On Tuesday, October 14, the excitement was palpable as 30 ambitious, cross-disciplinary Iowa State University students took the stage for the Fall Startup Pitch Competition Finale—the culmination of five days of preliminary rounds that saw 129 students share their business ideas and existing ventures. The event has quickly become one of the largest and most anticipated pitch competitions Iowa State has to offer each year.

Interest in the competition continues to grow year after year. What spanned two days back in 2022 has expanded to five full pitch days this fall to accommodate the impressive number of students eager to participate…a welcome challenge for the Pappajohn Center team. Competitors pitched in two categories: new idea (concepts still in development) and existing business (ventures already generating revenue or serving customers). Each day, six students advanced, creating a highly competitive field of 30 finalists who competed for a share of the prize money in the finale event.

The finale judging panel featured Micah Walker (Investment Analyst, InnoVenture Iowa), Dylan Kline (Director of Business Development, Ames Regional Economic Alliance), and Mikayla (Sullivan) Mooney (Venture Capitalist, Ag Startup Engine). With so many innovative concepts presented, the judges faced the difficult task of selecting the top winners, and 10 student entrepreneurs walked away with prize money.

2025 Fall Startup Pitch Competition Award Recipients:

Existing Businesses
1st Place ($3,000) – Andrew Walton, Wandering Greens (Ivy College of Business)
2nd Place ($2,000) – Anders Otness, North Star Scientific (College of Engineering)
3rd Place ($1,000) – Cam Reiman, Spock’s Sanctuary (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)

New Ideas
1st Place ($3,000) – Charles Schultz, Tread Track (College of Engineering)
2nd Place ($2,000) – Hadley Shatek, Natural Food Coloring (College of Agriculture and Life Sciences)
3rd Place ($1,000) – Nicholas Lueder, Grain Bin Vibration Machine (College of Engineering)

Honorable Mentions ($500)
Kieran Trotter, Cooling Fabric (College of Liberal Arts and Sciences)
Boluwarin Ojo, SparkDefy (College of Design)
Chase Sorenson, Deal for Iowa LLC (Ivy College of Business)
Madison Green, Perfect Motion (Ivy College of Business)

Fall Startup Pitch Competition Winners from L to R: Chase Sorenson, Cam Reiman, Nicholas Lueder, Charles Schultz, Anders Otness, Boluwarin Ojo, Hadley Shatek, Madison Green, Andrew Walton.

The 2025 Fall Startup Pitch Competition highlighted the talent, creativity, and entrepreneurial drive of Iowa State students. We’re proud of every participant who took a chance and shared their ideas and grateful to the judges, supporters, and community members who made this year’s event a huge success.