Rexburg teen wins in Invest Nest, earns $10K for dyslexia startup

REXBURG — “It still feels unreal,” said James Tedjamulia, a junior at Madison High School. “I just started with a business idea. I never thought it would take me this far.”

That idea — powered by artificial intelligence and designed to help people with dyslexia learn to read — earned James top spots in two competitive rounds of Invest Nest, a business pitch competition for high school students across East Idaho. He won $5,000 in the local competition at Madison High School, and he won another $5,000 at the state-level competition held recently in Utah, where he took third place.

Tedjamulia pitched “ReadBuddy AI,” a software concept that listens as users read and helps them pronounce difficult words. Over time, it could also generate personalized content based on a child’s reading level and age.

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“You have to create content they want to read,” Tedjamulia explained. “If you’re a fifth grader reading at a first-grade level, you don’t want to pick up a book called ‘Miss Mittens.’ You want something goofy like ‘Captain Underpants’ — something for your age, not just your level.”

He came up with the idea through conversations with his parents, particularly his dad, an AI expert at Western Governors University.

“He’s teaching me how to build and train the AI,” Tedjamulia said. “With AI today, you don’t need a big team. Five people can build a multimillion-dollar company.”

The project is in its early stages, but Tedjamulia hopes to have a minimum viable product — essentially a working prototype — by the fall. He envisions a website where students can read passages aloud while ReadBuddy listens and assists, guiding them through tricky words and eventually suggesting new books tailored to their interests and skill level.

Tedjamulia discovered Invest Nest through announcements at school and encouragement from a teacher.

“I did BPA (Business Professionals of America) and heard about it from Mrs. Barzee,” he said. “And I thought, ‘You know what? I have this business idea, why not pitch it and maybe get some money to actually build it?’”

That decision launched him into the world of entrepreneurship, networking and public pitching. At the state round in Utah, James competed against students from seven schools.

“The first-place winner was talking to one of the judges that does a similar thing to what they pitched. The second-place winner had already done Invest Nest like three times. This was my first year, so I think I did pretty well,” Tedjamulia said.

What set him apart was his ability to connect.

“There was a meet-and-greet at the beginning, and I got to talk with a couple of investors,” he said. “Up on stage, they asked questions that helped my business pitch. They were smiling the whole time.”

His pitch wasn’t without hurdles. The same week as the final round, James was also playing in multiple tennis tournaments.

“My mom said I rushed my presentation a bit,” he admitted. “But for the time I had, I think it went really well.”

Now with $10,000 in hand, he’s focused on building ReadBuddy AI.

“Some of it might go toward college,” he said. “But most of it is going into the business.”

Tedjamulia isn’t sure yet if he’ll pursue this path long term.

“I want to go into engineering or the medical field,” he said. “But who knows? Maybe if this business kicks off, that’ll change everything. Invest Nest was an awesome opportunity. You don’t have to have it all figured out. Just try it. You never know how far it’ll take you.”

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