The stage is set for the SharkNinja Innovation Challenge live pitch finale on March 27, where seven student-led startups will take the stage to present their breakthrough inventions. The panel of judges, with deep expertise in innovation, product design, and entrepreneurship, will award cash prizes, mentorship, and additional support to help fuel the winners’ next stage of growth.
Meet the Judges
Mark Barrocas, CEO, SharkNinja
Under Mark’s leadership since 2008, SharkNinja has evolved from a modest home appliance company into a product innovation powerhouse with $6.4 billion in annual revenue in 2025, serving hundreds of millions of consumers across 38 international markets and 38 product categories. Mark rallies the team behind a steadfast commitment to delivering innovation, quality, and value for consumers through every single SharkNinja product.
Cait Brumme, CEO, MassChallenge
Cait leads MassChallenge, the global innovation institution and co-host of the SharkNinja Innovation Challenge. She previously led the Impact Collaboratory at Harvard Business School, focusing on sustainable and impact investing, and holds an MBA (Baker Scholar) from Harvard and a BA with honors from Princeton.
Ross Richardson, Chief Design Officer, SharkNinja
Joining SharkNinja in 2015, Ross currently serves as Chief Design Officer. He leads a global team of Mechanical and Product Design Engineers, Industrial Designers, NPI, and R&D professionals across 3 continents and time zones on the design and delivery for all Shark and Ninja products.
Stephanie Connaughton, Founder, Boston Legacy Football Club
Stephanie is a strategic marketer, innovator and brand builder, having led the creation of over 7 brands including the Gillette Venus. She invented a yoga mat anchored by 4 utility patents and counts herself as one of Boston’s experts on early-stage consumer start-ups advising dozens of companies. Most recently, she is part of the founding team of the Boston Legacy Football Club.
About the SharkNinja Innovation Challenge
The SharkNinja Innovation Challenge was launched in partnership with MassChallenge to identify and support emerging innovators with bold ideas that solve real-world problems. It’s part of SharkNinja’s signature philanthropy program, Innovation for Impact, which advances innovation, empowers a new generation of innovators, and drives positive outcomes for communities, partners, and consumers worldwide.
Students and early-career entrepreneurs from across the country submitted concepts across three categories:
- Consumer Problem-Solving Innovation
- Sustainability & Circularity
- Universal Design
Seven finalist teams from MIT, Tufts, Bentley, USC, Brown, UT Austin, and The University of Oklahoma were selected to move forward and have spent the past several weeks refining their ideas with mentorship and guidance ahead of the live pitch event.
At the finale, each team will present their solution to the judging panel, who will evaluate the innovations based on creativity, real-world impact, and potential to scale.
Interested in attending the live finale event? Email [email protected] to register!