Ohio Wesleyan Accepting U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition Applications Through Sept. 26 | Ohio Wesleyan University

DELAWARE, Ohio – 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 www.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.