Be A DECA-VATOR! (DECA + INNOVATOR) (with Nishant Shah)
Hint: It’s simple, but it’s not easy.
When people think of DECA, they often think of roleplays, performance indicators, and competition days. What many don’t realize is that DECA is one of the most powerful innovation training grounds available to students today. This is because the innovation mindset is embedded in DECA’s DNA.
How Roleplays Develop Innovation
Every DECA roleplay follows the same core structure:
You’re presented with a problem
A consumer or stakeholder has a need
You’re given limited information and limited time
You must propose a realistic, creative solution
That is exactly how innovation works in the real world.
As an entrepreneur who has co-founded multiple companies, secured over $7,500 in grant funding, and competed in college‑level pitch competitions, I can confidently say this: the pressure and ambiguity of DECA roleplays mirrors real innovation better than any other simulated environment ever will.
In the real world, BUSINESS and innovation is a high stakes environment. Consumers (judges) don’t articulate their needs perfectly. What the market (judges) wants is constantly changing. You’re restricted by time so that you can beat other entrants. Sound familiar?
DECA roleplays train your ability to:
Analyze incomplete information
Identify the true consumer pain point
Make strategic decisions under pressure and time restriction
Communicate value (KPI’s) clearly and confidently
These competencies align directly with findings from higher-education research showing that entrepreneurship competitions predict measurable gains in entrepreneurial competence, strategic thinking, and communication skills.
Critical Thinking > Memorization
The most impactful DECA members aren’t the ones who memorize the most performance indicators. They’re the ones who understand why those indicators exist. AND come up with a unique solution that thinks outside the box.
Critical thinking in DECA looks like:
Asking who the consumer really is
Understanding why a problem exists
Evaluating tradeoffs
Justifying decisions with logic
AND selling the solution
Typically this is also means coming up with a unique solution that shows that you THINK differently from other competitors
This mindset is what allowed me to:
Launch ventures inspired directly by DECA finance and entrepreneurship events
Work with five major companies to help design and innovate youth advisory boards
All of these projects started with one question:
What is the unmet need and how can I realistically fill it?
That question is at the heart of every strong DECA roleplay. AND at the heart of most real world problems.
The DECA Mindset
Innovation is not a single company or product—it’s a mindset.
Every DECA experience reinforces the same mental habits:
Start with the consumer or problem, not the idea
Define the problem before proposing solutions
Balance creativity with feasibility
Justify decisions with data and logic
Repeated exposure to this framework rewires how you approach problems. Over time, you stop asking, “What should I build?” and start asking, “What actually needs to be built?”
That shift is where real innovation begins.
Once you start thinking like a DECA competitor, you can’t turn it off.
You start noticing:
Inefficiencies in all systems
Products that don’t fully serve their users
PROBLEMS in YOUR everyday life
DECA sharpens your awareness to users by forcing you to repeatedly step into the shoes of the consumer. Marketing, finance, hospitality, management: it’s all the same principle in different forms.
Find the need. Fill the gap. Deliver value. ← All skills taught by DECA
Why Subject Matter Expertise Fuels Innovation
Great ideas don’t come from guessing, they come from understanding. One of DECA’s most underrated strengths is how relentlessly it pushes students to actually know their field.
Whether you compete in finance, marketing, hospitality/tourism, management, or entrepreneurship, DECA forces you to move beyond surface-level understanding. You can’t fake expertise in a roleplay. Judges can tell when you’re using buzzwords instead of insight.
Through event preparation and repetition, DECA trains you to:
Understand how industries really work
Learn the language professionals use
Connect theory to practical decision-making
This depth of understanding is where innovation becomes possible.
Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. The most effective innovators are fluent in the systems they’re trying to improve. That’s why subject matter expertise is such a powerful launchpad for innovation. It allows you to spot inefficiencies, unmet needs, and outdated assumptions from the inside.
For me, DECA finance events didn’t just prepare me for competition: they gave me the foundation to co-found companies, secure grant funding, and compete in advanced pitch competitions. The innovation followed the understanding.
DECA teaches you that creativity without knowledge is just an idea, but creativity with expertise creates impact.
How You Can Be an Innovator Through DECA
You don’t need funding, titles, or a startup to start innovating.
Here’s how to translate DECA into real‑world impact:
Take roleplays seriously: not as competitions, but as simulations of reality.
Reflect after each event: What was the consumer's need? What worked? What didn’t?
Work on building your creativity: Think outside the box, the first answer is usually not the best answer.
Develop your subject matter expertise: PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE
Apply the framework beyond DECA: Use it in clubs, nonprofits, startups, or school initiatives.
Build something small: Innovation doesn’t start big. Jump in the deep end. SEE A NEED and fill it
Stay uncomfortable: TAKE RISKS.
Innovation is simple in theory but not easy in practice. That’s why DECA matters.
It doesn’t just prepare you for competition days. It prepares you to create, lead, and solve problems long after the glass is put away.
DECA-vation = DECA + Innovation
