BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – High school students from Vermont and around the globe have the chance to win a full-tuition scholarship to the University of Vermont, and all it takes is one outstanding idea.
UVM sophomore Logan Vaughan is part of the school’s Entrepreneurship Club, which is searching for the next best business idea from high school students. He says it’s no easy task. “There are a lot of pitches we come across where we’re like — how are we even gonna choose a final five?” he said.
It’s called the Vermont Pitch Challenge. Think “Shark Tank” for students. “Gives students the opportunity to work on their business plans and business ideas and get real-time feedback before pitching in front of our outstanding UVM Entrepreneurship Club students,” said UVM’s Jay Jacobs. The grand prize is a full tuition to UVM.
Vaughan helped pick last year’s winner, a junior from Killington who founded a nonprofit focused on mental health in the action sports community. “It was an amazing experience, being on the other end of actually looking at pitches, being able to judge and see the hard work and dedication and amazing pitches these students have put forward,” Vaughan said. Now, he’s started his own business and enjoys helping his peers develop their own ideas. “It’s pretty amazing to see the reach that this competition has gotten to, not just in Vermont and the U.S., but worldwide.”
The deadline to apply is February 15th.