HIRAM, OH – Six student teams at Hiram College competed for and shared $2,300 in prize money at the 2025 Ideablitz! Competition, showcasing innovative business ideas ranging from sports equipment to AI-powered wellness products. The event,held in the spring,builds on the foundation laid by the earlier Pitch Night and is designed to help students develop concepts wiht potential for market viability.
The Ideablitz! Competition, along with Pitch Night, is supported by a grant from the Burton D. Morgan Foundation and exemplifies Hiram College’s commitment to fostering entrepreneurship. The competition featured teams of two to four students, each presenting a five-minute business pitch followed by a two-minute question-and-answer session with a panel of local entrepreneurs.
“The event was remarkable and is reflective of the great things happening at Hiram and in our entrepreneurship program,” saeid Russell Ormiston, Ph.D., Director of the Center for Integrated Entrepreneurship. “The students brought forth notable business ideas and were exceptionally prepared and polished in front of the panel, a testament to their hard work and the guidance of David Kukurza, M.B.A, Director of Academic Programming for Entrepreneurship.”
Kukurza emphasized the importance of practice and feedback in the students’ success. “The best student team presentations resulted from their practice and making key changes based on feedback from the class and me. They were ready and motivated for the competition,” he said.
The winners were:
* First Place ($1,000): FlowCrate – Macy Fry, Elizabeth Doup, Ilyana Sterrett, and Ayrica DeHart, for a six-bottle holder designed for faster, mess-free refills of Gatorade squeeze bottles during sporting events.
* Second Place ($600): AURA Emotion Oil Diffuser – Tristan Martin-Marshall, McKayla Carpenter, Donald Davey, and Kevin In, for an oil diffuser that creates custom blends based on AI-generated survey responses.
* Third Place ($400): Lens Buddy – Elijah Southern, Ben Hamilton, and Jake Colwell, for a disposable, stick-on lens protector for professional camera lenses.
* Sustainability Prize ($300): Solar Spark – Kendrick Miller, Evan Seawell, Tez Carter, and Nate Brown, for a compact portable solar charger for emergency situations.
The Center for Integrated Entrepreneurship at Hiram College provides students with opportunities to explore and develop entrepreneurial skills.More data can be found at https://www.hiram.edu/academics/centers-of-distinction/burton-d-morgan-center-for-integrated-entrepreneurship/.
