GCC students take second place in Big Idea competition

A pair of Grove City College students took second place at Allegheny College’s 2025 Zingale Big Idea Competition. 

Senior Liam Grossman (Computer Science and Data Science) and junior Joseph Shin (Data Science) took home a $7,500 prize for their pitch for their AI-powered venture Thymely.ai, which provides insights for professors to make timely adjustments to their classes by collecting and compiling survey data from students via an easy-to-use and cost-effective platform.

The team is part of the College’s VentureLab program, which is managed and sponsored by the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation (E+I).  VentureLab helps the Grove City College campus community explore and develop new ventures based on their own original concepts. It serves as a valuable starting point for innovation and enables aspiring innovators to gauge the feasibility of their ideas.

“The competition was an amazing opportunity to pitch our idea, get feedback from industry experts, connect with other innovative teams, and receive funding for future growth. Of course, none of it would be possible without the support of the E+I team whose feedback and encouragement were instrumental in our success," Shin said.

“The E+I team is so proud of the Thymely.ai team. They came up with an idea, interviewed potential customers, built a prototype, and won $7,500 in the matter of weeks,” said Yvonne J. English, E+I executive director. “We're also very thankful to Allegheny College for sponsoring a competition that allows college students from around the country to compete for lucrative prize money and valuable feedback.”

The competition, hosted by Allegheny’s Center for Business and Economics, challenges students to pitch innovative business or social venture ideas in a professional setting before a panel of alumni entrepreneurs, business leaders, and venture capitalists.

Twenty-four student teams representing seven colleges and universities (Allegheny College, Grove City College, Franciscan University, University of Chicago, University of Southern California, Westminster College, and PennWest Clarion) gathered at Allegheny College for the competition. A team from the University of Chicago took first place.

“The Zingale Big Idea Competition is an incredible showcase of student innovation,” said Chris Allison, entrepreneur-in-residence at Allegheny College. “The diversity of ideas, the professionalism of the presentations, and the students’ drive to make a difference were truly inspiring.”

For more about the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation at Grove City College, visit gccentrepreneurship.com.

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