Some business ideas begin with market research. Others begin with personal experience.
For Valentina Lanni, the inspiration came from the pool deck.
A competitive swimmer who trains seven times each week while maintaining honour roll standing, Valentina has witnessed firsthand the challenges many young athletes face as they balance demanding training schedules, academics, and everyday life. Representing Mensa Youth, she brought those experiences to this year's National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. Rather than accepting those challenges as unavoidable, she began thinking about how technology could help athletes better understand their recovery, well-being, and overall performance.
That thinking led to the development of her winning National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge project: an Athlete Recovery and Training App designed to help young athletes, parents, and coaches work together to support healthier training habits and reduce burnout. The idea earned Valentina the title of 2026 Grade 7/8 Division Winner at the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge.
"Coaches always say to train smarter, not harder," explained Valentina during her presentation. "That inspired me with an idea for an app that helps youth athletes track performance, recovery, and well-being in one simple and easy-to-use platform."
Unlike many sports tracking applications that focus primarily on performance statistics, Valentina's concept takes a more holistic approach. Her platform would connect athletes, parents, and coaches through a shared system that tracks not only training and performance, but also recovery, mood, fatigue levels, communication, and overall wellness.
Athletes would be able to log practices, record their energy levels, reflect on their training experiences, and monitor trends over time. Parents would receive notifications about recovery-related concerns and gain access to resources that help support healthy habits. Coaches could monitor team well-being while maintaining appropriate privacy for athletes. Together, the system would create a more informed and supportive environment around youth sports participation.
The idea addresses a challenge that Valentina believes deserves more attention.
"For too long I've seen people lose their passion and quit a sport because they fall victim to exhaustion and burnout," she explained. "With greater awareness, athletes can learn to manage these obstacles."
Her presentation demonstrated a thoughtful understanding not only of the problem, but also of the market opportunity. Valentina cited data showing that a significant percentage of Canadian youth participate in organized sports while noting that concerns related to physical and mental well-being continue to grow. She identified a gap between awareness and action, arguing that existing platforms often focus on performance or communication independently rather than connecting performance, recovery, and mental health in one system.
The proposal also earned strong praise from the judging panel, who highlighted both the practicality of the concept and the depth of thought behind it.
Judge Yivgeni Matoussov described the project as "an excellent idea" and noted that "the development process is very clearly outlined including a free version to get the initial customer base." He added that he believed the platform "could be successful" if developed and brought to market.
Luke Vesz also saw significant potential in the concept, particularly because it serves not only athletes, but also coaches and parents. He wrote that it was "an idea I believe would work if executed and marketed well, especially with the angle towards all of youth athletes, coaches and parents," and noted that Valentina's presentation was "extremely polished and well presented."
Judge Mia Torr praised the project's focus on both the physical and mental well-being of young athletes, as well as the communication it encourages between athletes, parents, and coaches. She described it as "an outstanding idea that considers the mind and body of young athletes and combines this with much-needed communication between athletes, parents and coaches."
Torr further noted that the concept was "deeply nuanced in a way that only someone immersed in this environment can understand" and added, "I would have used this as a youth, and would also use it as a parent." She also commended Valentina's communication skills, writing, "Exceptional communication and delivery. I love how clearly you articulated your ideas."
Collectively, the judges recognized not only the strength of the concept itself, but also Valentina's ability to identify a meaningful challenge, research potential solutions, and communicate a compelling vision for how technology could support healthier athletic development.
Valentina also outlined a sustainable business model that would offer both free and premium subscription options while providing licensing opportunities for teams, schools, and sports organizations. She discussed future development strategies, prototype creation, user testing, and the importance of collecting feedback from athletes and coaches to continually improve the platform.
One of the strongest ideas presented during her pitch captured the philosophy behind the entire project.
"If we can measure performance, we should also be able to measure the factors that impact performance the most, and respond to propel athletes forward."
That mindset reflects the approach she brought to the challenge itself. Rather than focusing solely on athletic outcomes, Valentina emphasized the relationship between performance, recovery, communication, and overall well-being.
When asked what advice she would offer to other students interested in developing their own ideas, Valentina emphasized the importance of preparation.
"Research thoroughly before you start," she said. "Understanding the problem, the people you're affecting, the preexisting solutions, and the potential challenges will make your idea stronger. Don't be afraid to ask questions and keep learning as you develop your project. The more informed you are, the better decisions you'll make along the way."
That mindset was evident throughout her project.
Rather than focusing solely on technology, the proposal focused on helping young athletes better understand themselves and maintain a healthy relationship with sport. Recovery, communication, mental health, nutrition, sleep, and support systems all play important roles in helping athletes succeed and remain engaged in the activities they love.
Valentina says her favourite part of participating in the challenge was seeing an idea evolve into something more complete.
"My favourite part of the challenge was taking an idea and turning it into something more complete," she shared. "I enjoyed exploring different possibilities and adding new features that strengthened the concept. Seeing all the pieces come together into a well-developed solution was both exciting and rewarding."
Looking ahead, she hopes to continue developing projects that benefit others.
"I hope to spend more time in the future developing projects that help the community and the people around me," she said. "Many of my ideas come from the sports community and my interest in medicine, and I enjoy combining the two areas to create new solutions. No matter how big or small the impact, I look forward to creating projects that can make a difference in people's lives."
That commitment to helping others through innovation is one of the reasons Valentina's project stood out.
By combining personal experience, thoughtful research, and a genuine desire to support fellow athletes, she demonstrated the qualities that the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge was designed to celebrate: curiosity, initiative, problem solving, and the courage to transform an idea into a meaningful solution.
As the 2026 Grade 7/8 Division Winner, Valentina demonstrated how personal experience, thoughtful research, and a commitment to helping others can come together to create an idea with genuine potential for impact.