Record-breaking Wolverine Venture Battle prize pool at stake

Thanks to generous donors and sponsors, the 2025 edition of Grove City College’s Wolverine Venture Battle (WVB) boasts the largest prize package in the history of the venture competition sponsored by the Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation (E+I.)

Seven teams will compete for the cash and in-kind prizes at 1 p.m. Friday, April 25 in Sticht Lecture Hall in the Staley Hall of Arts and Letters on campus. The event is free and open to the public. It will be livestreamed at gccentrepreneurship.com/wolverine-venture-battle.

“We have a record-breaking prize pool with over $38,000 being awarded at this year's Wolverine Venture Battle. There are some truly outstanding teams competing, and this year's event is shaping up to be one of the most exciting competitions yet,” said Yvonne J. English ‘97, E+I executive director.

The venture pitch contest is one of E+I’s tentpole events. Open to students from all majors, the WVB provides invaluable experience for aspiring entrepreneurs and a crucial test for their business ideas, which can be at any stage of development.

Each team will have eight minutes to make their case and another six to field questions from a panel of accomplished judges who will divvy up the prize pool by “investing” in the teams they think made the best pitch.

To make it to the finals, teams survived a rigorous evaluation by independent reviewers who scored the teams’ pitches based on criteria such as their solution to a real problem, their forecasted costs and revenue, and their unfair advantage.

Seventy-two students from 11 different majors and every class year entered 25 teams in the first round of the competition.

The WVB finalists are:

• Agora Initiative — Isabele Crouse ’26 (Biblical and Religious Studies--BARS), Austin Garrett ’25 (BARS), Sam Hogue ’25 (BARS), Ryan Miller ’25 (BARS) — Inviting churches to invest in local communities by seeding redemptively-minded businesses and fostering relationships leading to church plants.
• Careot — Jack Henne ’25 (Entrepreneurship), Eleni Kasianides ’25 (Entrepreneurship and Management), Aliyah Shelatz ’25 (Entrepreneurship) — A secure, multi-faceted app disguised as coupons that provide essential information, tangible resources, and personal support to women seeking to leave their abusers.
• Great Frontiers — Sarah Karns ’28, Kaitlyn Kuscevic ’28 (Entrepreneurship), Jonathan Steen ’28 (Entrepreneurship), Emily Williams ’28 (Entrepreneurship) — Creates outdoor adventure boxes to encourage kids to explore God’s creation and spend time away from screens.
• JourneyWell — Caroline Dawson ’25 (Entrepreneurship), Craig Nyguist ’25 (Entrepreneurship) — A food delivery travel service for people on the go who want easy access to healthy, personalized food.
• Lacey’s Love and Paws — Jonathan French ’25 (Entrepreneurship) — An event that functions like an auto show, but with dog breeders, adoption agencies, related vendors, food trucks, and mini shows.
• Mom — Mara Brak ’26 (Design & Innovation), Lauren DeLeonardis ’28 (Entrepreneurship), Anna Scott ’27 (Design & Innovation) — An app connecting younger Christian moms with experienced moms in a godly community.
• Pronto — Mason Nichols ’25 (Entrepreneurship), Christian Royer ’26 (Entrepreneurship), Oliver Schwarz ’25 (Entrepreneurship) — A fitness supplement company delivering convenient, single-dose pods designed for use with Keurig machines or shaker bottles.

In addition to the judges’ allocations of prize money, teams will vie for two additional prizes: The Hudson Financial Advisors prize ($1,000) and the Fan Favorite Award ($500 determined by texted votes from those watching the competition live and online).

This year’s judicial panel includes experienced entrepreneurs, founders, CEOs, and a variety of professionals and alumni. They are: Lori Brinker ’96, Patrick Colletti, Tim Daigle ’84, Pete Durfee ’80, RJ Fryan ’08, Andrew Graber ’19, Jonathan Graber ’16, Darrin Grove ’91, Tim Habbershon ’81, Dave Karaguntla ’05, Winifred McGee ’77, Rick Newton ’86, Paul Passaro, Bill Powers, Dan Reed, Don Tharp, and Ben Tobias ’19.

In addition to faculty coaches, a group of volunteer professional mentors helped the teams prepare for battle. They are Chris Botting '83, Steve DeCaspers '98, Benjamin Demers '19, Melissa Jacobs '92, Trey Miller '95, Pamela Rossi-Keen '99, and Allyson Sveda '88.

WVB sponsors include: Hudson Financial Advisors, Inc.; St. Louis Arch Angels; IQ Inc.; Graber Supply and Build; Fun Fore All; Newton Institute; Trufit; The Habbershon Family (Tim '81, Grant '06, Meredith '07, Jonathan '09, and Natalie '11); The Passaro Family; The Kiska Family (Stan '85, Deanna '87, Evan '20, and Lauren); Elizabeth (Smith '81) Hanley and Peter Hanley; Laura (Koller '11) and RJ Fryan '08; Lori (Shoemaker ’96) and John Brinker; Dan Creston ’81; Susan (Peshek '81) and Peter Durfee '80; The Pentz Family (Mark ‘81, Cheri ‘79, Michael ‘06, and Yvonne ‘06); Winifred (Williams ’77) and Chris McGee ’77; Roberta and Allen ’64 Geyer; John '68 & Betsy Baun Charitable Foundation (Pittsburgh Foundation.) In-kind sponsors are: Sisterson & Co., LLP, Pittsburgh Web Design, and CIRDEC Consulting, LLC.

Contenders for the finals were evaluated by: Jordan Atchison, Frances Baldwin, Chris Botting ‘83, Scott Brainard ‘76, Allison Braund-Harris, Mark Brody ‘83, Brian Coy, Craig Creaturo ‘92, Dan Creston ‘81, Brad Dearborn ‘78, Steve DeCaspers ‘98, Benjamin Demers ‘19, Jay DiNucci ‘87, Andrew Ellison, Kim Ford, Michelle Gerwick, Curt Given ‘84, Brian Gongaware ‘92, Glenn Grossman, Matthew Hackworth ‘97, Victoria Hassett ‘12, Michael Hemmerlin ‘97, Darcie (Waltermire) Herron ‘93, Lindy Hitzel ‘19, Edward Huttenhower ‘76, Melissa Jacobs ‘92, Bob Keller ‘73, Beth Lepore ‘96, Evan Lowe ‘89, David Mannion ‘78, Wendy Marshall ‘81, Paul Marshall ‘78, Lauren Marts ‘10, Scott McDowell ‘87, William Messner ‘96, Trey Miller ‘95, Robin Parsons, Michael Pentz ‘06, Mark Pentz ‘81, Amy Petro, Patricia Premick ‘84, Keith Reagan ‘06, Steven Roman ‘96, Pamela Rossi-Keen ‘99, Charles (Bob) Scott ‘72, Barbara Shultz ‘95, Cameron Suorsa ‘21, Allyson Sveda ‘88, Jack Thomas ‘89, Steve Wickman, James Will ‘98, and Sarah Winkler.

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

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