Sammamish teens win business pitch with an idea that stinks

The article details the success of three Eastlake High School students—Bharat Dwivedi, Ajay Raghavan, and Rohan Kalra—who won first place and a $250 prize at the Emerging Entrepreneurs Challenge with their innovative concept of turning cow manure into cement. Motivated by the need to reduce methane emissions, as the cement industry is a significant contributor to greenhouse gases, the students conducted thorough research and discovered that components of cow manure could replace certain ingredients in cement, benefiting both the environment and local agriculture. After two months of preparation, they presented their idea and impressed judges with their thoroughness and feasibility. They highlighted that Washington state produces over 5. 7 million pounds of cow manure each year, much of which is left to decompose in fields.

While the project has great potential, the students recognized the substantial financial challenges ahead, estimating that at least $1 million would be needed to turn their concept into reality. Through this experience, they developed valuable skills in business planning and public speaking and expressed enthusiasm for participating in future competitions to continue refining their entrepreneurial ideas.