The University of Nebraska–Lincoln announced that 64 student teams recently competed for $82,500 in prizes during the 38th annual New Venture Competition. Hosted by the Center for Entrepreneurship, this two-day business plan tournament featured undergraduate and graduate students from every college at the university, representing 38 majors.
Jackson Donley (a sophomore management major from Bloomington, Minnesota, and member of the Nebraska Entrepreneurship Accelerator) earned first place and $15,000. And his business SomeGuys Services focuses on door-to-door sales and comprehensive window cleaning services.
Donley and the other winners may be considered for additional investments of up to $25,000 from the Husker Venture Fund, a student-led fund in the College of Business.
The additional finalists were:
– Second place ($12,500) – J&D Lake Services, Joseph Weinberger, junior management major from Bull Valley, Illinois. And the startup offers eco-friendly lake weed removal services to clients such as homeowners associations and golf courses.
– Third place ($10,000) – Alpha Omega Pickleball, Andreas Katsaounis, sophomore business administration major and Entrepreneurship Catalyst from Waterloo, Nebraska. The startup specializes in high-performance, affordable pickleball paddles, targeting the $2.2 billion U.S. market.
– Fourth place ($7,500) – PROTO, Brody Marr, sophomore electrical engineering major from Lincoln, and Patrick Stolinski, junior civil engineering major from Omaha. The startup aims to empower STEM education by providing accessible robotics programming and kits for educators and after-school programs.
This competition also featured the Advanced Traction Bracket, a track for returning competitors with operational businesses. Judges awarded $15,000 at their discretion among the following:
First place ($8,000) – FuturHerd Solutions, Brooke Parrish, a doctoral student in animal science from Elmwood, Illinois, whose livestock tech company addresses caretaker challenges with innovations such as the Nursery Nanny robot.
Second place ($5,000) – InfoFilm, Madison Kreifels, a senior agricultural and environmental sciences communication major from Syracuse, Nebraska, whose venture aims to close the gap between agriculture and consumers.
Third place ($2,000) – TeachFront, Lena Lankas, a senior computer science major from Lincoln, and Nathan Ray, a senior supply chain management major from Omaha. The students, part of the Jeffrey S. Raikes School of Computer Science and Management, are building tools to support mastery grading in classrooms.
Parrish plans to use the $8,000 prize to fund a pilot research study using the university’s NUtrack Livestock Monitoring System this summer.
A new Judges’ Choice Award recognized eight standout teams for their potential and strong presentations. Each team received a $2,500 prize, funded by the Bauermeister family:
– Scrappy Woodworks — Seth Wright, senior agribusiness major from Petersburg, Nebraska (Nebraska Entrepreneurship Accelerator and Engler Agribusiness Entrepreneurship Program)
– Cadet Golf — Camden Jauert, freshman business administration major from St. Bonifacius, Minnesota, and Gavin Schneider, freshman business administration major from Waconia, Minnesota
– Eco-Wrap — Lance Jones, junior agribusiness major from Stapleton, Nebraska
– FindU — Kenny Morales, junior software engineering major (Raikes School) from Grand Island, Nebraska, and Wilson Overfield, senior computer science major (Raikes School) from Ralston, Nebraska
– Halal Meats — Yamen Seanwan, senior business administration major from Lincoln (Nebraska Entrepreneurship Accelerator)
– Pairr — Mohanad Elsharif, senior software engineering and data science major, and Ayan Hussain, junior computer science major, both from Lincoln
– Safeguard Solutions — Adam Khattak, sophomore computer science major, and Aaron Wohleb, junior computer engineering major (Raikes School), both from Lincoln
– Sandhills Biochar — Treaven Scheideler, senior mechanized systems management major from Scotia, Nebraska
The college-matching app FindU also received the Thomas G. Guy Startup Team Award. And co-founders Morales and Overfield earned an additional $2,500 prize for outstanding organization and collaboration throughout the competition.
Students also used the center’s resources to prepare for the event. Sixty percent of teams engaged in coaching, workshops, or coursework with center staff and faculty.
KEY QUOTES;
“This competition showcases the creativity, resilience and drive of Nebraska students. It puts a spotlight on the entrepreneurial activity at the university that helped Nebraska debut at No. 42 in the world in The Princeton Review entrepreneurship ranking earlier this year. We’re proud to see these teams from across campus take the stage to pitch ideas that could make real-world impact.”
“Our student entrepreneurs are launching real businesses and gaining valuable experience. These businesses create jobs and generate economic activity within the local economy.
“Since joining the center in 2012, I’ve seen students go from simply exploring an idea to launching ventures that drive real change. Watching founders like John Wirtz, Luke Bogus or Grant Stahla scale their startups is incredibly rewarding. What makes it even more impactful is the support from our community — people like Tom Welter, Erica Wassinger and Bill Champion — who invest their time and mentorship to help our students succeed. This competition doesn’t just spark ideas; it builds the future of Nebraska’s economy.”
– Samuel Nelson, Bauermeister Family Presidential Chair in Entrepreneurship, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and associate professor of practice in management
“My entrepreneurial journey started in high school and took off at Nebraska. The Center for Entrepreneurship gave me the tools, support and mentorship I needed to grow. I’ve been able to work with people like Tom Welter, who runs nine home service companies and has been an incredible mentor through the Nebraska Entrepreneurship Accelerator. That guidance, along with the workshops and peer connections, made all the difference.”
– Jackson Donley
“When we pitched in the competition last year, it was only my second time ever pitching — so I’ve grown a lot since then. This competition helped me refine my pitch and shift my mindset. I used to view judges’ questions as something to fear, but now I see them as supportive and constructive. Presenting in a high-pressure environment like this has made pitching to investors feel more natural and less intimidating.”
– Brooke Parrish
“We consistently hear from judges how tough it is to choose just a few teams to move forward, because so many are deserving. Thanks to a donor, we’re able to give $2,500 to eight standout teams that judges believe are especially worthy of funding to help grow their businesses.”
– Amanda Metcalf, assistant director of the Center for Entrepreneurship
“Our team is always here to support students at any stage of their startup journey — whether they need feedback on a pitch deck, help refining a business plan or just someone to talk through ideas with. While we host workshops ahead of the competition, it’s the ongoing, one-on-one support that makes the biggest impact. This year, that access paid off, with more teams competing and entering the event prepared and confident.”
– Mallory Krenk, student engagement and recruitment coordinator
