Princeton Day School Student Places 2nd In National Business Competition

PRINCETON, NJ — The Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber of Commerce announced that Reanna Bhuyan Patel earned second place honors at the Young Entrepreneur's Academy National Competition, held in Frisco, Texas, in June 2026.

Patel, a West Windsor resident and rising sophomore at Princeton Day School, participated in the Chamber's local Young Entrepreneurs Academy program during the 2025-2026 school year.

The program, hosted in partnership with The College of New Jersey, gave local high school students the opportunity to develop their own businesses with guidance from Chamber members serving as volunteer instructors and mentors. Over 30 weeks, students explored ideas, tested concepts, created business plans, and pitched their products to a panel of investors.

Patel and her business, Mentora, won the local pitch competition, qualifying her to represent the Princeton Mercer program at the national competition. Mentora is an app that connects ninth- through 12th-grade students and their projects with professors, mentors, and academic opportunities through a single online platform, using portfolios and algorithmic matching to link student innovation with real-world opportunities.

Patel said her engineering work and mentorship experiences shaped the idea behind the business. "That shows me that the real gap isn't talent — it's access," she said, describing what led her to start Mentora.

Patel intends to continue developing Mentora. A pilot program is currently underway, and a patent is pending. The company plans to build partnerships with local institutions and schools to test and eventually launch the program before scaling it nationwide.

Retiring Chamber President and CEO Hal English said Mercer County has a strong culture of innovation and that Patel exceeded the Chamber's expectations. He credited the Chamber members who supported her throughout the program.

Patel said the program taught her she could take an idea that mattered to her and grow it into a meaningful entrepreneurial venture, crediting local entrepreneurs' real-world experiences with helping turn her goals into reality.

Patel will be recognized for her achievement at the Princeton Mercer Regional Chamber's July membership luncheon, and she is scheduled to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at an upcoming Trenton Thunder game.

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