Most high school competitions end with a trophy and a handshake. This one came with investor-style questions, real money on the line and the kind of pressure you don’t usually feel until much later in life. At The Next Big Thing entrepreneurship competition held in Santa Monica earlier this month, students didn’t just present ideas — they pitched actual startups, defending everything from satellite technology to sustainable fashion in front of judges who took them seriously.
High school junior Jonah Meyuhas founded The Next Big Thing (TNBT) to encourage more teens to embrace innovative entrepreneurship. This year’s competition was held at and sponsored by TRC Companies, and the event comprised more than 30 initial applicants from a variety of high schools across L.A. County. After a competitive selection process, eight finalists advanced to the final round. The total prize pool reached $6,500 and was awarded to the top-performing teams.
Final results:
- 1st Place ($2,500): Aphelion Aeronautics – Tobin Palmer, Landon Kummer and Brandon Kirbyson (Santa Monica High School)
- 2nd Place ($1,750): CocoLoco – Arlo Lamb, Ethan Edwards, Thatcher Kretchman and Charlie Cohen (Santa Monica High School)
- 3rd Place ($1,250): Chaia Clothing – Chaya Mobasser (Beverly Hills High School)
- Honorable Mentions ($500 each): Liquid IQ – Sabrina Rifkin (Archer School For Girls), Athlete Impact – Jonah Dworkin (Santa Monica High School)
Aphelion Aeronautics stood out as the most technically advanced and compelling venture. These students’ innovation focuses on redesigning satellite steering systems — one of the heaviest and most resource-intensive components in spacecraft — through a novel integrated actuator. Their prototype demonstrated approximately 30% weight reduction, 16% volume reduction and 71% power savings compared to conventional systems, with potential cost savings of up to $150,000 per satellite. In addition to the strength of their concept, they backed their pitch with experimental validation, a provisional patent and a clearly defined path to market, setting them apart at a level rarely seen in high school competitions.
Across the board, the event showcased an impressive level of innovation and professionalism. Finalists presented well-developed ideas, handled investor-style questioning and demonstrated that they had real potential to continue building beyond the competition.
From my perspective, the most impactful part of the day was seeing students not only take their ideas seriously, but be taken seriously by others. Everyone in the room was extremely impressed. Students had to respond to questions and receive feedback at a level that felt much closer to an actual investor setting than a high school event, showing that with the correct platform, high schoolers are not only capable — they are excelling at building the businesses of our future. The event reinforced TNBT’s mission to make entrepreneurship more accessible and actionable for the next generation.
“Looking ahead, the goal is to scale TNBT into a broader platform for student entrepreneurship,” says high school junior and TNBT founder Jonah Meyuhas. This includes expanding outreach to more schools across Los Angeles, increasing the applicant pool and growing the prize pool to five figures through additional sponsors and partners.
“We’re also looking to build more support around the competition itself by offering mentorship, workshops and ongoing guidance for finalists so their ideas don’t stop after the competition,” he says.
One of the biggest takeaways from this year was that students need both funding and continued structure and resources to actually build. Longer term, the vision is to expand TNBT into other regions and potentially create a network of competitions, giving more students access to the same opportunity.
Jonah Meyuhas is a high school junior and founder of The Next Big Thing (TNBT).
