Beloit thinkers, doers, and creators took on the challenge of the popular PBS Make48 competition last weekend for a chance to win $2,000 and advance to a national competition for the sixth season of the Make48 PBS series. But we can’t tell you who won the Beloit competition yet–that will be released with fanfare in early 2023!

Three teams of Beloit students competed in the challenge.

Professor Brian Morello, Beloit College’s Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, helped prep the students last week with a design thinking workshop to help them get into the minds of the consumer. Morello said Make48 showcased the student’s talents and the mission of CELEB, the Center for Entrepreneurship in Liberal Education at Beloit.

“It was an exciting opportunity for Beloiters,” Morello said. “The teams were under pressure for 48 hours and used their agile thinking, problem-solving, communicating, and collaborating skills to produce a physical product in a real-world experience. I was impressed by every single one of the Beloit team members.”

The Macho Quatro team included Ishan Bhasin, Miles O’Bryan, Prabal Khare, and Jalen Ponder.

The Rock River Dinners: Eric Seo, Joshua Laue, Sydney Flehofer, Aleksander MytkoThe Rock River Dinners team showcased the talents of Eric Seo, Sydney Felhofer, Joshua Laue, and Aleksander Mytko.

The 404 team featured Shoumika Anannyo, Abhishek Shekhar, Hamna Zulfiqar, and Abhey Singh Guram.

Beloit College family and friends even put together Team SAT with Todd Anderbyrne, formerly of Communications & Marketing, and Professor of Economics Diep Phan’s husband, Amrish, and son, Shaan.

The 404 team: Abhishek Shekhar, Abhey Singh Guram, Shoumika Anannyo, Hamna ZulfiqarThe competition kicked off Thursday afternoon as teams brainstormed their ideas around the challenge of winter outdoor play. The product had to retail for $29.95, be suitable for ages 8+, and be played in temperatures below freezing with two or more players.

The teams came up with their concept, met with patent attorneys, designed a CAD drawing, and worked with the tool techs to prototype a product.

On Sunday, teams presented a drawing, video, sell sheet, and prototype of their invention to the judges in the hopes of winning the competition and advancing to the national finals this spring in Kansas City. The Beloit winning team will be announced in early 2023.

Beloit College partnered with the City of Beloit, businesses, and local entrepreneurs to discover homegrown talent. Make48 hosted the competition at The Lincoln Academy in Beloit, WI.