Senior Aarush Channapragada’s fidgets, nervously awaiting the competition results of his business pitch for his company, Pawscan, which uses technology to help doctors detect cancer in dogs. Finally, with a piercing announcement, the suspense is over — he learns that his pitch has placed second in its track at the Tie Young Entrepreneur Global Competition, a business competition involving 52 teams from the United States and India. 

Channapragada has always been competitive, honing this nature from playing sports. At a young age, his competitiveness fed an interest in business. He began with arts and crafts and lemonade stands, but has since progressed into clothing brands and apps.

“I think that competitiveness transferred to business as time went on, because I like making money,” Channapragada said. “I like spending money, so making money was always a fun thing for me to do.”

Channapragada’s passion for business has also inspired him to compete in several business competitions, including Youth Business Ventures Challenge at Stanford University. In TYE Globals, his most memorable competition, Channapragada met with Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, competed for awards and discussed ways to get his Pawscan software onto the market. Although his team didn’t win, Channapragada remains optimistic about the benefits of competing, such as the chance to promote his company and connect with others. 

“There was a sense of disappointment due to us not winning the competition, but it was also a good opportunity to network,” Channapragada said.

Previously, Channapragada encountered many challenges as he developed various businesses. After making an app called Booked to help teenagers launch businesses in cosmetic services, Channapragada faced legal issues with the selling of his services without a license. He ultimately decided to drop the business. 

“A big thing is to do a lot of the research before you start jumping into marketing or development, but it’s more about who you know and not what you know,” Channapragada said.

Through business, Channapragada has made countless invaluable connections and improved his ability to speak to strangers. Now a senior working on college applications, Channapragada’s businesses have taken a sideline, but he intends to major in business in college.

“The time I’ve spent working on businesses has definitely mellowed down now because it’s the first semester of senior year, but in second semester, it’ll definitely pick back up to six hours a day,” Channapragada said.