ICDC 2026 Highlights: real-world BUSINESS experience through school store vending.
Spirit Box had an incredible showing at ICDC 2026! As proud sponsors of the DECA Sales Project and longtime DECA National Advisory Board members, we're passionate about helping students gain real-world entrepreneurial experience through school store vending & curriculum.
This year's conference held a special meaning for the Spirit Box team: DECA recognized Spirit Box for 10 years of partnership at the Grand Opening Session held at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia on Saturday, April 25, 2026. It's an honor we don't take lightly—a full decade of working alongside the best student entrepreneurs in the country.
Blaise Ebisch, Spirit Box account manager, presents 1st Place Award for DECA’s Sales Project Competitive Event to Grey DeLeon, Nicole Fox, and Rachel Shulman from New Jersey on Tuesday, April 28th, 2026 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Students, educators, and advisors stopped by to meet our team, grab our collectible Spirit Box pins, and learn more about using vending machines for schools as a way to build student-led businesses. Here’s a full recap—and how your school can bring the Spirit Box experience to life year-round!
Booth Buzz: Hands-On Learning and Instant Connection
One thing was clear: students love the idea of running a business they can actually manage themselves. Throughout the conference, we heard empowering success stories from students already using Spirit Box for fundraising, entrepreneurship competitions, and school-based enterprises.
Atlanta brought incredible energy, and the DECA community showed up in force—more than 25,000 high school students, teacher-advisors, business professionals, and alumni gathered for several days of competition, leadership development, and real-world networking.
Proud Sponsor of the DECA Sales Project 2025 & 2026
Spirit Box was honored to sponsor the Sales Project Competitive Event again this year. Students showed incredible creativity in their marketing pitches, promotional strategies, and business plans—skills that align perfectly with managing a school store vending machine on campus.
Our account manager, Blaise Ebisch, presented awards to the Top 3 finalists, recognizing students who will take real-world business leadership into their futures.
A Milestone Worth Celebrating: 10 Years with DECA
DECA celebrated Spirit Box's 10-year Partners in Excellence milestone at this year’s conference.
Since 2015, Spirit Box has been a dedicated supporter of DECA members and advisors. From sponsoring the Sales Project to creating turn-key opportunities for chapters to earn school-based enterprise certification, the past decade has been full of meaningful impact. Here's to ten more!
Why Spirit Box Works for Student Entrepreneurs
If you want to help students develop true entrepreneurial skills, and not just classroom theory, Spirit Box is the perfect tool.
Students manage inventory, sales, and marketing through hands-on experience
Built-in school store vending curriculum available through Spirit Box Academy
Fundraising without constant staff involvement
Students learn budgeting, promotions, team management, and leadership
Perfect for DECA, FBLA, CTE programs, and student-led fundraising groups
Bonus? 100% of profits stay with your school or chapter!
Gold Standard: DECA SBE Gold Certification
Several Spirit Box teams earned Gold Certified School-Based Enterprise (SBE) honors this year!
Spirit Box’s easy-to-manage system gives students a strong foundation for creating a profitable, sustainable school store vending machine model that meets DECA’s SBE Gold Certification standards.
Want your chapter to go for gold? Spirit Box’s training tools and year-round support make it easy to build a competitive SBE portfolio.
What's Next: Set Your Students Up for Success
Ready to help students launch their own business experience next school year? Now is the best time to get started!
Machines ordered by June 15th can be fully installed and stocked before the back-to-school rush—giving students time to:
Plan their marketing and sales strategies
Stock the school store vending machine with exciting products
