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Essentially Fresh, a start-up focused on all-natural car air fresheners, emerged as the winner of District 202's inaugural Entrepreneurial Student Pitch Night held on May 6. The event marked the conclusion of the year-long INCubatoredu program across four high schools: Plainfield South High School (PSHS), Plainfield High School-Central Campus, Plainfield North High School (PNHS), and Plainfield East High School.
The Essentially Fresh team, composed of PSHS seniors Nick Gawlik, Kyle Acs, Brilan Townsend, and Elaina Poston, received scholarships to further their education or invest in their business. Initially considering a windshield cover product for snow protection, they shifted focus to car air fresheners due to market saturation and personal connections with the product.
"We all had cars in common," Poston explained. "Air fresheners are popular and appeal to men and women."
Breanna Roti taught the business class and created teams based on students' strengths in finance, communication, or marketing. "I am proud of all my teams; they all grew in a lot of ways," she stated.
The competition included other notable participants: Opal Fragrances from PNHS secured second place with its essential oils fragrance company idea; Tackl’ It from PNHS came third with a compact wearable tackle box concept. Additional entries were Chill Seal from PEHS with an ice cream container lid idea; Terra from PHSCC proposing a natural T-shirt line; and Expiri from PNHS offering an app for tracking food expiration dates.
Following their victory at Pitch Night, several judges and community members expressed interest in advising or investing in Essentially Fresh. Meanwhile, Opal Fragrances also won through a wild card bid voted by community members during the event.
As for advice to future students participating in similar programs, Gawlik emphasized passion for one's product while Acs highlighted perseverance despite challenges. "This class isn’t easy... it’s worth it in the end," Acs remarked.
Poston advocated authenticity over professional facades during presentations. Townsend stressed the importance of building connections with mentors and classroom visitors: "You never know when you will cross paths in the future."
District 202 plans to expand sections of its INCubatoredu program starting this fall.
