Navigating an unfamiliar airport can mean confusion, frustration, and delays, especially when reliable information is difficult to access. For Wayland High School student Kavya Sawrikar and four other students, those pain points sparked innovation.
During her sophomore year at the TiE Boston Young Entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship Academy, she joined a five-person team to develop AirNav, an app designed to make navigating airports easier.
“We thought that airports are kind of hard to navigate sometimes, especially if you’re new and you don’t know how early to come,” Sawrikar said. The goal, she said, was to develop “an app to have everything in one place.”
Now a junior, Sawrikar is one of two Wayland High School students who participated in the program last school year, according to Adam Carter, director of programs for TiE Boston and TiE Young Entrepreneurs. Khushi Nagalla’s team created PicFit, an outfit-generator app and community platform.
The program brings together high school students from across Greater Boston to develop startups. Participants meet on alternating Saturdays and learn about entrepreneurship skills such as business models, financial planning, prototyping, and pitching before presenting their ventures in a judged competition.
Sawrikar said the experience helped her realize how simple it could be.
“An idea — that’s all you need,” Sawrikar said.
Her father, Nachi Sawrikar, said the process is part of what attracted him to the program. He values exposure to the fundamentals behind entrepreneurship as a high school student.
“Everybody is full of ideas,” he said.
He said TiE Young Entrepreneurs teaches students “how to put it all together,” exposing them to important skills including collaboration, communication, and problem-solving.
“I was just thinking an exposure at this age to all of those things would be important,” he said.
Vying for Global Finals
While navigating their startup projects, students work in teams of three to five and receive guidance from mentors, including college students and working professionals. Teams then compete in a local competition in which one team is selected to compete in TiE Young Entrepreneurs’ Global Finals competition against students from all over the world.
Carter said he hopes to see more Wayland students participate in the program, which draws students from communities across Greater Boston.
“We’re trying to get more students from Wayland,” Carter said.
Sawrikar said she is considering studying a math-focused field, such as data science, but the program allowed her to explore transferable skills while having fun.
“But I did think that it was really fun to learn how to do it,” said Sawrikar.
Applications are open for TiE Young Entrepreneurs Boston’s 2026-27 program. Cohorts begin Oct. 17 and Oct. 24, with an approximate application deadline of Oct. 12 and a final deadline of Oct. 20, according to Carter. Need-based scholarships are available.
Students interested in participating can learn more and apply through TiE Young Entrepreneurs Boston’s website at www.tye-boston.org or by contacting Carter at [email protected].
This story is part of a partnership between Wayland Post and the Boston University Department of Journalism’s Newsroom program.
