Aktipis Entrepreneurship Fellowship

I’ve never really thought of myself as a “business person.” I didn’t grow up selling lemonade or selling shoes. But I’ve always been the type of person who sees a problem and can’t stop thinking about how to fix it. That instinct is exactly what led to the creation of my company, OmniShake. My journey into entrepreneurship began with Marist’s IDEA class which was modeled after Shark Tank. The class was divided into teams of five and tasked with solving a real world problem. At the end of the year, we would pitch our business to a panel of judges, and the winning team would receive a $10,000 grand prize. My group was all in from the start. We started by listing every daily problem we faced. Most were unrealistic or not worth building a business around. But one issue stood out: the frustration of clumping powdered supplements in leaky, low-quality plastic shaker bottles. We had all experienced clumping supplements, leaking, and difficulty cleaning cheap, plastic bottles. We knew that we could create a high-quality product that would put an end to these difficulties. Before we even had a product, my team voted me in as CEO. Their trust meant everything to me, and I promised to lead with focus and commitment. The beginning wasn’t smooth. We struggled to work as a team and we had no clear direction. But once we landed on our solution, a stainless steel, leak proof shaker with built in sifter technology, everything changed. We became a functional team and we were passionate about our product. We contacted many manufacturers until we found the perfect one who could deliver exactly what we envisioned. We paid $80 out of our own pockets to order a prototype, laser-engraved with our logo. When it arrived, it was everything we had dreamed of. This only fueled our passion for innovation and drive to succeed. OmniShake taught me entrepreneurship, communication, and leadership, qualities I now share with Stelios. I also learned how to manage a team, make hard decisions, and create something from scratch. I began to see how school connected directly to real life. Math gave me the foundation for margins, cost analysis, and planning. Writing and communication mattered every time we pitched, sent emails, or created product descriptions. I wasn’t just learning in class. I was using those skills every day. On final pitch night, we showed up in suits and delivered the best version of our presentation. After all our preparation and work, OmniShake was selected as the winner. We received $10,000 in startup funding. That money helped us build our website, place our first order of bottles, and officially launch OmniShake. Today, our site is live at omnishake.com. We’ve already started taking preorders and building a real customer base. But the success of OmniShake is not just about sales. It represents something bigger. It shows my ability to lead, innovate, and to execute on an idea. My academic record, including a 4.83 weighted GPA and 33 ACT score, shows that I thrive in school. This is something that is true for many people but what makes me similar to Stelios is our ambition and entrepreneurial spirit. Like him, I have a curiosity about the world and a drive to innovate. These are qualities that only a select few people possess. People like Stelios and myself will do whatever it takes to preserve our ideas and succeed.