Outstanding High School Entrepreneur

THE TBHF Alumni association OUTSTANDING HIGH SCHOOL ENTREPRENEUR AWARD in honor of Coulter and Lily Rush Hoppess

The Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation seeks to recognize and champion entrepreneurs both present and future. In 2019 TBHF created a new award category to recognize high school age students who have demonstrated an early inclination to entrepreneurship and business leadership. The TBHF Alumni Association Outstanding High School Entrepreneur Award in Honor of Coulter and Lily Rush Hoppess comes with a $2,000 grant and an invitation to attend our annual Induction Ceremony and Annual Scholar & Veteran Awards Luncheon. The award recipient also becomes a permanent part of the TBHF network, with access to events, networking and programming.

The 2021 Outstanding High School Entrepreneur Award recipient,
Ishaan Thakur, with Mark Cuban at the 38th Annual Induction Dinner. 


2024 APPLICATION & SELECTION PROCESS

Application Timeline: 2024 Applications will open January 8, 2023. Click here for full timeline. Interested applicants can apply online (link coming soon).

Eligibility:  Please carefully review eligibility requirements prior to submitting your application.

Selection Process:  Please note: TBHF rotates hosts cities each year for its annual Induction Dinner and Ceremony, rotating between Houston, Dallas, and San Antonio. We look for Outstanding High School Award applicants in the corresponding host city. 2024 applicants will be restricted to the Greater Dallas / Fort Worth Metroplex area. 2025 applicants will be restricted to the Greater Houston area.

Review & Voting Process: Applications will be reviewed by the TBHF staff and finalists are interviewed by TBHF’s Executive Director and Director of Scholar & Veteran Programming. A ballot voting system will be used to determine the winner. Voting is not open to the public. 

Online Application: Please check back in early 2024 for details on next year’s application process.

For questions or assistance, contact Patrice Bartlett at pbartlett@texasbusiness.org.


LIST OF PAST WINNERS

2019 – San Antonio

2021 – Dallas

2022 – Houston

2023 – Austin

Jona Covarrubias 

Ishaan Thakur

Jacob Irving

Reuben Paul

Founder, Lace Up Sneaker Show

Founder, Flifer Technologies

Founder, Pop Pop’s Dandy Dog Food Trailer

Founder, Notifeye


Jacob Irving pictured with 2022 Alumni Association President Darrell Morris at the 2022 Alumni Association Breakfast in Houston
Reuben Paul pictured with VP Alumni Association Larry Hanrahan at the 2023 Future Texas Business Legend Awards Luncheon in San Antonio

ENDOWMENT

In 2022, The TBHF Alumni Association set out to raise enough money to endow the Outstanding High School Entrepreneur Award and make it a permanent part of TBHF’s funding portfolio. This goal would not be possible without the support our Alumni Association and generous supporters.

Donors

Rod Alanis 

Kurt Averhoff 

B Patrice Bartlett 

Kimberly Haley Coleman 

Nayab Contractor 

Kevin Cumming

Glenn Decker

Amanda Domaschk 

Matt Duce

Mohammad Elashi

Courtney Gallagher 

Charles Goodrich 

Laura Gonzalez 

Lawrence Hanrahan 

Jason Hendricks 

Christine Hollinden

Coulter and Lily Rush Hoppess Foundation Inc.

Luis Linan 

Michael J. Metz

Jason McCann

Sarah Mitchell

John Morran 

Darrell Morris

Ralph Parrott 

Ross Perot Jr.

Bryton Praslicka 

Henry Sauer 

Camille Taylor 

Ishaan Thakur

The TBHF Alumni Association