Shreyas Parab and Sriram Hathwar, finalists in the University of Delaware’s 2015 Diamond Challenge, are now taking their company to the next level.

Parab and Hathwar’s Spell for Success is an online study tool that provides students with thousands of the most-frequently used words in spelling bees. Now, the company has expanded and partnered with Albert.io, a leading online platform that creates questions for various subjects like AP exams and the SATs.

The Spell for Success team will reveal the result of this collaboration with Albert.io on their website in January 2017.

“I am excited that Shreyas and Sriram have experienced continued success and growth,” said Julie Frieswyk, youth programs lead for the Horn Program. “This duo has a combination of creativity and self-determination that, coupled with the Diamond Challenge curriculum, has had tremendous impact.”

The Diamond Challenge, part of the Horn Program in Entrepreneurship’s Paul and Linda McConnell Youth Entrepreneurship Initiative at UD, is a venture concept funding competition for high school students.

Participants in the Diamond Challenge gain valuable first-hand experience in conceiving an idea for a new business or social venture. Students test their ideas by talking to potential customers and gathering evidence to validate the viability of their business or social impact model, then pitch their ideas by submitting a written concept and presenting to a panel of judges.

Parab is a 16-year-old from Aston, Pennsylvania, and a junior at Archmere Academy in Claymont, Delaware. He has appeared at the Scripps Spelling Bee twice, at the MetLife Spelling Bee three times and at the North South Foundation (NSF) Spelling Bee four times.

After he retired his placard, Parab went on to give four TEDx talks about his experiences, and started a tie company that now has more than $15,000 in sales.

Hathwar is a 16-year-old from Corning, New York, and a junior at Corning Painted-Post High School in upstate New York. He has competed in and won several spelling bees, including the Scripps National Spelling Bee, MetLife National Spelling Bee, and three national NSF competitions. Hathwar’s spelling prowess even earned him a meeting with President Barack Obama.

Both students formed the idea for their start-up, Spell for Success, after finishing their last spelling bee together.

Registration for the 2017 Diamond Challenge is open through Sunday, Nov. 27.

About the Horn Program in Entrepreneurship

The Horn Program ignites imaginations and empowers world changers through entrepreneurial education.

The program’s offerings emphasize experiential learning, evidence-based entrepreneurship and active engagement with entrepreneurs, business leaders and members of the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Participation in Horn Program courses and co-curricular activities empowers students by providing them with the knowledge, skills, connections and access to resources needed to successfully manifest innovation and thrive in a rapidly changing world.