Business Success

Business Success

Ohio Wesleyan Celebrates Innovation at Second Annual U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition

Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is proud to support local entrepreneurs and to celebrate the strength of Ohio's entrepreneurial ecosystem. On October 25, 2025, OWU hosted the second annual U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition as part of the first Kickstart Ohio conference, bringing together founders from across the region to pitch their ventures to experienced judges and business leaders. The competition, one of the largest of its kind in the nation, concluded a three-day convening that featured educational sessions, mentorship, and keynote insights from leaders including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. (Ohio Wesleyan University)

Eight teams competed across professional and college-student divisions. OWU awarded prize packages totaling $180,000+ in invested value to the following winning teams:

Professional Division Winners

• First Place - Readiness Xchange (Shara Hutchinson, Columbus, Ohio) - $50,000 investment for a platform helping large companies navigate change management.
• Second Place - Rubitection (Sanna Gaspard, Ph.D., Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) - $25,000 investment for AI-driven wound prevention and care insights.
• Third Place - Little Tusk (Lauran and Jordan Woolley, Youngstown, Ohio) - $15,000 investment for interactive financial literacy software.
• Fourth Place - Homework Muffin (Joel Kendall, Columbus, Ohio) -Awarded a test prep tool focused on LSAT practice.

College-Student Division Winners

• First Place - TissuTrak (Amelia Wares, University of Cincinnati) - $50,000 investment for a healthcare app to support patients with connective tissue disorders.
• Second Place - VHSMO (Dhruv Bhilare and Aryan Metka, University of Cincinnati) - $25,000 investment for a retro-style camera with instant wireless image transfer.
• Third Place - OPEF.AI (Inesh Tickoo and Aarav Singh, Ohio Wesleyan University) - $15,000 investment for an AI-enabled environmental compliance platform.
• Fourth Place - Delture (David Zimmerman, Justin Liu, and Patrick McCollum) - Awarded for AI-assisted marketing tools for campus organizations.

These awards are part of the prize packages that also include ongoing support, mentorship, and access to OWU's entrepreneurial resources as the teams continue to advance their ventures.

OWU's Partnership with Cyrannus, Inc.
OWU is grateful for its partnership with Cyrannus, Inc., whose platform harnessed artificial intelligence and the collective insights of a broad network of industry experts to help evaluate early-stage startup applications in advance of the live competition. Cyrannus is revolutionizing the venture ecosystem with the first global, AI-powered platform that utilizes industry experts to evaluate seed-stage startups at scale, providing funding to founders and intelligent, high-quality deal flow and liquidity to investors. The Cyrannus Expert Network rigorously assesses the investment readiness of startups and shares direct feedback with founders, with top readiness scores receiving capital from Cyrannus. By reducing investment risk and leveraging industry experts, Cyrannus is accelerating the growth of transformative startups from around the world and setting a new standard for efficiency and transparency in the industry. Cyrannus is available on Android and iOS platforms. Learn more about Cyrannus at www.cyrannus.io.

Cyrannus also provided a $5,000 donation in support of Kickstart Ohio and the U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition. OWU appreciates Cyrannus's contributions to expanding access and visibility for participating founders!

About the U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition

Organized by the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at Ohio Wesleyan University, the U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition offers both professional and student tracks to help founders refine their business models, gain exposure, and secure early investment to accelerate growth. 

For more information about the competition and future events, visit owu.edu/USEC.