YSU announces the 2025 Penguin Shark Tank finalists

Finalists have been announced for the Youngstown State University Penguin Shark Tank competition March 20.

This exciting event offers students the chance to compete for up to $10,000, with top prizes awarded for Best Business Idea and Best Established Business. There is also a prize for the audience-selected Fan Favorite.

Finalists for Best Business Idea:

• Sai Teja Reddy Bokka, a Mechanical Engineering graduate student, is building Vigyus, a specialized platform for STEM education.
• Jan Harter, a junior Business Analytics and Economics major, is developing a new piece of climbing equipment.
• Nabayt Kibreab, a junior Computer Science and Economics major, is developing Velora, a stock trading platform.

Finalists for Best Established Business:

• Alexis Gaetano, a senior Marketing major whose business is ACG Media Marketing.
• Hailey Bonner, a junior Marketing major who started Coastavida Jewelry.
• Cadence McStowe, a freshman Nursing student whose business is Tallowtalk Skincare.

The Penguin Shark Tank event will feature a keynote address by Stacy Howlett, CEO of Howlett Logistics, before final pitches to the judges.

The esteemed panel of judges — also known as the "sharks" — includes Linda Barton of Sweet Memories Vintage Tees, Patrick Burgan of Burgan Real Estate, Stacy Howlett of Howlett Logistics, Mark Lamoncha of Humtown Products and DeShawn Scott of The D5 Group.

Penguin Shark Tank is funded in part by a grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation. Additional prize money includes the John D. Burgan Entrepreneurship Prize.

Penguin Shark Tank will take place Thursday, March 20 in the auditorium of Williamson Hall. The event is free and open to students, faculty, staff and the public. Doors open at 5 p.m. and the program begins at 5:30 p.m.

For more information, please contact Cynthia Manofsky at 330.941.2358 or ccmanofsky@ysu.edu.