The 2025 Superhero edition of Startup Standup was perhaps the best one yet! On Saturday, October 18th, 13 students came together and learned how to ideate, refine, and pitch their ideas to a panel of judges under the name of their superhero-themed client personas. Students listened to a presentation by Dr Klis introducing the idea of innovation and the power it holds. She went on to discuss the characters the students would work with in order to make a product that would satisfy their needs. Students used creative thinking to plan and make sure all the elements needed were in place. Another presentation was shown by Federico, who discussed good business planning and considering customers and development. With all of these new tools, students were split into teams and given a character or superhero with a problem. They created products ranging from a calorie pill for a super kid, who could not keep weight on, to a superhero tracker to help the local train conductor keep the train running. They helped people high and low and presented their creations to a team of judges who went on to declare a winner! Through this experience, students learned how to work with a team and use their skills to develop innovations to solve the presented problems. Super ideas make super solutions for super problems!

This year seemed to really engage our participants, above and beyond some of our past events. There’s something about superheroes that everyone can relate to, despite all those powers not actually appearing in our world.

said Dr Anna Klis, an economics professor here at NIU, one of the event’s organizers.

Many of us have grown up with stories of superheroes and can thus think of super gadgets. Our participants really brought the energy and made us laugh.

But not just from the showrunners, the participants also had a great time as well, in attendance was Amalia Cortez, a computer science major at NIU.

This was my first Startup Standup and I loved it! It brought such a comfortable place to be expressive and not worry about judgement. It was a fun creative twist that let me learn something in a fun way. I enjoyed how comfortable everyone was with each other and I would definitely do it again.

Russ Devereux, Project Manager for NIU STEAM, and one of the event’s organizers, also shared his thoughts on the event.

It’s always amazing to see what a group of willing, creative, and energetic students can do when given the opportunity to explore all the possibilities of an education. Start up Stand up is and prime example of the innovative and empowering programming offered by 71 North and NIU, as a whole.

Lynn Herrmann, professor in the School of Health studies had this to say about the event:

StartUp is one of my favorite events of the year at NIU! When students arrive in the morning, they are cautiously optimistic but often guarded. It doesn’t take look before students get the vibe of this immersive event, based on fictional worlds: fun, exciting, and playful! After StartUp StandUp, students don’t see a pitch or presentation the same way. They learn to engage with the topic they are assigned in unique, unconventional ways. They pitch their ideas using their voices and body language, as well as costumes and props for emphasis. Students leave the event with big smiles, knowing they didn’t hold back and learned so much.