What's Your Big Idea? Contest for High School - Greater Arlington Chamber Of Commerce

Contest Overview

The Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Arlington ISD and is proud to announce the return of the high school expansion of the What’s Your Big Idea? Entrepreneurship Contest.

Do you have a knack for solving complicated problems with simple solutions? Do you sit around and think about ways to improve your everyday life with new technologies? Then this is the contest for you!

The What’s Your Big Idea? Entrepreneurship Contest dares you and a team of your classmates/friends from all AISD high school campuses to find an innovative and viable solution for one of the provided challenges. Student teams of three (3) to five (5) members are asked to pitch their idea in a creative, 3-minute video presentation.

This contest is a fantastic resume builder, and it allows you to be imaginative and resourceful. You’ll learn a lot about the entrepreneurial process as well.

How to Enter

Step 1: Organize a Team

Establish a team of three (3) to five (5) members. Teams smaller than three students or larger than five students will be disqualified.
*Team members do not have to attend the same school and grade level and ages may vary. All students MUST be enrolled in one of the nine (9) AISD high schools.

Step 2: Review the Challenge

Review each of the three proposed City challenges and decide which one best fits what you and your team want to focus on. YOU CAN ONLY CHOOSE ONE!

Step 3: Get Started

Brainstorm a new solution for one of the revealed issues. Ensure each team member holds a specific responsibility in the collaborative process.
Provide detailed solutions to the problem, including all the steps in the process.

Step 4: Generate a Video Pitch

Communicate your team’s solution in a 3-minute video presentation to be attached to your final entry form. Videos less than two or over three minutes will not be evaluated.

Step 5: Submit Your Entry

2025 Challenges

CHALLENGE #1: Financial Literacy in the Digital Age

Context: Financial literacy among teens remains low, with only 16.4% of U.S. students required to take a personal finance course before graduation, despite rising demands for such education (Next Gen Personal Finance, 2022). Meanwhile, platforms like TikTok have become information sources as well as entertainment, with 62% of users aged 10-29 using the platform daily (DataReportal, 2023). Imagine a scenario where social media is harnessed to boost financial literacy.

Challenge Statement: Develop an engaging solution to improve financial literacy among high school students. This solution should have ‘courses’ progressing users through the financial world, inclusive of industries beyond banking and lending. Your solution should be accessible, innovative, and leverage digital platforms (ex: TikTok, Instagram, Twitch) and/or gamified apps to make financial education appealing and impactful. Think about how you would capture and maintain students' attention and ensure the information is accurate and practical while exploring the wide world of investing, mortgages, retirement and savings, and other activities within financial markets.

Key Points to Consider & Incorporate in Your Response:

Engagement: How will your solution engage users on a digital platform where attention spans are short?
Educational Value: How can you ensure that the content is accurate, relevant, and encourages positive financial habits?
Gamification and Rewards: Can incorporating game-like elements or incentives enhance retention of financial concepts? What type of incentives would you offer in order to motivate high schoolers to continue advancing in their course work to achieve a foundation in financial literacy?
Sustainability: How would you ensure the solution remains relevant and up to date with evolving financial advice?

CHALLENGE #2: Enhancing Visitor Data Collection for Arlington, Texas

Context: Accurate data on visitor demographics and behaviors is essential for Arlington’s tourism bureau to tailor marketing strategies, plan city events, and collaborate with local businesses. However, capturing this data can be challenging, as visitors often travel via various means and stay at a range of accommodations. With approximately 48.9 million visitors annually to venues like AT&T Stadium, Six Flags Over Texas, and Globe Life Field, understanding the makeup and behaviors of Arlington’s visitors can help shape a more personalized tourism experience and maximize the city’s economic impact.

Challenge Statement: Develop an innovative solution to help Arlington’s tourism bureau capture essential data on visitors, including how they arrive in the city (e.g., car, train, airplane), their purpose of visit (business or pleasure), and where they stay (hotel, Airbnb, with family or friends). Your solution should help the bureau understand visitor demographics and behaviors to improve city planning, hospitality, transportation, and tourism offerings.

Key Points to Consider & Incorporate in Your Response:

Data Collection Methods: How can you effectively capture data in a way that is convenient for visitors and provides the tourism bureau with valuable insights?
Privacy and Compliance: How will your solution address data privacy regulations and maintain visitor trust while collecting information?
Incentives for Participation: What incentives could encourage visitors to share this information?
Demographic Insights: How can your solution categorize data by key demographics, such as age, location, purpose of visit, and accommodation choice? What could you do with the data after collection?

CHALLENGE #3: Transforming Arlington: Smart Mobility Solutions for Enhanced Entertainment Management and Event-Goer Experience

CONTEXT: Arlington, as North Texas's entertainment hub, attracts nearly 48.9 million visitors annually with its iconic $250 million entertainment complex, including sports arenas, theme parks, shopping, hotels, and a wide array of dining options. Hosting large-scale events such as MLB World Series, concerts by artists like Taylor Swift and Metallica, the INDYCAR Grand Prix, and the 2026 World Cup, Arlington faces unique challenges in managing visitor flow, traffic, and communication during peak times. A technology-driven solution that enhances the visitor experience while reducing congestion is essential to maintaining Arlington’s reputation as a premier event destination.

CHALLENGE STATEMENT: Mega events in Arlington’s Entertainment District create surges in visitors, leading to traffic congestion, parking bottlenecks, and crowd management issues. Given the $1.4 billion economic impact these events have, an innovative solution is needed to ensure efficient traffic management, smooth visitor movement, and effective communication. Design a technology-based solution that transforms event experiences, optimizes transportation, and alleviates congestion, positioning Arlington as the world’s top destination for major events. Include a strategy for implementation and ongoing communication with eventgoers.

*Remember, a comprehensive solution has the power to redefine the visitor and event-goer experience, minimize congestion, and establish Arlington as a global leader in mega-event management through technology and smart city innovation.

Key Points to Consider & Incorporate in Your Response:

Traffic Flow Optimization: How can you use technology for traffic management systems that incorporate real-time tracking, dynamic signal adjustments, and integrated navigation apps for event-specific routes, live traffic updates, and parking availability to enhance visitor flow during high-traffic events?
Public Transportation & Sustainable Transit: Encourage public transportation and alternative transit options like shuttles and e-scooters with real-time tracking and incentives for usage, reducing congestion and supporting green travel options.
Communication & Safety Tools: How can public transportation and alternative transit options like shuttles and e-scooters, enhanced with real-time tracking and usage incentives, reduce congestion and promote sustainable travel choices?
Implementation & Real-Time Feedback: How can you test and expand your solution? Consider local partnerships, community engagement and feedback from eventgoers to help refine the system and enhance Arlington’s standing as a leading event city. The City of Arlington has invested in large digital billboards that update instantly.

Entry Evaluation

Entries will be evaluated solely on the information presented in the video. However, documentation of your team’s idea development and brainstorming is required. Evaluators will consist of entrepreneurs and community/business leaders from diverse disciplines. Please view the Team Checklist to ensure each component of the challenge is met. Each entry will be evaluated on the following:

Organization of team within the outlined guidelines
Innovation in solving the problem
Collaboration among team members
Team member participation
Communication of the value proposition
Communication of idea and its uses
The viability of the idea presented
Steps to effective implementation

Contest checklist

Complete Contest Guide

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Eligibility and Participation

Q: Does a student have to be enrolled in a business, marketing or entrepreneurship course to participate?

A: No. Students may participate in the contest regardless of the courses they are enrolled in.

Q: Can I participate if I am an at-home learner?

A: Yes. Students may participate in the contest regardless of being an at-home or on-campus learner.

Q: Can our team have both at-home and on-campus learners?

A: Yes. Your team can be made up of both at-home and on-campus learners as long as all students are currently enrolled in an AISD high school.

Forming Teams

Q: Are teams required to have an instructor sponsor?

A: No. While the support of a teacher is recommended, it is not required.

Q: Are members of the team required to be in the same school or class?

A: No. Team members do not have to be from the same classroom, grade, school or organization, but all students must be currently enrolled in an ISD high school.

Q: How do I go about forming a team during the pandemic if I am an at-home learner and not attending classes on my home campus?

A: Ask your teacher(s) to help pair you up with other students either in your class or their other classes.

Q: May a student participate with more than one team?

A: No. A student may only participate on one team.

Q: How many entries may each team submit?

A: Each team is allowed to submit only one entry.

Q: Is there a limit to the number of entries a class, school or organization may submit?

A: No. There is no limit to the number of entries a class, school or organization may submit. There is no limit to the number of teams a class, school or organization may have. Each student may only participate on one team. Each team may only submit one entry.

Evaluations

Q: Will additional text in the submission form contribute to the evaluation?

A: No. The contest entry will be evaluated solely on the information presented in the video. However, documentation of your team’s idea development and brainstorming is required. These include but are not limited to - notes, drawing, charts, whiteboard pictures, group emails/chats/texts, spreadsheets, word documents, outlines, mind maps, flow charts, etc. Submissions that do NOT include brainstorming documentation will NOT be evaluated.

Video Tips

Map Out Your Presentation

Keep Your Video Short and Concise

Use Background Music

Play with the Camera Angles and Shot Ranges

Conduct a Sound Check

Make It Your Own

Editing Resources

Edit for a Finished Product

Make your presentation professional and exciting by using a video editing program. (Helpful Tip: find out how you can use your video production 1 resources on your home campus and/or the resources at the Dan Dipert Career+Tech Center to make your video look professional).
Check your school or public library for resources to enhance your presentation.
Ensure audio matches the video (there is nothing more distracting than sound that doesn’t match the lip movements).

HIGH SCHOOL PRESENTING SPONSORS

Contest Timeline

November 1: Challenges Released

March 14: Entry Form & Video Pitch Due 11:59 pm CST

March 26: Top Winning Teams Announced

April 2025: Recognition & Networking Event

Recognition & Awards

One team for each challenge who has demonstrated the most innovative and viable solution to the challenge question will be selected as our TOP WINNER!

Win a fantastic prize package including gift certificates to local entertainment & restaurants. Also, your idea may be implemented as a city-wide program. What an AWESOME thing to have on your resume!

The TOP WINNERS and two guests will be invited to a private recognition ceremony on April 2025.

Brainstorming Tools

Entrepreneurship Vocabulary

Social Entrepreneur: A person who establishes an enterprise with the aim of solving social problems or effecting social change.
Unique Selling Proposition (USP): the unique benefit exhibited by a company, service, product or brand that enables it to stand out from competitors.
Customer Discovery: to understand customers and their needs that you may be able to satisfy.
Value Proposition: an innovation, service, or feature intended to make a company or product attractive to customers.
Minimal Viable Product (MVP): a product with just enough features to satisfy early customers, and to provide feedback for future product development
Social Enterprise: a commercial organization that has specific social objectives that serve its primary purpose.
Elevator Pitch: a brief speech that outlines an idea for a product, service or project.
Pitch Deck: a brief presentation, often created using PowerPoint, Keynote or Prezi, used to provide your audience with a quick overview of your business plan.

What’s Your Big Idea? Contest for High School

Contest Overview

How to Enter

2025 Challenges

Entry Evaluation

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Video Tips

HIGH SCHOOL PRESENTING SPONSORS

Contest Timeline

Recognition & Awards

Brainstorming Tools

Entrepreneurship Vocabulary

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