Bellevue Students to Compete at National Youth Entrepreneurs Competition

Two graduates of the Bellevue Chamber’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy (YEA!) will showcase their start-up at the 13th Annual Saunders Scholars National Competition Saturday, June 26. The competition is sponsored by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT).

Samuel Chen and Kavin Manivasagam were selected to compete at the virtual competition as part of 20 groups from across the U.S. and India. The students, who attend Newport High School, are competing for $30,000 in collegiate scholarships and other awards.

Chen and Manivasagam are representing Bellevue, Washington with their business Renewable Fitness. Their product modifies traditional weightlifting machines to produce energy. Renewable Fitness uses a wooden frame under the weight stack on machines to produce vibrational energy when an individual uses the machine. This energy is then transferred through wires to an energy harvesting circuit, where the energy can be transferred to an external storage system or stored in the circuit.

YEA! is a national program for young entrepreneurs sponsored by local chambers of commerce. Each year, the Bellevue Chamber’s YEA! program teaches middle and high school students how to start and run their own real businesses and social movements. Students are guided through each step of starting an enterprise, from brainstorming the idea to pitching their business plan to investors. You can learn more about the Bellevue Chamber’s YEA! program here.

The Saunders Scholars Competition will take place this Saturday, June 26 at 9 AM PST. Team Renewable Fitness will compete at 12 PM PST. The event can be live-streamed here.