By Cole Hatcher, OWU
Ohio Wesleyan University will accept applications through Sept. 26 for its second annual U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition – the largest and most invested business plan contest in Ohio.
Those chosen to compete in the “Shark Tank”-style contest will present their ideas to a panel of judges Oct. 25 as part of OWU’s three-day Kickstart Ohio entrepreneurial education conference, said Phil Smith, director of the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at OWU, the university’s on-campus business accelerator.
The U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition (USEC) includes both student and professional tracks. The student track is open to current college students and 2025 college graduates. The professional track is open to all others. First-, second-, and third-place winners in each category will earn cash investments from New Albany, Ohio-based Cyrannus Inc. and be invited to utilize their choice of COhatch workspaces to help them advance their business ideas.
Those applying to compete in the U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition will complete the online application at owu.edu/USEC and then receive instructions to transfer some of the required information to the Cyrannus app – the first venture polling platform to tap into the collective wisdom of thousands of industry experts from disciplines, including AI, fintech, climate, biotech, and more to provide a prediction market for early-stage equities.
The applicants with the highest Cyrannus app scores will be invited to compete in the live Oct. 25 competition at Ohio Wesleyan. Cyrannus’ prediction market ranks startups by success probability, with the highest-rated startups receiving funding opportunities from Cyrannus’ $100 million in assets under influence.
Those applying to be part of the 2025 U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition must be able to provide:
- Business plans, potentially including an executive summary, industry overview, market analysis, sales and marketing plan, management plan, operating plan, and financial plan.
- Media materials, including a business logo, social media links, and 100-word business description.
- Applicants also must be able to answer a series of questions, including:
- What primary and secondary markets are you seeking to serve?
- Has your startup generated any sales revenue? (How much?)
- Has your startup received any funding? (How much and what types?)
Up to 10 teams (five student and five professional) will be selected to participate Oct. 25 in the live competition. The semifinalists will make 60-second “elevator” and five-minute full pitches to the expert judges, who will follow up with three minutes of questions to determine each plan’s viability and potential. Winners will be announced that day by Apple Computer Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak, keynote speaker at the Kickstart Ohio conference.
The three-day entrepreneurial conference and competition is organized by the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at Ohio Wesleyan University (DEC OWU), a first-of-its-kind liberal arts business accelerator, as well as a first-of-its-kind city, county, and educational institute partnership. The conference will be held Oct. 23-25, 2025, on the Ohio Wesleyan campus in Delaware, Ohio.
Smith said Kickstart Ohio will have five program tracks – Conceptual, Startup & Early Stage, Growth & Expansion, Rapid Growth & Maturity, and Exit – to benefit attendees wherever they are in their entrepreneurial journeys. Companies scheduled to share insights at the conference include Ohio-based Big Kitty Labs, Cyrannus Inc., and JumpStart Inc., as well as New York-based Whop, a social commerce platform.
Ohio’s “can’t-miss entrepreneurship opportunity” will be highlighted by a conversation between OWU President Matt vandenBerg and Wozniak, who co-founded Apple Computer with Steve Jobs in 1976, Smith said. Wozniak single-handedly created Apple’s first line of products, the Apple I and II, and he influenced its popular Macintosh.
Learn more about Kickstart Ohio, including ticket options and prices, at www.kickstartohio.com; more about the U.S. Entrepreneurial Competition, including application information, at owu.edu/USEC; and more about the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at OWU and all opportunities for up-and-coming entrepreneurs at owu.edu/DEC. Admission is free Oct. 25 to watch the USEC competitors pitch their ideas.
Photo: Entrepreneurs are invited to apply through Sept. 26 for Ohio Wesleyan’s second annual U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition. The ‘Shark Tank’-style contest will be held Oct. 25 as part of OWU’s three-day Kickstart Ohio conference, featuring Apple Computer Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak. (Photo by Paul Vernon)
