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The judges' panel for the FLEX state finals was stacked with prominent leaders of Georgia's business sphere, including Jamal Lewis of the Partnership for Inclusive Innovation and Nick Carse, co-founder of popsicle company King of Pops. They were given the task of critiquing and examining the business proposals of each finalist and ultimately coming to a decision on who would be named the winner.

Competitor Lauren Harris's androgynous perfume line Laurynce Fragrance, emphasizing self-expression and identity, was particularly popular with the younger crowd attending the business expo that opened the day's competition.

Zachary Elkhatib took to showcasing his business, Zach's Durty Dogz, with quite the hands-on approach--patrons of the event were able to purchase a hot dog straight off of his cart's menu.

The fashion brand Vanity and Vitality, created by FLEX competitor Ryan Chen, promotes and encourages positivity and mental health awareness. Chen was inspired to create the brand due to his own personal struggles with mental health.

While the judges deliberated who among the three finalists to declare the winner of the competition, the seven other competitors were invited back on stage to share the commercials they had made for the program and answer questions pertaining to their businesses.

The three finalists await the results from the judges, each accompanied by their mentors. As Lauren Harris's mentor was unable to attend the event, her mother took up position on stage beside her.

Georgia FLEX 2025 winner Addison Hilsman celebrates his accomplishment with FLEX Executive Director Melissa Dark. During his presentation, Hilsman expressed an intent to use the $10000 cash prize to fund his auto maintenance business, namely through purchasing a lift to cut his work time in half.

Isabelle Peek presents her business idea, CATCH Videography, to the panel of judges. Catering to high school and college athletes, Peek's service aims to assist them in compiling their best shots and plays to help them be scouted in an increasingly digital world, and is rooted in Peek's own passion for sports.

TIFTON — With aspiring young minds like the finalists of the 2025 FLEX state competition leading the charge, Georgia’s economic future is sure to be bright.

Ten high school students from all across the state gathered at the John Hunt Auditorium Wednesday, April 2, for the state finals of the Foundational Leadership and Entrepreneur X-Perience program, a competition encouraging Georgia’s youths to engage with the business world and help them make their entrepreneurial ideas a reality.

The group of finalists had managed to rise to the top at both local and regional-levels of the competition, evolving their business from outlines and plans to fully functioning and actively operating services in a matter of months.

As part of the final stage of the competition, they assembled a line of booths in the atrium of the auditorium prior to the program, showcasing their businesses and services to the guests of the event in the form of a miniature business expo. Ideas ranged from fashion brands and food to auto maintenance and social media marketing, with some young entrepreneurs even selling some of their products and services as requested.

Afterwards, the program moved to the main stage, where event emcees Scott Spivey, founding CEO of AsystYOU Technology, and Chloe Paulk, founder of Cake it with Chloe and former FLEX winner, welcomed guests and competitors alike to the state finals. The pair expressed their excitement for the competition, noting the passion and creativity all of the finalists had demonstrated in their work across the past few months and earlier that day.

FLEX executive director Melissa Dark was proud to see the dedication on display from the participating youths, expressing in her opening remarks how grateful she was that her program was continuing to support Georgia’s students in following their dreams and thanking those in the audience for showing their support as well.

“We’re thrilled for you to be here with us today to celebrate entrepreneurship, innovation, and the incredible achievements of the state’s young talent,” Dark said. “I think most of us, at least of a certain age, would agree with the old adage ‘there’s no substitute for hard work.’ The kids have put in the hard work, and you all get to see the results of that today.”

Each finalist was given a minute to present their business ideas in an elevator pitch to a panel of judges consisting of various prominent figures in Georgia’s business sphere, including Kristen Dunning, owner of soap brand Gently Soap; Chris Clark, president of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce; and Stephanie Stuckey, chairwoman of southeast convenience store chain Stuckey’s.

Once all the entrepreneurs had presented, it was up to the judges to deliberate and decide upon the final competitors, selecting the three finalists who had performed the best. Lauren Harris of Sumter County, Isabelle Peek of Houston County, and Addison Hilsman of Morgan County were named the top three, and moved on to the next phase of the finals.

They were tasked with presenting their business ideas to the judges once more, now having ten minutes to outline their product or service, inspiration and development, estimated projections, and plans for the future.

Afterwards, the judges were given the opportunity to ask them questions, including what their plans were to break into their respective markets, what they estimated their production rates for their goods or services were or would be as they grew, and how they planned to market their business in a rapidly changing economy.

Ultimately, the panel named Hilsman and his business, Elite Diesel Performance and Accessories, the winner of the competition, while Peek’s media content creation company CATCH Videography took second and Harris’s androgynous perfume line Laurynce Fragrance was ranked third.

Alongside Hilsman receiving the cash prize, each judge had words of advice and constructive criticism for the three top finalists, encouraging them to continue developing their businesses moving ahead. Dunning, speaking on behalf of the panel, extended this sentiment to all ten finalists, urging them to follow their dreams and make their businesses something to be remembered.

“All of you are going to be rockstars no matter what you do — especially in the businesses that we saw today,” Dunning said. “We’re truly rooting for all of you.”

Paulk asserted that although only one of the entrepreneurs had won the competition, they would all continue to receive support from FLEX through the FLEX Alumni program, which would aim to assist them in continuing to run their businesses successfull.

“I love that FLEX continues for these students — this is definitely not the end for them,” Paulk said. “It doesn’t stop when the confetti starts falling. … This is just the beginning.”