Community Corner

Naperville Teen Will Pitch Anti-Bullying App on 'Shark Tank'

Tune in Friday to see if the sharks take the bait.

Scott Viau, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
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NAPERVILLE, IL — A Naperville teen’s anti-bullying app will be getting some national attention when she pitches it to the sharks on ABC’s “Shark Tank.”

16-year-old Trisha Prabhu came up with the app for a middle school science fair project, according to a report from the Chicago Tribune. She then submitted it to the Google Science Fair and was named a Google Science Fair Global Finalist. That’s when she created her own company, ReThink.

ReThink sends users an alert when they write a message that could be considered harmful. The user can then either delete, edit or continue to post it. According to the report, citing Prabhu’s research, 93 percent of the time kids decide not to post.

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So, did her app get picked up? You’ll have to tune in Friday for that. In the meantime, Prabhu said her experience on the show was surreal.

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"I have seen it on TV, imagined it in my head and practiced it more times than you can count, and then suddenly I was there," she told the Tribune.


"Shark Tank" airs at 8 p.m. CST Friday.

photo via "Shark Tank"

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