Mentors and Coaches
Our passionate Coaches and mentors fuel the Future Impact Challenge at Lettuce Build. Tap into the pool of innovators and creatives* of Lettuce Build and its partners during the Future Impact Challenge!
* These mentors are available during certain hours of a week.
Mentor Talks
Throughout the competition, we will be hosting several live workshops, a.k.a. mentor talks, so that we can help you submit the best version of your imagination you can bring to life! These workshops range from technical classes to entrepreneurial lessons to presentations from industry leaders!
Prizes
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Certificates
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Cash Prizes are awarded to the top 3 teams
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Chance to join Lettuce Build Start-up teams
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Exceptional opportunities from the Future Impact Challenge sponsors
Community
Building a community and leveraging existing communities to share, receive feedback, support, and excite your product is essential to impacting the future. The Future Impact Challenge opens the Lettuce Build high school startup team community to you!
Round 1
Application Fee: $10 /team
Registration & Submissions:
Jan. 1 - Feb. 18, 2026
(11:59 p.m. PT)
Mentor Talks & Workshops: Jan. 25, 2026 (Sun.)
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. PT
Zoom Meeting
Semi-Finalists Announced:
Feb. 23, 2026
(by 11:59 p.m. PT)
Round 1 (Registration + Qualification) of the Future Impact Challenge is a qualification phase. Examples and requirements can be found in the Resources.
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Requirements
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Survey
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Pitch Deck
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Deliverable
All teams are eligible to participate in this Round.
Round 2 (Product Development) focuses on bringing your ambitions to life! Students can find expectations on Resources.
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Requirements​
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Video Demonstration
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User Testimonials
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Only Semi-finalists are eligible to participate in this Round.
Round 2
Round 2 Fee: $250 /team
Product Development:
Feb. 24 - Mar. 25, 2026
(11:59 p.m. PT)
Mentor Talks & Workshops:
Feb. 22, 2026 (Sun.)
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. PT
Zoom Meeting
Finalists Announced:
Apr. 6, 2026
(by 11:59 p.m. PT)
Round 3
Free
Impact Pitch Date:
Apr 25, 2026 (Sat.)
9:00 a.m. - 12 o'clock PT
Mentor Talk:
Mar. 29, 2026 (Sun.)
6:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. PT
Zoom Meeting
Winners Announced:
May 4, 2026
(by 11:59 p.m. PT)
Round 3 (Impact Pitch) focuses on pitching your product to industry experts with the same zeal and passion you made it. You can view the recordings of previous years' "Impact Pitch" sessions on Resources.
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Requirements
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Presentation
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Live Q&A
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(Bonus) Peer Presentation (More details TBA)
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Only Finalists are eligible to participate in this Round.
This competition is just the beginning of your journey within the startup ecosystem. Even after the competition, there is so much more that you can do!
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Join Lettuce Build!
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Enter other competitions!
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Launch your product to the market!
and Beyond...
Prizes
Glory and experience will not be all at FIC! We also have some exciting prizes* in place.​
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Grand Winner Categories
We are proud to award three prizes to outstanding FIC finalist committed to advancing their innovation beyond the competition:​
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First Winner: USD 1000.00 cash prize
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Second Winner: USD 700.00 cash prize
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Third Winner: USD 500.00 cash prize
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Finalists
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Invitation to Winners Gala
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Meeting other Lettuce Build teams, Coaches, sponsors, advisors, etc.
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Opportunity to launch the product as an Lettuce Build startup team, post-competition, under the guidance of Silicon Valley expert mentors
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Certificates of achievement
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Semi-Finalists
All teams that qualify for Round 2 (Semi-finalists) will receive certificates of appreciation.
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Discord
Join our Discord server for updates on events, announcements, reminders, and more!
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Rules
Find an in-detail guide about "FIC: Teen Chapter" registration, submissions, and rules in our Future Impact Challenge Teen Chapter Rules Guide (we highly recommend that you read it thoroughly). ​
Eligibility
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Each team can have 2-5 members. No individual participation is allowed, as this is a team event.
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Each team must have additional (1-2) supervisors or coaches to guide the team during the challenge.
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Team members should be in secondary class, aged 13 - 19.
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Teams can submit the idea they worked on within one year of the same season.
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Teams and Coaches should commit to the entire duration of the competition.
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Participation in FIC events such as Mentor Talks are mandatory; at least one team member must be present to gather notes and/or ask questions for their group.
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Participation in the Ask Me Anything, office hours, are not mandatory but highly encouraged. Submit your questions and RSVP here; form can be edited.
Submissions
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Team members must have the authority to submit/ present their original work under their ownership of the content (or the expressed permission of any non-participating content owners).
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The submission should not disclose third-party intellectual property or violate existing copyright protections.
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The Future Impact Challenge team maintains sole discretion to interpret, modify, or eliminate any of the competition’s terms, rules, and conditions at any time and without notice. However, any changes will follow the positive welfare of the participants, volunteers, and Lettuce Build team.
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Plagiarism is a crime, and any group or individual submitting plagiarized projects might be disqualified from the present and future FIC competitions.
