From the JAYwalk

OWU Creates Ohio's Largest Entrepreneurship Competition

Matt vandenBerg discusses Ohio Wesleyan's commitment to entrepreneurship while speaking Oct. 5 at the Ohio Statehouse. (Photo by Mark Schmitter '12)

With the U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition at Ohio Wesleyan University, "we're creating jobs, we're fostering innovation, and we are driving long-term prosperity for everyone in our state," President Matt vandenBerg said in October, announcing the winners of Ohio's most lucrative business plan contest.

The competition, created and run by the Delaware Entrepreneurship Center at OWU, attracted 42 teams from across the country competing for prizes totaling $450,000. They were split into professional and college categories. The two first-place winners were:

  • Professional: WaterWise Technologies, a Columbus, Ohio, startup developing an aquatic drone to 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.
  • College: SearchOwl, founded by five Case Western Reserve University students, seeks to improve the online shopping experience with an ad-free algorithm that learns user preferences over time and suggests appropriate products to explore.

Both winning teams earned investment packages valued at $100,000 in addition to office space and mentorship at the DEC OWU, which is directed by Phil Smith. The second- and third-place finishers received investment packages worth $75,000, and $50,000, respectively.