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September 26, 2024 | By Cole Hatcher

Kendall Byrd pitches his team's product to the judges Sept. 26 during Ohio Wesleyan's inaugural U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition. His team, WaterWise Technologies, is a finalist and will learn where it placed Oct. 5 at the Ohio Statehouse. (Photos by Paul Vernon)

Pitch Perfect

Winners of Ohio's Most Lucrative Entrepreneurship Competition to be Announced Oct. 5 at Statehouse

DELAWARE, Ohio – Nine teams pitched their products Sept. 26 at Ohio Wesleyan University's inaugural U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition, vying for a total prize package worth nearly $500,000.

The top three finishers in two tracks – professional and student – remain in the running to claim the No. 1 spot in their category and earn $100,000 in cash and resources to move their business visions forward.

"The future of entrepreneurship starts here and starts now," Megan Ellis, executive director of the OWU Connection, told the crowd as she welcomed everyone to the "Shark Tank"-style competition, which featured all of the teams presenting their ideas and answering questions for a panel of expert judges.

Scott Hauman asks a question while Sean Hughes looks on as they help judge the U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition at Ohio Wesleyan University. Hauman is the vice president of strategy and innovation for Hart, a brand transformation agency, and Hughes is the economic development administrator for the City of Powell, Ohio.

The winners of the U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition (USEC) will be announced at 11 a.m. Oct. 5 on the West Plaza of the Ohio Statehouse. Gov. Mike DeWine, Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, and Lydia Mihalik, director of the Ohio Department of Development, are scheduled to be on hand for the Statehouse announcement.

As he announced the finalists, Phil Smith, director of the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at Ohio Wesleyan University, congratulated the teams for being chosen from among 42 applicants to compete in the in-person competition.

Smith also invited the audience to come back to watch next year's competition, which is expected to grow even larger and more lucrative. "This year, the largest in the state," he said, "next year, the largest in the country."

The professional track finalists (in alphabetical order) and their products are:

  • Industrial Hyperspectral Solutions, presented by Todd Tucky. This Delaware, Ohio, startup seeks to help address the deadly fentanyl epidemic with a handheld scanner that uses tunable LED light to enable law enforcement officers and emergency medical technicians to identify the drug on scene without any physical contact.
  • Mobile Med, presented by Gregory LaFontaine and Dr. Bethany Recker. This Worthington, Ohio, company provides medical house calls to clients for a monthly membership fee. Unlike some of its competitors, Mobile Med provides primary, comprehensive care in addition to same-day urgent care.
  • WaterWise Technologies, presented by Kendall Byrd. This Columbus, Ohio, startup is developing an aquatic drone, or unmanned surface vehicle (USV), to proactively target pathogens, algae, and toxins in freshwater ecosystems without using potentially harmful chemicals. It seeks to integrate real-time water monitoring, contamination prevention, and treatment into a single device.

The college student and new graduate track finalists are:

  • Junietta, presented by Ezra Wolf, Alex Tide, and Dan String (University of Cincinnati). These young entrepreneurs are working to create an affordable, accessible, and easy-to-use music synthesizer that allows users to create a limitless amount of music. Their goal is to support local musicians, education systems, and shop owners.
  • SearchOwl, presented by Jadon Wyant and Dale Berkove (Case Western Reserve University). Founded by five college students, SearchOwl seeks to improve the online shopping experience with an ad-free algorithm that learns user preferences over time to suggest appropriate products to explore. Currently, the students are using skincare products to help them build "a better shopping paradigm."
  • Zen Music Group, presented by Inesh Tickoo and Ano Paul (Ohio Wesleyan University/Drexel University). This team seeks to reshape the music industry by making the discovery and licensing process more efficient, transparent, and accessible. Zen Music also seeks to bridge the gap between music creators, libraries, and businesses in need of music for sync licensing.

In addition to the two winning teams earning prize packages valued at $100,000, the second- and third-place finishers will earn prizes worth $75,000, and $50,000, respectively. And all finalists will have access to the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at Ohio Wesleyan University (DEC OWU) and its resources. Opened in 2018, the DEC OWU is a collaboration among the university, City of Delaware, and Delaware County.

During the Sept. 26 competition, the judges also awarded $5,000 prizes to all other competitors: Professional competitor Za'de's Soul Food and college competitors Motiv and Terrabuffer.

Learn more about the U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition, including the competitors and judges, at owu.edu/USEC. Learn more about the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at OWU at owu.edu/DEC.

Founded in 1842, Ohio Wesleyan University is one of the nation's premier liberal arts universities. Located in Delaware, Ohio, the private university offers more than 70 undergraduate majors and competes in 24 NCAA Division III varsity sports. Through its signature experience, the OWU Connection, Ohio Wesleyan teaches students to understand issues from multiple academic perspectives, volunteer in service to others, build a diverse and global perspective, and translate classroom knowledge into real-world experience through internships, research, and other hands-on learning. Ohio Wesleyan is featured in the book "Colleges That Change Lives" and included on the U.S. News & World Report and Princeton Review "Best Colleges" lists. Connect with OWU expert interview sources at owu.edu/experts or learn more at owu.edu.