wv high school business plan competition

ABOUT SPARKWV

SparkWV is an innovative idea and small business generation competition for middle and high school students in West Virginia. The competition consists of three competitive rounds. Students are invited to apply as individuals or as a team with up to four members.

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The EdVenture Group and West Virginia Department of Education introduced SparkWV In October of 2023

Check out the SparkWV 2024 awardees

Entrepreneurs in action.

SparkWV is a rebrand of the formerly known West Virginia High School Business Plan Competition. The WV HSBPC officially ended in spring of 2023, its last competition taking place at Bridging Innovation Week in Wheeling, WV. The WVBPC has since been rebranded into IGNITE WV , a now 18+ competition. Noticing the lack in competition opportunities for middle and high school students in West Virginia, SparkWV was created to help bridge the gap.

Check out these awesome photos from previous HSBPCs below.

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Monday, November 07, 2022

Enter the 2022-23 Business Plan Competition

College students, high school students and community members are invited to enter the West Virginia Business Plan Competition by pitching an idea, product or service in a 90-second video by noon Friday (Nov. 11).

Find more information and enter the competition.

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Student entrepreneurship: wv high school business plan competition.

The three students will split the $10,000 scholarship to each attend one of 10 participating West Virginia colleges and universities. The students were chosen as the top entrant in the state from a field of competitors that included 27 schools. The West Virginia Statewide High School Business Plan Competition is hosted by the  BrickStreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship , located in the  West Virginia University   College of Business and Economics .

Aside from Three Amigo Metalworks, finalist teams included TekSHOES, Kyle Caruso, John Marshall High School (2nd place); Go-Chanics, McKenzie Granata and Regan Sands, Sissonville High School (3rd Place); Generation Backpack, Hannah Morgan, Westside High School; Ice-Cream Dream, Levite Severance, Hampshire Senior High School; Spencer Martial Arts Karate Academy, Kamarie and Kurt Shultis, Roane County High School; Stars, Stripes and Paws, Madison Jennings, Sissonville High School; and The Health Hut, Linda Neff, Fayette Institute of Technology.

The competition is made possible through funding from the BrickStreet Insurance Foundation and a grant from the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation. Additional support is provided by Regional Education Service Agencies and the West Virginia Department of Education.

Read more: http://wvutoday.wvu.edu/n/2016/03/28/upshur-county-team-wins-third-annual-statewide-high-school-business-plan-competition

High school juniors and seniors to compete for $10,000 college scholarship in statewide business plan competition

Thursday, November 08, 2018

This year’s West Virginia High School Business Plan Competition is open for entries until Dec. 7. Pictured here pitching their business idea in last year’s competition are, from left, Hawa Diawara, Morgantown High School; Creed Kidney, John Marshall High School; and Cynthia Murphy, Gilmer County High School. While the team members are from different schools, they met previously at West Virginia’s Governor’s School for Entrepreneurship.

A college scholarship worth $10,000 is up for grabs in a competition for West Virginia high school juniors and seniors who have a great idea for a business and a plan for success.

The Sixth Annual West Virginia High School Business Plan Competition is open to all juniors and seniors at public and private high schools and technical centers in the state. Co-hosted by the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics and the West Virginia Department of Education , the deadline for entries is at noon Dec. 7.

“In studying the characteristics of Generation Z, it’s really intriguing that a significant percentage wants to start their own businesses,” said Tara St. Clair , senior program manager at the BrickStreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at WVU’s College of Business and Economics. “This competition is a great opportunity to put an innovative idea for a business out for consideration while learning about entrepreneurship and how to cultivate that business idea. And that idea might just be worth $10,000.”

Last year’s High School Business Plan Competition winner was Cheyenne Pawlus, then a junior at the Fayette Institute of Technology in Oak Hill.

“Students are West Virginia’s most important resource, and when we empower them to bring their innovative ideas to life, the entire state benefits,” said West Virginia Superintendent of Schools Steven Paine. “The High School Business Plan Competition enables young minds to generate ideas that will solve some of our greatest issues and move our state forward.”

Teams may be comprised of one-to-three people, with the winning team dividing the scholarship among all team members. The scholarship may be used at any of the West Virginia colleges or universities participating in the competition, including Bethany College, Bluefield State College, Concord University, Fairmont State University, Glenville State College, Ohio Valley University, University of Charleston, West Liberty University, Wheeling Jesuit University and West Virginia University. Entries must be submitted electronically using the West Virginia High School Business Plan Competition entry form found on the competition website.

After judges evaluate the entries, 10 teams will advance to the final competition. Finalists will be announced by Dec. 21. and the teams will work on their business ideas for the months to follow. The winning team will be announced on April 12, 2019, when finalists from the West Virginia Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition and the high school competition will work in their respective areas of the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center at the I-79 Technology Park in Fairmont.

The BrickStreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is part of the WVU Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship Applied Ecosystem , a university-wide network of centers, offices and programs that fosters and supports innovation and entrepreneurship among WVU students, faculty and staff while engaging the statewide community. 

Other areas include  IDEA Faculty Fellows ,  WVU Women’s Business Center , LaunchLab Network   Davis Young Innovators program ,  WVU Extension Service ,  Patent and Trademark Resource Center ,  Health Sciences Innovation Center ,  Legal Clinics ,  Media Innovation Center ,  Manufacturing Extension Partnership , the  MakerLab  and  Technology Transfer.  

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CONTACT: Patrick Gregg, WVU College of Business and Economics [email protected] ; 304.293.5131

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter

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Rising West Virginia entrepreneurs own their futures during Bridging Innovation Week

The next generation of innovators painted a hopeful picture for the Mountain State’s future during  Bridging Innovation Week  in Charleston April 4-8, demonstrating the power of West Virginia’s partnerships, people and possibilities under one roof.

Tanner Yuhase Thursday, April 14, 2022

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The next generation of innovators painted a hopeful picture for the Mountain State’s future during Bridging Innovation Week in Charleston April 4-8, demonstrating the power of West Virginia’s partnerships, people and possibilities under one roof.

The conference – which showcased the momentum and energy of West Virginia’s start-up movement - brought together established entrepreneurs and business champions to inspire and support the rising innovators who participated in the West Virginia Business Plan Competitions.

The Impact of Innovation: How the Business Plan Competitions Foster Start-Ups

Hosted by the Encova Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the West Virginia University John Chambers College of Business and Economics , the West Virginia Business Plan Competitions have grown over the last 16 years from a single competition for statewide college students to a trifecta of competitions for West Virginia high school students, college students and community members who aspire to grow an idea from concept to company.

A panel of 10 judges – all successful entrepreneurs with West Virginia ties – awarded a record-breaking $83,300 in funding to 17 teams across all three segments in this year’s competitions, seeding their next important steps in building their businesses.

Tara St. Clair, director of operations for WVU’s Encova Center, says the expanded investment from partners and the growing momentum around innovation in the state has opened up big opportunities for anyone in West Virginia with a viable business idea and the determination needed to keep pushing it forward.

“The level of funding that our generous partners have enabled us to provide to our students and community members participating in these competitions is a game-changer for innovation in our state,” St. Clair said. “Seed funding is often what stands between an entrepreneur with a viable idea and growing that idea into a product or business. This helps them remove that obstacle.”

High School Business Plan Competition

The West Virginia High School Business Plan Competition provides students grades 9-12 around the state the unique opportunity to learn how to move a business idea from conception to action with the support of the state institutions.

Finalist teams and their investments include:

Repeat After Me : Sarah Wilson, The Linsly School - $5,000.00

Infinite Gaming: William Wojtowicz, Moorefield High School - $3,000.00

M&M Custom Baits: Mason Atkinson, Herbert Hoover High School - $2,500.00

Salem Mission Homeless Center: Carrie Lloyd & Alexis Lamb, Doddridge County High School - $1,000.00

Advanced Propulsion Concepts: Ralph Wojtowicz, Moorefield High School - $3,000.00

Collegiate Business Plan Competition

Bobby Noble, a participant in the West Virginia Collegiate Business Plan Competition, understands how important that capital is to growth.

He walked away with $5,000 for the business he built with partners Delaney Geiger and Ronan Sullivan. Noble Growing Systems is a 3-in-1 hydroponic system that optimizes root zones for plants to accelerate growth. The system enables a 50 percent increase in yields, reduces labor by one-third and water usage by 98 percent – a vital benefit as farms in the West are experiencing a severe drought.

“Funding gives us a path forward,” said Noble. “We did the NSF ICorps program to discover our customer segment. We need to be able to attend expos to reach our customer base and make our first sale, and this investment will enable us to do that.”

For Noble – who is getting his PhD in horticulture from WVU in the Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design – the value of participating wasn’t limited to funding. It opened up new doors of possibilities that wouldn’t have been available to his team otherwise.

“We worked closely with the Professional Sales Accelerator Program (in the Chambers College Marketing Department) and the LaunchLab at WVU, and through that process, we met Tara St. Clair and she encouraged us to enter the West Virginia Collegiate Business Plan Competition,” said Noble. “The connections we’ve made and the work that we’ve done with the students has been invaluable. There have been so many people who want to help us grow.”

Seven teams from four West Virginia colleges and universities, including Marshall University, Shepherd University, West Virginia University and Glenville State College competed in the Collegiate Business Plan Competition. They received $42,500 in total funding.

• Aquasthenics: Tucker Yano & Chase Rowland, West Virginia University - $10,000
• Avalon Green Apparel: Avalon Green, Glenville State College - $10,000
• Monster Forge: Joce Mace, Marshall University - $5,000
• Dashplain: Robert Gianniny, West Virginia University - $5,000
• Earring BackTrack: Anna Cummings, West Virginia University - $5,000
• LLETMI Nutrition: Akshit Mudigonda, Julia Snyder and Emily Lemen, Shepherd University - $2,500
• Noble Growing System: Bobby Noble, Delaney Geiger & Ronan Sullivan, West Virginia University - $5,000

Community Business Plan Competition

Dr. Ryan Angus , assistant professor of Entrepreneurship in the Chambers College, has witnessed the possibilities that result from giving West Virginians a platform to pitch a business idea.

Angus launched Seed WV in 2021with funds from the James Clark Coffman Chair in Entrepreneurial Studies. The competition was built on the idea that successful companies started with small amounts of financial capital and bootstrapped their way to success. It was renamed the West Virginia Community Business Plan Competition in 2022.

Samuel “Auggie” Chico, owner of Parthian Battery Solutions, finished second place in the inaugural year of the competition for his reinvention of Lithium-ion batteries to promote cost-effective sustainability. He also won the West Virginia Collegiate Business Plan Competition in 2020 as a Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources student with partner Kyle Seese.

Chico has since taken up residence in Vantage Ventures to scale his business, using the full spectrum of innovation support systems available to him at WVU.

He’s made strides in his business quickly. Just a year after his second-place finish in the Seed WV competition, Chico has been named as a Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center Milestone Maker.

Chico credits the Community Business Plan Competition and the seed funding it provided for his successes.

"Over the past year, Parthian has encountered some exciting milestones, including partnering with one of the largest electric vehicle manufacturers in the US to responsibly retire their battery packs through our reuse solutions," said Chico.

For Angus, Chico’s success is proof positive that West Virginia is moving in the right direction in its goal of growing into a start-up state, and the Community Business Plan Competition is giving them a platform and the seed money to get started.

“When you give determined entrepreneurs a platform and a community, they can and will solve big problems on a global scale right here in West Virginia,” said Angus.

And he has no doubt the future will be ripe with innovative products created by gritty innovators positioned to take advantage of every opportunity.

“We have a talented crop of teams walking away with funding this year, including Cameron Keefe, owner of Thermoroller, who is another example of an innovation ecosystem success story that utilized all of the support systems available to them along the way,” said Angus. “They now have $10,000 to scale their business.”

Keefe - a Global Supply Chain major and Entrepreneurship minor in the Chambers College - previously competed in the Collegiate Business Plan Competition and utilized the LaunchLab for business coaching. She also participated in several competitions and started working on a provision patent for her product.

That product is a modified athletic roller called the ThermoRoller, a device that can change temperature to relieve sore muscle pain.

Angus was one of her professors and encouraged her to compete in the Community Business Plan Competition.

She’s very glad she took his advice.

“The $10,000 will enable me to work with the Robert C. Byrd Institute to finalize my prototype,” said Keefe. “Then I can create my product and launch my company into retail services.”

“I’m excited for the future and am so grateful for all of the connections – without them, it wouldn’t have been possible,” she said. “This team of mentors and innovators rallied around me and believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself, and sparked my passion for entrepreneurship and helping others on their journey.”

She encourages any rising innovator to take advantage of every opportunity in front of them.

“My story has been the journey of taking advantage of all of these opportunities and connections that WVU has offered me,” said Keefe. “When you chase your dreams and have people to support you, anything is possible.”

This year’s Community Business Plan Competition gave five teams from across the state the opportunity to take home $26,300 in total funding to seed their businesses.

• Thermoroller: Cameron Keefe, Morgantown - $10,000
• Montani Outfitters: Nicholus Triplett and West Cassity, Morgantown - $9,300
• Exoknot: Andrew Leich, Bruceton Mills - $5,000
• The Dirt Doctors: Joe Williams, Belington - $1,000
• Skypunch Technology’s Online Voting System: David Simms, Charleston - $1,000

‘The Grit to Execute’

The competitions are about more than idea pitching. They bring together a collaborative community of investors, innovators and organizations to rally around the participants and support their entrepreneurial journeys – supporting the larger mission of building West Virginia into a start-up state.

Sarah Biller is invested in that mission. As the executive director of Vantage Ventures, she is a champion for bringing big tech companies like DataRobot to West Virginia.

During Bridging Innovation Week, Biller served on the judging panel of the Business Plan Competitions, in addition to spearheading a demo day for her Vantage Ventures residents and facilitating important conversations about West Virginia’s journey to become an innovation economy with entrepreneurs and WVU President Gordon Gee.

She left hopeful and inspired by what West Virginia’s future holds.

“Entrepreneurs from all around West Virginia are tackling ‘hard tech problems’,” said Biller. “They are dreaming big dreams, but they are also providing a road map to show how you get it done.”

Biller believes that formula will be the key to continuing the momentum to build West Virginia into an innovation economy. 

“That’s how you turn West Virginia into a start-up state – you take ideas and combine them with tenacity and execution,” she said. “The execution is what makes the difference between an idea and a successful business.”

Biller believes resiliency will differentiate this group of rising innovators and drive them to change the world.

“Those entrepreneurs had no fear,” said Biller. “They are West Virginians – they have the grit to execute and own their futures.”

hr/04/12/22 CONTACT: Heather Richardson Assistant Dean for Strategic Communications WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics [email protected]

Seven schools advance to final round of West Virginia High School Business Plan Competition

More in latest news:.

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Teams from seven different high schools across the state have advanced to the final round of the West Virginia High School Business Plan Competition .

As they gain invaluable entrepreneurial education in the sixth annual competition, teams are also learning about startup opportunities in the state and working to make their business ideas as strong as possible. After all, a prize of $10,000 in college scholarship money is at stake for the winning team.

“The High School Business Plan Competition is an important part of West Virginia’s entrepreneurial ecosystem,” said Tara St. Clair , senior program manager at the BrickStreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at West Virginia University’s John Chambers College of Business and Economics , which co-hosts the statewide competition. “Whether students choose to continue their education or go into the workforce, they are equipped with the knowledge and tools to do whatever they choose in the next stage of life.”

The seven finalist schools include Buckhannon Upshur High School, Buckhannon; Doddridge County High School, West Union; Greenbrier East High School, Lewisburg; Hedgesville High School, Hedgesville; Lincoln High School, Shinnston; Morgantown High School, Morgantown; Princeton Senior High School, Princeton; and Wheeling Park High School, Wheeling.

WVU’s BrickStreet Center co-hosts the competition with the West Virginia Department of Education. The competition is open to all juniors and seniors in high schools and career and technical centers in West Virginia. Teams may consist of up to three members.

“Some of West Virginia’s greatest challenges can become its greatest opportunities. The West Virginia High School Business Plan Competition’s goal is to work collaboratively to help move the state forward by engaging young minds to solve West Virginia’s greatest issues,” said the WVDE. “The future of our state is at hand, and we are working to involve young talent from across the state to share their ideas.”

“This competition is important to the development of an entrepreneurial culture in West Virginia,” St. Clair added. “Students are being taught skills to aid them in starting businesses of their own someday, which we hope they will open in their home state.”

A workshop for the high school finalist teams will be held on Saturday, Feb. 9, at the WVU Erickson Alumni Center in Morgantown. Teams will meet and work with marketing, financial, legal and business professionals on their business ideas, while learning valuable information related to starting a business in West Virginia.

The winner of the high school competition will be determined at the finals event, which will be held April 12 at the West Virginia High Technology Consortium at the I-79 Technology Park in Fairmont. Finals events for the high school and West Virginia Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition will be held together at the Technology Park location as the events simultaneously draw to a close.

Find about more about the high school competition on the West Virginia Department of Education website .

The,  Brickstreet Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is part of the  WVU Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship Applied Ecosystem , a university-wide web of centers, offices and programs that fosters and supports innovation and entrepreneurship among WVU students, faculty and staff while engaging the statewide community.

Other areas include  IDEA Faculty Fellows ,  WVU Women’s Business Center , LaunchLab Network   Davis Young Innovators program ,  WVU Extension Service ,  Patent and Trademark Resource Center ,  Health Sciences Innovation Center ,  Legal Clinics ,  Media Innovation Center ,  Manufacturing Extension Partnership , the  MakerLab  and  Technology Transfer.

See a map of the full ecosystem and detailed information about the resources included .

The High School Business Plan Competition is one of the ways WVU fosters homegrown entrepreneurship to fulfill the mission of WV Forward.

WV Forward is a statewide collaboration led by West Virginia University, the state Department of Commerce and Marshall University to help grow the economy by adding  jobs, investing in education and improving health and wellness to create the most prosperous West Virginia possible.

Below is the complete list of 2018-19 West Virginia Statewide High School Business Plan Competition finalists:

CONTACT: Patrick Gregg, WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics [email protected] ; 304.293.5131

Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.

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15 Business Competitions for High School Students

What’s covered:, why should you enter an investing competition, how do business competitions affect my admissions chances.

Whether you dream of being a billionaire businessman like Mark Cuban, an investment icon like Warren Buffet, or a founder who’s focused on giving back like Hamdi Ulukaya, the creator and CEO of Chobani, entering a business competition for high schoolers is often a great first step toward a successful enterprise.

Business competitions are a great opportunity to show off your entrepreneurial spirit while gaining a deeper understanding of the challenges of starting and running a business. Business competitions allow you to highlight in-demand skills like idea generation, creative thinking, leadership, and communication. They also give you a chance to learn about building a business and to test your ideas in a relatively risk-free environment—after all, there is no capital or investment to lose. 

Many business competitions will also connect you with real-life professionals and college business school faculty. This creates both the chance for mentorship and the foundation of a business network that can serve you both inside and outside of the classroom—it can help with everything from gaining college admission to getting a business off the ground. 

Business competitions for high schoolers also often provide winners with monetary awards or scholarships which are beneficial for keeping the cost of college down—something every aspiring business person can appreciate. 

1. Conrad Challenge

Date(s): 2023 dates announced in August Type: Global 

This business challenge tasks students between ages 13 and 18 to apply science and technology to solve global issues, create a pitch, and build a business plan. Participants work in teams of two to five students to compete in four traditional categories and one special category that changes annually. The four traditional categories are:

• Aerospace and aviation 
• Cyber technology and security 
• Energy and environment 
• Health and Nutrition 

The 2021/2022 special category was “re-purposed farmlands and alternative uses of tobacco (and its by-products)”. 

2. Blue Ocean High School Entrepreneur Pitch Competition

Date(s): 2/18/22 Type: Global 

The Blue Ocean High School Entrepreneur Pitch Competition is one of the world’s most prestigious business competitions for high school students. Participants can work alone or in teams of up to five to generate an innovative product or service that the world needs and pitch it in a maximum five-minute-long video. 

3. Youth Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition

Date(s): 4/1/22-9/15/22

Type: Global

Individuals between the ages of 13 and 29 are invited to participate in this business competition focused on using entrepreneurship to solve global issues. Participants are challenged to create or implement an idea, project, concept, solution, or initiative with a societal impact that addresses one of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals . 

4. Wharton Global High School Investment Competition

Dates: 9/22-4/23

The Wharton Global High School Investment Competition is a highly regarded business competition for high schoolers and is open to students in grades nine through 12. Participants are required to examine a case study of a potential client and create a portfolio that meets their long-term goals using $100,000 in hypothetical funds. Unlike investment competitions that select winners based on the performance of their portfolio, Wharton Global High School Investment Competition winners are chosen based on the strength and articulation of their investment strategy. 

5. Global Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (GYEC)

Date(s): 5/28/21

The GYEC is a 12-hour, online, worldwide business competition for high school students ages 14 through 19. Participants work in teams of up to eight students—each ideally possessing broad and complementary skill sets—to solve a significant global problem using an innovative and sustainable enterprise idea. Winning teams will receive a trophy along with an award certificate.

6. GENIUS Olympiad Business 

Date(s): 4/18/22-6/18/22

Participants in the GENIUS Olympiad compete in numerous categories (including business) focused on environmental issues. Students can compete in one of two business tracks: entrepreneurship or social responsibility. Both tracks require the participant to deliver a presentation as if they were making a real pitch for funding—dressing in formal business attire and including an accompanying PowerPoint presentation.

7. Diamond Challenge   

Date(s): 1/7/21-4/23/22

Type: National 

This well-known high school business competition is an initiative of Horn Entrepreneurship

at the University of Delaware. The challenge features two tracks for participants to compete, business innovation and social innovation. Both tracks require participants to work in teams of two to four students, to submit a concept narrative, and provide a pitch deck. Diamond Challenge offers substantial awards to its winners—first place takes home $11,000, second place $7,500, and third place $3,750. 

8. Pirates Pitch Competition for High School Students  

Date(s): 9/22-11/22

This Pirates Pitch Competition for High School Students is provided by Seton Hall University and is aimed at teaching high schoolers the basics of entrepreneurship and idea generation. To enter the competition, participants must submit a business idea in 350 words or less. Finalists will need to pitch their idea to judges in a live virtual event. Competition winners receive both a cash prize and a generous scholarship to Seton Hall.

9. Yale DHSRI High School Investment Competition

Dates: 2/22-4/22

The Yale DHSRI High School Investment Competition is hosted by the Dwight Hall Socially Responsible Investment Fund at Yale University, the nation’s oldest undergraduate-run socially responsible investment fund. Competing in teams of two or four students, high schoolers (students in grades nine through 12 are eligible to participate) build a portfolio using $100,000 in virtual funds and ultimately submit a final investment report that outlines their strategy, learning process, and environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) themes. 

10. DECA Challenges

Dates: Varies 

For three-quarters of a century, DECA has been helping to prepare future entrepreneurs and leaders in marketing, finance, and hospitality. DECA has more than 3,000 high school chapters and 175,000 members. Throughout the year, DECA issues many challenges to its members, many of which are business focused and require participants to demonstrate specific skills and knowledge.  

11. tecBRIDGE High School Business Plan Competition 

Dates: 3/18/22-4/21/22 

STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and math)-based business is at the heart of the tecBridge High School Business Plan Competition. Participants are expected to create sustainable and scalable concepts, answer a series of questions, and deliver a ten-minute-long presentation. Students are also expected to demonstrate creativity, critical thinking, and top-notch presentation skills.

12. The Big Idea Competition 

Date(s): 10/31/22-12/7/22

Young entrepreneurs are challenged to think of ways to make the world a better place to live by using business to implement change in this high school business competition. The competition is open to all high school students and requires them to submit a 1,075-word description of their business idea. Nearly $35,000 in prizes are awarded annually, including a $1,000 first prize. 

13. High School Utah Entrepreneur Challenge (HSUEC)

Date(s): 2/21/21-3/26/22

Type: State

Utah high school students ages 14 to 18 can show off their entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ideas in this business competition. Students are encouraged to form teams of up to five students to compete in the HSUEC and are required to submit a business proposal that details:

• the opportunity or problem the business/product addresses
• the solution or improvement the business/product provides
• the market the business/product competes in, its target customer, and what sets it apart from the competition 

Participants must also submit a prototype in any medium of what their idea, product, or service will look like. 

14. West Virginia High School Business Plan Competition 

Date(s): 11/12/22-4/6/22 

The West Virginia High School Business Plan Competition is open to West Virginia students in grades nine through 12. The competition is aimed at helping high schoolers learn how to move a business idea from conception to action. Participants can compete either as an individual or in teams of up to four people. Submissions to the contest are in the form of a maximum 90-second YouTube video that addresses three key points:

• the business product or service
• the problem or opportunity and why is it a problem or opportunity 
• the customer and how the product/service solves their problem

15. Wisconsin High School Business Model Competition

Date(s): 4/20/22 – 5/21/22 

This awesome business competition—open to high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors—is presented by the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s Alta Resources Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Students can compete alone or in teams of up to three and are asked to present an idea or solution to a problem that could lead to a business. Finalists will need to deliver a four-minute-long pitch to a panel of judges. Prizes include cash awards as well as scholarships to UW Oshkosh.  

Business competitions can have varying levels of influence on your odds of getting accepted into college. Everything from the prestige of the competition to where you are placed to the value a college places on extracurricular activities like business competitions can impact the weight they’re given by an admissions office.

The four tiers of extracurricular activities are useful for better understanding how colleges consider your activities outside of the classroom. Top-tier activities (those in tiers one and two) include participation in the most well-thought-of and distinguished competitions. Winning or placing highly in a top-tier competition can significantly improve your admissions odds. Less prominent and lesser-known competitions fall into tiers three and four. Lower-tiered activities don’t hold the same sway over admissions offices and have less effect on admissions chances. 

Interested in learning how your participation in a business competition influences your odds of getting into your dream school? CollegeVine can help! Our free chancing calculator considers factors such as grades, test scores, and extracurriculars to estimate your odds of getting into hundreds of colleges and universities while also providing insight into how to improve your profile.

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Bridging Innovation Week April 4-8, 2022

BRIDGING INNOVATION WEEK

This series of events will bring together various meetings and competitions from across the state that are promoting and fostering entrepreneurship in West Virginia.  These efforts will range from supporting elementary to college students and community members in their pursuit of becoming entrepreneurs to creating more opportunities in West Virginia and building our ecosystem across the Mountain State.

Monday, April 4 | 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

University of charleston i3 competition.

i3 (Idea, Innovation, Invention) is an annual competitive event showcasing the University of Charleston’s culture of innovation through faculty, staff, and student presentations. The main driver behind i3 is to encourage the sharing of innovative ideas, projects, research, and much more to receive valuable feedback from the community. Each year 100’s of UC students, faculty, and staff participate along with 50+ judges from Charleston and surrounding communities.

Hosted by the University of Charleston Russell and Martha Wehrle Innovation Center   Point of contact: David Ramsburg- [email protected]

Tuesday, April 5 | 9 a.m. – 3:00 p.m .

Wv entrepreneurship conference (wvec).

The WVEC aims to bring together key providers in the state to share best practices and inspire collaborations.  At its core is the creation of an intentional system of support for entrepreneurs from ideation to visualization to regulatory submissions and into support for sustaining businesses throughout the difficult first years and beyond.

See our conference schedule at  WV Entrepreneurship Conference

Hosted by the West Virginia Department of Economic Development Small Business Development Center and West Virginia BusinessLink Point of contact: Bill Woodrum –  [email protected]

Video of the 2022 event can be seen here

Tuesday, april 5 | 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m ., vantage ventures networking reception, location: the equities house 900 virginia st e, charleston, wv 25301.

Please join us for an Open House at The Equities House. Network with fellow conference attendees and VIPs. Take a quick tour of the office and classroom space utilized by the WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics , WVU College of Law and WVU Extension Service . Light refreshments and appetizers will be provided. Hosted by Vantage Ventures .

Sponsored by AHM Digital/Almost Heaven Media.    Point of Contact:   Ellie Nesser, email [email protected]

Tuesday, April 5 | 4:15 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.

Country roads angel network investor meeting.

Country Roads Angel Network is hosting an event for investor members and potential investor members. The event will include a catered dinner, networking opportunities and the review of our quarterly investment pitches.

Wednesday, April 6 | 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

2022 wv innovation + business model competition showcase.

WVIBMC is a statewide business model competition that is open to   all  students enrolled in a West Virginia higher education institution. The focus of the competition is designing desirable, feasible, and viable businesses that are attractive to investors. Students learn and apply entrepreneurial best practices like design thinking, business modeling, and lean startup to identify problems, create game-changing solutions, and develop business models by testing their assumptions on real customers. They will take what they learn and either validate key assumptions or pivot and change course. It is anticipated between 3 and 6 of the 2022 WVIBMC participants will demo their presentations before a panel of potential investors. The selected 2022 WVIBMC participants will have approximately 8 minutes to deliver an effective and persuasive demonstration of the proposed solution to a significant problem with the opportunity to secure pre-revenue capital from the investor pool.

https://www.marshall.edu/wvinnovates/

Hosted by Marshall University Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (iCenter).   Point of contact:  Olen York –  [email protected]  

Video of the 2022 event can be seen here.

Wednesday, april 6| 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., west virginia statewide high school business plan competition (hsbpc).

The HSBPC offers high school freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors from across the state the opportunity to learn how to move a business idea from conception to action with the help of seasoned business professionals. Finalists receive the opportunity to pitch to real investors.

Hosted by WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics Encova Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the WV Department of Education.   Point of contact:  Tara St. Clair –   [email protected]  

Wednesday, April 6 | 1:40 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.

West virginia statewide collegiate business plan competition.

The Collegiate BPC offers college students the opportunity to receive the education, skills, contacts, and motivation necessary to create a viable start-up company in West Virginia. Finalists receive $1,000 and have the opportunity to pitch to real investors from across the country.

Hosted by WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics Encova Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Point of contact: Tara St. Clair – [email protected]  

Wednesday, April 6   3:10 p.m. – 4:10 p.m.

Community business plan competition.

The  WV Community Business Plan Competition is a $15,000 cash prize contest for new product ideas that can be brought to market in 6 to 12 months and be sold nationally or globally. This contest is open to all WV residents and small businesses. Applications are due 12:00 p.m. on March 15, 2022.

https://www.businessplanwv.com/

Hosted by WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics.   Point of contact:  Ryan Angus –  [email protected]    

Wednesday, April 6   4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.

Vantage ventures demo day.

Vantage Ventures will host a Demo Day event for their clients as a part of Bridging Innovation. The sessions will create connections for entrepreneurs with people who want these innovators to succeed.

Learn more about Vantage Ventures

Hosted by WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics.   Point of contact:  Sarah Biller  [email protected]

Wednesday, April 6 | 5 p.m. – 8 p.m.

Awards banquet for business plan and business model competitions.

Beginning with a networking happy hour from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., the Business Plan and Business Model Competition Awards Banquet  provides competitors and their supporters with the opportunity to highlight and celebrate  their participation in the state’s premiere student student business competitions.

The awards banquet celebration honors the outstanding accomplishments student awards winners from the following events:

• WV Statewide High School Business Plan Competition
• WV Innovation & Business Model College Competition
• WV Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition

Hosted by WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics Encova Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Marshall University Center for Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation (iCenter) , and the West Virginia Department of Education Point of contact: Tara St. Clair – [email protected]

Video of the 2022 event can be seen here. 

Thursday, april 7 | 10 a.m. – 2 p.m., youth entrepreneurship in action .

West Virginia high school students are invited to work in teams to create and share ideas for improving their communities through entrepreneurship! This interactive session will include hands-on activities from the WVU My Hometown is Cool! program and a chance to win prizes. Presenters will share information on multiple upcoming opportunities for youth interested in entrepreneurship. This session is limited to participating youth and adult facilitators.

Hosted by WVU Extension Servic e and WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics.   Point of contact:  Lauren Prinzo –    [email protected]

Thursday, April 7  5:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Veteran entrepreneur reception.

West Virginia University is at the forefront of providing dedicated programs for veterans and their families. To that end, the Encova Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the John Chambers College of Business and Economic s will be hosting an invitation only reception and dinner to introduce its new statewide veterans entrepreneurship program. During the dinner, veterans, VIPs, and business leaders from around the state will gather to discuss ways to help veterans and their spouses start and grow businesses in the Mountain State.

Hosted by WVU John Chambers College of Business and Economics Encova Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship  Point of contact:   Zac Northrup    [email protected]

Hotel Room Block Available

Charleston marriott town center.

Start Date: Sunday, April 3, 2022 End Date: Friday, April 8, 2022

Last Day to Book: Friday, March 4, 2022

Bridging Innovations Rate for 129 USD – 139 USD per night

Book your group rate for 2022 Bridging Innovation

Government Rate Available at Marriott Town Center for Bridging Innovation!

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