OmniShake Wins First Place & $10,000 at Marist’s 11th IDEA Pitch Night
On Wednesday, May 13, 2025, Marist’s IDEA class hosted it’s 11th Pitch Night. IDEA is an honors level elective for juniors and seniors that guides teams over a school year to transform their innovative ideas into practical business proposals.
Coming in third place with their company Rise Button and winning $2,500 toward their company were team members, Joey Hughes ’26, Ryan Lawlor ’26, Jacklyn Pigatto ’26, Sara Winters ’26 & Lily Yocum ’25. Rise button is the smarter way to wake up. Designed to get you moving before you hit snooze, Rise Button helps you start your day energized, alert, and ready to go. No more groggy mornings—just a better beginning.
Coming in second place with their company VitaBomb and winning $5,000 toward their company were team members Maddie Berry ’25, Eva Dawczak ’25, Kate Donegan ’25, Rorey Donnelly ’25 & Michael Fortner ’25. VitaBomb is the fun, fizzy way for kids to take their vitamins! Just drop a tablet into water and watch it bubble into a flavorful drink they’ll love. Healthy has never been this exciting.
Taking home first place with their company OmniShake and winning $10,000 toward their company were team members Sean Carroll ’26, Devin Feliciano ’26, Danny Kelly ’26, Sameer Tadros ’26 & Colin Vucko ’26. OmniShake is the leak-proof, durable shaker built for active lives. Its innovative design ensures smooth mixes every time, no clumps, no mess—just better fuel on the go.
Congratulations to the team of five Marist juniors and OmniShake! Special thank you the three judges who served as the panel at Pitch Night:
- Alex Belan – Senior Vice President, Bank of America – Global Commercial Banking
- Eugene Narciso – Founder, Footsteps2Brilliance
- Kevin O’Finn ‘17 – Founder, HeadPhones+ | Marist IDEA Class 2017 – 1st Place
In the year long IDEA (Innovative Design for Entrepreneurial Applications) course, students have the opportunity to create and fully develop their own product or service. Student teams
work through the process of ideation, market research, and business plan development. They learn about marketing, accounting, human resources, as well as the legal aspects of running a business. This is hands-on course designed to allow students to imagine, design, construct, market, and refine their own business ventures.
