photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

The winners of Douglas County's Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge in 2025. From left to right, 8th grader Grayson Barker and 7th grader Abhirup Maity of Billy Mills Middle School won third place; 9th grader Lawrence Dao and 7th grader Daniel Dao of Lawrence Virtual School won first place; and freshman Felix Kirkland of Lawrence High.

Douglas County has begun accepting applications for a competition where area students pitch their business ideas.

The Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge is open to Douglas County students in grades 6-12, and participants will present a written summary, deliver a business pitch and create a trade show display, according to a release from Douglas County. The registration deadline to participate is 5 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 23.

The competition will be held from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Friday, Feb. 20 at The Dwayne Peaslee Technical Training Center, 2920 Haskell Ave. and the community is invited to attend.

Students participating in the event will compete for $3,500 in prize money, including a new $250 Innovate Globally Prize, sponsored by KU Innovation Park. With the upcoming 2026 World Cup, the prize will be awarded to the student or team who can showcase a product or service that is global in scale or highlights a country or culture outside the United States.

The first-place winner will advance to the state competition, where they will have the opportunity to win more prize money and recognition.

This is the eighth year of the competition, and in the past, students have pitched businesses offering swimming lessons, resale clothing, jewelry, baked goods, pet sitting, lawn tool rentals and more. Entries will be judged by local entrepreneurs, teachers and community leaders.

As the Journal-World reported, last year, the winners were Daniel and Lawrence Dao of Lawrence Virtual School. Their business was called “Don’t Panic AI Tutors,” and it offered tutoring and workshops to help students build skills for a tech-driven future.