Kent, OHIO – Kent State’s John S. and Marlene J. Brinzo Center for Entrepreneurship, located within the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship, announces the winners of the 2025 Idea Pitch competition. The Idea Pitch, sponsored by the Ohio Innovation Fund, took place November 20 in Crawford Hall.
The Idea Pitch competition helps Kent State students develop their startup companies and pitch their business ideas to a panel of executive judges to win cash prizes.
Winners were:
- Nathan Wood, first place with Hero Foil ($1,000 prize and a guaranteed spot on the spring Rice Business Plan trip)
- Ben Windt, second place with LunaCase ($500 prize)
- Gabe Crozier with PantryBot and Olivia Fenneken with Cottage Core, third place tie ($200 prize)
Additional participants, who each received a $100 prize, included the following:
- Teni Fajuke with TravelsWithT
- Lakshya Pandey with Alvora AI
- Nat Foote with Roam VR
Judges for the event were:
- Bill Baumel, executive director, Ohio Innovation Fund
- Amalia Munteanu, entrepreneur-in-residence and executive coach
- Dave Thoman, President and CEO, Leading Edge
- Faith Voinovich, principal, Ohio Innovation Fund
About Kent State University’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship
Kent State University’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship is among 2% of business schools worldwide to obtain dual accreditation in business and accounting from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). The college offers 10 undergraduate majors, 14 minors, and an undergraduate Professional Sales Certificate; MBA; master’s degrees in accounting, business analytics and economics; graduate certificates, dual degree programs and a Ph.D. program. For more information about Kent State’s Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship, visit www.kent.edu/crawford.