Drone Service business pitch and Jacob Rennekamp (Fresh Start Bins) and Elmer Vincent (Vincente Clothing), both from Seymour High School.

The Region 6 pitch competition is from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. April 25 at Maker13 in Jeffersonville. Anyone wishing to attend may RSVP in person or join the livestream at startedupfoundation.org/region-6.

The top team will be selected at each of the six regions during the competitions hosted by Maker13, Indiana University Indianapolis, Purdue University’s Purdue Innovates, Society of Innovators at Purdue Northwest, University of Evansville and Parkview Mirro Center for Research and Innovations.

The remaining four teams will be selected by The STARTedUP Foundation and an impartial group of judges.

There were nearly 3,000 students who signed up to compete with a 28% increase in the number of teams who submitted a finalized pitch including a three-minute video pitch reel and lean business model canvas.

Sixty-one student teams from across Indiana will be competing for 10 spots in the state finals taking place June 21.