2025 Shark Tank of Wellness Global Student Competition
Read the FAQ | Official Rules | 2026 Submission Form
A highlight at the annual Global Wellness Summit (GWS), the Shark Tank of Wellness global student competition gives three university students a life-changing opportunity to network with the top visionaries and business leaders in wellness. Each year, three finalists are flown to the Summit (all expenses paid) to pitch their wellness business idea to a panel of Wellness Sharks who are top business leaders and investors in wellness. The Wellness Sharks will ask questions of the students, who will defend their innovations and make a business case for its feasibility on stage in front of the hundreds of attending Summit delegates—a “who’s who” in the global wellness world from over 50 countries. The winner receives a cash prize of $5,000, second place receives $3,000 and third place receives $2,000. All finalists win the experience of a lifetime to attend and network on the most important conference in the business of wellness.
Meet our 2025 Finalists
Damia Batrisyia, a Malaysian student at Dongseo University in South Korea, is pursuing a double degree in Global Business Administration and Film & VFX. Serving as Student President of the Wellness Research Lab since 2023, she aspires to bridge creativity and strategy. She seeks to combine storytelling and strategic marketing to craft transformative wellness initiatives that inspire innovation and drive meaningful global impact.
Professor: Danny Kessler
School: Dongseo University
Name of Innovation: Seedsniff
Riya Shah grew up in India surrounded by the world of wellness, finding balance in mindful tools amid the chaos of daily life. Now a senior at SCAD Atlanta majoring in Advertising and Branding with a minor in Graphic Design, she aspires to become an art director who uses creativity to drive meaningful social impact and inspire positive change. An International Design and Microsoft award winner, Riya is passionate about exploring how AI can be ethically integrated into creative workflows.
Professor: Gauri Misra-Deshpande
School: Savannah College of Art & Design
Name of Innovation: Vohm
Lina Madeleine Holzkämper is dedicated to shaping the future of wellness tourism by bridging business innovation with wellness-driven hospitality practices. With hands-on experience in leading wellness resorts and global hospitality consulting, she brings both operational expertise and strategic insight to her work. Grounded in a degree in Business and Tourism Management, Lina combines an entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for creating sustainable wellness experiences that elevate industry standards while continually expanding her knowledge at the intersection of hospitality and holistic wellbeing.
Professor: Dr. Franz Linser
School: Management Center Innsbruck
Name of Innovation: WellNest
Meet our 2025 Sharks
Karen Campbell is director of business development at Chiva-Som International Health Resorts and was instrumental in the development of family-wellness resort Zulal by Chiva-Som, which opened in Qatar in 2022. Her enthusiasm for expanding the reach of wellness knowledge led to the co-founding of wellness operator Jayasom, whose participation in Amaala on the Red Sea was announced this year. A recent visit to the blue zone of Sardinia reinforced for her the importance of purpose, coupled with balance.
Frank Pitsikalis is a long-time supporter of the summit as a hotel/spa/wellness technology thought leader, both in his role leading product strategy at Agilysys, and as the former founder & CEO of ResortSuite. Agilysys is the leader in end-to-end, cloud-native guest experience management technology including PMS, spa, activities, dining, golf and much more. Frank spent 15 years on the ISPA board and served as chairman of the ISPA Foundation until 2023. Frank has contributed to the Global Wellness Institute and has been the inaugural and perennial Shark on the Shark Tank of Wellness competition. This will be Frank’s 17th Summit.
Meng-Mei “Maggie” Chen, PhD, is Assistant Professor of Marketing at EHL Hospitality Business School (HES-SO, Switzerland), teaching hotel distribution strategy, consumer behavior, and digital marketing. With professional experience spanning hotels, casinos, travel agencies, and consulting across Taiwan, the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Switzerland, she brings rich cross-cultural insight to her work. Her research explores hotel channel management, distribution strategy, and consumer decision-making, including a Swiss government project optimizing SME hotel distribution. She is also the author of Hospitality Vibes, a vision for a more positive and sustainable hospitality future.
Robert Hammond is the president and chief strategy officer for Therme Group US. He is excited about translating the success of the Therme product and programming for the expansion into the United States. Robert comes to Therme after serving for over two decades as co-founder and executive director of the High Line, where he led the transformation of an abandoned elevated railway line in Manhattan into an iconic urban park. Under his leadership, the High Line grew to become one of the most beloved public spaces in the United States.
2026 Timeline
June 30, 2026 (11:59 p.m. US Eastern Time): Competition closes. The Concept Submission Form (including the video link) must be completed by this time. Late submissions will not be accepted.
July 2026: The top three concept submissions, as decided by the judges, will be announced by email to all registered participants. Arrangements will then be made to fly each of the three student finalists and their professors to the annual Global Wellness Summit (GWS).
November 2026 (exact dates will be announced on November 21, 2025): The Shark Tank of Wellness finalists will present their ideas on stage at the 2025 Global Wellness Summit. Students will pitch their ideas to the judges (a.k.a. “Wellness Sharks”) and the Summit delegates. The first, second and third place winners will then be announced on stage, at which time, the prizes will be awarded. The winners will be listed on the Global Wellness Summit website and promoted on social media post-Summit.
Guidelines & Tips
The Concept Submission Form consists of several questions regarding the wellness idea and its viability, such as:
- Give a general description of your wellness idea.
- Identify and explain your target market and potential customers.
- Identify companies, products or services that compete with your innovation or those that could pose a barrier to entering the marketplace.
- What sets your concept submission apart? How does your innovative idea differentiate from similar products or services already in the marketplace?
- The video should include a presentation of the wellness idea, focusing on why the innovation could positively impact the wellness industry.
- The video must be 60-90 seconds in length; any videos outside this length will be disqualified.
- Videos must be uploaded to a public platform, such as YouTube or Vimeo.
- The video must contain only original work and not be subject to any copyright restrictions.
Eligibility
- The competition is open to both individual students and teams of students over the age of 18 from anywhere in the world. There is no entry fee. Note: If participating as a team and the team is chosen as one of the top three finalists, only the team leader will be eligible to attend the Global Wellness Summit with their professor.
- The participant(s) must be an undergraduate college or university student (working toward a one- or two-year diploma, a four-year Bachelor’s degree, or a Vocational Education and Training (VET) qualification) or a graduate/postgraduate student (working toward a Master’s, MBA, JD, MD or PhD degree) in a university or college of distinction at the time they develop and submit their concept.
- The participant(s) must be either a full-time or part-time student at the university or college.
- The participant(s) must have a professor or faculty advisor who serves as a mentor for their project.
- All contestants must be available to attend the 2025 Global Wellness Summit in person to present their idea in person.
-
The business idea must NOT have previously won any prior award or contest, with the exception of awards and contests local to the student’s university that are not affiliated with any external organizations, accelerators or national competitions.
Prizes
First Prize: One (1) first-prize winner will receive $5,000.
Second Prize: One (1) second-prize winner will receive $3,000.
Third Prize: One (1) third-prize winner will receive $2,000.
Total value of all prizes is $10,000.
Additional non-cash prizes include airfare and hotel accommodations for the top three student finalists (individual or team leader) and their professors. Also included is access to the three-day Summit (a $5,350 value), including all general sessions, breakout discussions and industry forums, featuring global industry leaders. A myriad of social events and a final evening gala are included. This is a priceless opportunity to meet and learn from global visionaries.
Judging Criteria
Entries will be judged on the following criteria, which will hold equal weight:
- Project innovation
- Visual appeal or design
- Relevance and importance to the wellness industry
- Viability as a business (customer/market analysis and competitors)
- Quality of the project presentation
Judges’ decisions are final.
Please contact Jessi Brandt for additional questions.
Meet the 2024 Winner
Please join us in congratulating the winner of the 2024 Shark Tank of Wellness Competition: Sofia Sanchez (Savannah College of Art and Design, US).
Sofia won the top prize ($5,000) with her innovation, Bond-Sai, a modular, plant-like structure supporting mental wellness by allowing people to connect and check in from anywhere, while also functioning as a stylish lamp. View her video submission below.
View all 2024 Shark Tank finalists here.