Built by students who wanted somewhere to pitch.

PitchTank is a student-run organization that helps young innovators develop, pitch, and launch their business ideas in front of local investors.

Teens are natural builders.

Young people are natural ideators and builders. Steve Jobs called people tool builders, pointing out that a person on a bicycle beats the peregrine falcon at efficiency of movement. Human beings keep changing the world through relentless creativity.

At PitchTank, we believe that if we, as teens, are passionate about what we want to create, we can make a real impact. PitchTank is here to support young innovators in making that impact and turning their entrepreneurial ideas into reality.

Students brainstorming ideas with sticky notes around a table

100+

students have pitched

executive interviews

Cash

prizes for the top pitches

The team behind PitchTank

PitchTank is run entirely by high school students at John P. Stevens High School in Edison, NJ.

Founder

Abhinav Pentyala

Founder & President

“As a high school student with a passion for entrepreneurship, I saw the potential and creativity of my peers. I also saw that many young innovators lacked the resources and support to bring their ideas to life. So I founded PitchTank with a simple mission: help fellow young entrepreneurs turn their visions into reality.”

Abhinav founded PitchTank in January 2024 as a student at John P. Stevens High School, after seeing how many classmates had great ideas and nowhere to take them. He built the program from scratch: recruiting local business owners to judge as sharks, running the workshops and competitions, managing partnerships, and leading the student team that keeps it going.

He also created Teen BizCase, the interview series on this site, so students can learn directly from founders and executives about how real businesses get built.

Abhinav on LinkedIn

Executive board

Satvik Daram
Executive Board Member
A student at John P. Stevens High School with a passion for engineering and business. Satvik joined PitchTank to connect students with real business owners and help them take the first step toward success. He also helped start Starboard, a student rocketry team, and plays music to unwind.
Akram Razak
Executive Board Member
A student at John P. Stevens High School who hopes to build a career in business. Akram joined the board to help students who see starting a business as difficult, or impossible, put their good ideas to work.

Our partners

Local business leaders who judge, mentor, and support PitchTank students.

Meet our partners

Questions about PitchTank?

Students, parents, judges, and sponsors can all reach the team directly.