GVSU teams take top prizes at MWest Challenge

Entrepreneurial students from Grand Valley won nearly every top category at the 2017 MWest Challenge, a competition that allows students to develop and grow new ventures based on their own ideas. 

The event was held April 21 at the DeVos Center on Grand Valley's Pew Grand Rapids Campus, hosted by the Richard M. and Helen DeVos Center for Entrepreneurship in the Seidman College of Business. 

More than 72 startup teams were featured, made up of 183 students from Grand Valley, Kendall College of Art and Design, Davenport University, Aquinas College, Calvin College, Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids Community College, Hope College and Kuyper College.

Students were competing for $45,000 in prize money; each team had seven minutes to present their idea to the judges.

• Payton Mills and Zoe Bruyn from Stir It Up, a bakery that employs individuals with special needs, won the Northwestern Mutual Master Track Grand Prize of $5,000;

• Katarina Samardzija from Locker Lifestyle, athletic clothing with storage pouches, won the Northwestern Mutual Early Stage Grand Prize of $5,000;

• Jordan Vanderham and Jared Seifert from Orindi Ventures, a thermal energy conservation mask, won the Master Track Second Place award of $2,000;

• Aaron Schaafsma, Christina Karagozian, Bryan Belknap, Hannah Fernando and Melody Posthuma from 934 Bag Works, which offers handmade, high-quality bags, won the Amway Spirit of Entrepreneurship award of $3,000.

The competition was judged by 65 experienced entrepreneurs, executives and business leaders from the West Michigan community. 

Final round judges were Jorge Gonzalez with Start Garden, Lisa Granger with Northwestern Mutual, Denise Graves with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Zack Meyer with Varnum LLP and Jon Voskuil with Amway.

This year's competition was presented by Northwestern Mutual, along with Spectrum Innovations, Amway, Varnum LLP, Start Garden and Green Light.