Morris County teens win PitchNJ entrepreneurship contest with health, moving and wellness ideas
FLORHAM PARK BOROUGH, N.J. (Morris County) — Teen entrepreneurs from Morris County schools won seed grants in the 2025 PitchNJ competition after presenting business ideas ranging from a “Teddy Bear Clinic” to help children feel more comfortable in medical settings to a moving-service platform using artificial intelligence.
PitchNJ, an annual contest of the Morris County Economic Development Corporation, gives student entrepreneurs from Morris County and beyond a chance to compete for grants funded by local businesses. Winners receive money and mentorship support intended to help turn early-stage concepts into launch-ready projects, organizers said.
This year’s first-place winners were Duncan Felch, Francesca Piccolo and Gabriella Goodman of the Morris County School of Technology for Teddy Bear Clinic, a program designed to help children feel more comfortable around health care professionals by bringing stuffed animals for friendly “check-ups” by firefighters, police officers, EMTs and other providers, organizers said.
Second place went to Anirudh Venkatesan of Morris Hills High School for True Move, a concept aimed at making home and business moves more efficient, including using AI to create a bidding process among qualified movers and allowing customers to track moves in real time, organizers said.
Third place went to Tramaine Cooper and Levi Salsberg of the Morris County School of Technology for Rhythm, a 24/7 wellness wristband that monitors biometrics related to sleep, daily activity and recovery while providing user recommendations, organizers said.
The winning teams received grants of $1,000, $500 and $250, respectively. Organizers said the funding was provided by Morris County businesses NOMADICS, Saiber LLC and SDL Advisors.
A panel of local business professionals selected seven finalists from dozens of applicants to make live presentations, according to organizers. Judges included Nicholas Dambrosio, CEO and founder of NOMADICS; Jennifer Musser, author and founder of JLM & Associates Consulting; Lois Manzella-Marchitto, founder of Fitness Knocking; Scott Shaw, director of career and technical education at the Morris County Vocational School District; and Bethany Friedman, an associate at Saiber LLC.
“These young ladies and men give me loads of hope for the future,” Manzella-Marchitto said. “They were innovative, intelligent and excellent speakers.”
Added Dambrosio, “The young professionals did a great job. We’re very proud.”
PitchNJ began as a collaboration between Business Bootcamp — a program associated with the Morris County School of Technology — and the Morris County Economic Development Corporation, a division of the Morris County Chamber of Commerce. The event is hosted each year at Fairleigh Dickinson University, organizers said.
“The Morris County EDC is proud to support and encourage the growth of entrepreneurship in Morris County,” said Meghan Hunscher, chamber president. “In addition to PitchNJ, the MCEDC hosts a monthly Entrepreneur Roundtable. The MCEDC also values the work that the NJSBDC and FDU Rothman Institute for the business community. We look forward to partnering with the County College of Morris on the Center for Entrepreneurship, set to open in 2026.”
