Blackstone Launchpad at Kent State will present its annual Idea Olympics on March 5. Applications close Thursday at 5 p.m. $4,000 of funding is available to the winner of the competition. 

The Idea Olympics is a business idea competition any student can participate in, regardless of major or area of study or year in school.  

The idea can come from any field, from product service to nonprofits.  

Students who participate submit a 90-second “elevator pitch” and a three-page proposal, and the top seven-to-10 finalists present in front of a panel of judges. 

The winner at Kent State will move on to a regional competition. There are typically about three weeks between the competitions to give students time to patent ideas or products if necessary. 

Last year’s first-prize project was an app that aimed to change the business card industry by digitizing them, said Zach Mikrut, senior marketing manager for Blackstone Launchpad.

Another past winner was the creator of Colby Featherbottoms Custom Sound Machines, a company that allows musicians to design their own guitars to be delivered to their doors.  

Contact Ellie Enselein at [email protected]