Tyler Ebert, a June graduate of D.C. Everest High School in Schofield and a resident of Weston, is the grand prize winner in Wisconsin YES!, a youth business plan contest for students in middle school and high school.
Ebert won with a business plan for Citadel Systems Security, a computer security company. He presented his plan to more than 250 people at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference in Milwaukee during the awards luncheon for the Governor’s Business Plan Contest.
Ebert founded and served as captain of his high school Finance and Investment Team and was a finalist in the Wisconsin Finance and Investment Challenge Bowl for three consecutive years. He also works as an apprentice at a Marathon County credit union. Ebert will attend the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management in the fall.
Students had the opportunity to submit their ideas in a 250-word online summary to compete in Phase 1 of the contest. Professionals from across the state acted as judges, provided feedback, scored the ideas and selected the top 17 to move on to Phase 2. That list was narrowed to a dozen for the final judging of a 1,000-word plan.
Other finalists and prize winners were: Jon Graham, Car Exhaust Purifier, Madison East High School; Ashley Weihert, Child Care, North Crawford High School, Soldiers Grove; Sydney Faris, Costume Shop Creation, LIFE Charter School, Hartland; Patrick Folzag, Farmers Market, LIFE Charter School, Hartland; Earnest Bos, Hoof Knife and Eco Clipper, St. Joseph School, Fort Atkinson; Seth Sullivan, Local Green, Cardinal Heights Upper Middle School, Sun Prairie; Kayla Kinney, Pretty For Par Boutique, Madison Memorial High School; Austin Weidner, Price Rite Berries, Southern Door High School, Brussels; Luke Gardner, Running with Scissors, North Crawford High School, Soldiers Grove; Hunter Johnson, Solar Still Greenhouse, Adams-Friendship High School; and Ryan Cray, Sun Spot Lots, Madison Edgewood High School.
The contest is produced by the Wisconsin Technology Council and sponsored by WEA Trust, the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the Wisconsin Health and Educational Facilities Authority and Government Policy Solutions LLC, a Madison public affairs firm.
Modeled after the successful Governor’s Business Plan Contest, Wisconsin YES! is designed to teach students how innovation in science and technology fields can be developed into plausible business plans. It allows students to explore the connections between science, technology, and entrepreneurship and for educators and judges to cultivate an interest in these arenas. Visit http://www.wisconsinyes.com/ to learn more.
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