06 May ‘Diligent Dozen’ advance to second phase in ‘Wisconsin YES!’ youth biz plan contest
A statewide panel of judges have selected 12 entries to advance to Phase 2 of Wisconsin YES!, a youth business plan contest for students in middle school and high school.
Students from across the state submitted their science- and tech-based 250-word business summaries through the contest website – WisconsinYES.com – in April to compete in Phase 1.
Past winners have hailed from Minocqua, Weston, New Glarus, Brookfield, Oshkosh, Racine and La Crosse.
Professionals committed to the development of young business leaders in Wisconsin served as judges, scoring the entries and providing constructive feedback to the students. Entries advancing to the next round, including the school, are:
| Submission Name | Name | Community/grade |
| All-Weather Glowing Fish Bait | Pranil Panda | New Berlin/ 9th |
| Eeze Int’l | Brooke Marlatt | Crivitz/ 11th |
| Filmer | Jadin Baillie | Suamico/ 12th |
| Food Book | Lyvia Caine | Pound/ 12th |
| Golf Mat Grips | Wade Gonzalez | Menomonee Falls/ middle school |
| Incubator Project – Spool Simply | Kaden Bassetto | Neenah/ 11th |
| Making Telehealth Accessible to Seniors | Mona Khosla | Brookfield/ 10th |
| MexiEats | Lezly Vejar | Green Bay/ 12th |
| NovaGo Footwear: Green Fitness Tracking | Priyanka Lucey | Madison/ 9th |
| Ott Fishing Hooks | Jared Ott | Fond du Lac/ 12th |
| Stick-It | Kate Richlen | Crivitz/ 11th |
| TeleSaviors | Harshman Sihra | Brookfield/ 11th |
Phase 2 will require students to develop their business plan in more detail in a 1,000-word executive summary. Place finishers will be announced in early June and will be eligible for prizes. A video presentation by the grand prize winner will be shown during Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference, which will be held virtually June 3. For more information on the conference, visit witrepsconference.com.
The Wisconsin YES! contest is produced by the Wisconsin Technology Council. Major support is provided by WEA Trust, and the UW-Madison Office of Business Engagement.
Contest partners have included the Department of Financial Institutions, Department of Public Instruction, the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators, Make a Difference Wisconsin, Project Lead the Way Wisconsin, STEM Forward, Wisconsin Association of School Boards, Wisconsin Society of Science Teachers and Wisconsin Association of School Business Officials.
The Tech Council is the independent, non-profit and non-partisan science and technology adviser to the Governor and the Legislature. It serves as a catalyst for tech-based economic development in Wisconsin through programs such as the Tech Council Investor Networks, the Governor’s Business Plan Contest and the Tech Council Innovation Network.
Learn more at WisconsinYES.com or contact the Wisconsin Technology Council at 608-442-7557.