Whidbey kid wins big at Seattle entrepreneur competition

Published 1:30 am Tuesday, July 28, 2026

Eleven-year-old Hale Hodson of Langley beat competitors from across the region after turning a common chess problem into a business that attracted 60 orders in less than a day.

The event was hosted by the Founders School, a New York City high school focused on entrepreneurship that promises every student will earn $1 million before graduating or receive a full tuition refund. The Seattle event was the first of six Founders Weekend competitions being held nationwide this summer.

Children ages 9 to 16 had 48 hours to build a real business with guidance from mentors before pitching it to a panel of judges and a crowd of about 100 people. The judges included CEOs and co-founders from companies such as Lyft and Glowforge.

For his business idea, Hodson turned to the world of chess for inspiration. In chess, a pawn that reaches the opposite side of the board is promoted to a more powerful piece. However, physical chess sets rarely come with extra pieces.

“Sometimes you have to improvise like with an upside-down rook, or just call that pawn a queen,” Hodson said.

To solve the problem, Hodson designed a 3D-printed “convertible” chess piece with a screw-on top that allows players to swap the head for a pawn, queen or knight. During the competition, Hodson built a website and marketed his product. Within about 18 hours, he had received 60 confirmed orders — more than any other competitor.

The first-place finish came as a surprise. After five competitors tied for second place and his name still hadn’t been called, Hodson figured he “might as well head out.” Then organizers announced he had won.

“I was like, ‘Are you kidding me?’” Hodson said. “It was just really cool.”

Hale’s father, Ed Hodson, highlighted his son’s humbleness following his win.

“When they asked him at the event how he felt, he was really gracious about the whole thing,” he said. “He said, ‘Did you see the other stuff that was up here? There’s some really great ideas other people had, too.’”

Joan Samson, Hodson’s mother, expressed enthusiasm for her son’s accomplishment.

“In the video I have I’m laughing ridiculously because I’m so excited,” she said.

As part of his prize, Hodson will be flown out on an all-expenses paid trip to New York City for a week and receive three months of business mentorship by a business mogul and instructors from the Founders School.

Hodson said he has always been interested in entrepreneurship, inspired in part by his parents. They own Japonica Diner and Merriweather Creperie in Langley and have operated several businesses over the years.

As for his business, Hodson said he is still working on refining the chess piece prototypes. He’s refining the prototypes by making them stronger and improving their appearance.

Hodson said he learned a lot from the competition about effective marketing strategies that he will carry with him into the future, and stressed the positive environment of the event as a whole.

“Everyone there was so nice and supportive, and it was just really nice being around all those people,” he said. “Everyone there had really good designs and stuff. It was really cool. I would definitely go there again.”