Three teams of students from Crivitz High School have advanced to Phase 2 of Wisconsin YES!, a youth business plan contest for students in middle and high school. A statewide panel of judges selected 12 entries to advance.
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.
Daren Sommerfeldt, business education teacher at Crivitz High School, said, “This is a contest that we get involved in each year that we have done very well in. (But) it’s the first time in school history we’ve had three teams make the finals.”
The three teams from Crivitz came up with business plans involving how to make day-to-day life easier with technology.
Eeze Int’l
The team with the business plan for Eeze Int’l, an app created for travelers, is made up of Brooke Marlatt, Wyatt VanLanen and Jonah Behrendt.
The app allows customers to check-in, check-out, have specialized parking, make reservations, etc. It also connects many international hotel chains, so travelers are able to go to their favorite hotels with “eeze.”
Marlatt said, “This app was created due to our own personal experiences. There are many mishaps and issues that can occur in the hotel industry and we are here to help relieve the stress.”
Food Book
The team behind the business plan for Food Book, an app where people can log food items they currently have, includes Lyvia Caine and Lexi Lewins.
“When you run out of an item you can move it to your virtual list so you can look at what items you need when you go to the store,” Caine said, describing the app.
The app also includes options to see nutritional information, gives coupons to stores nearby, and includes an option for users to purchase their food online.
Caine said, “It has a recipe section that allows users to find recipes they are able to make with what’s in their fridge.”
Stick-It
Kate Richlen and Lauren Gillis make up the team behind the business plan called Stick-It.
The product is a sticker that tracks items from almost anywhere using “high-grade military technology.” An app must be downloaded to register stickers and keep track of the items.
“We thought of the idea for our product because we know misplacing your items is a very common, everyday problem, and we thought making an app to track your items would be the perfect solution to this issue,” said Kate Richlen.
Past winners of Wisconsin YES! 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.
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 about the conference, people may 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.
For more information, people may visit WisconsinYES.com or contact the Wisconsin Technology Council at 608-442-7557.
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