Six student-led startups each received $50,000 in funding at The Ohio State University’s 2026 President’s Buckeye Accelerator finale on April 8. The event, organized by the Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, featured twelve teams pitching their business ideas to a panel of judges made up of entrepreneurs and business professionals.
The competition is significant because it provides financial support and mentorship to student entrepreneurs who are developing solutions for real-world problems. These resources help students turn their ideas into viable businesses with the potential for meaningful impact.
The finalists were selected from more than fifty ventures that participated in Boost Camp, a semester-long pre-accelerator program run by the Keenan Center earlier this spring. After an initial pitch round narrowed the field to twelve teams, six ventures were chosen as winners and will advance as Cohort 5 companies of the President’s Buckeye Accelerator.
Cheryl Turnbull, senior director of the Keenan Center, said: “What impresses me most is our students’ instinct to tackle real problems. They’re not just imagining what the future could look like — they’re building it. Through the President’s Buckeye Accelerator and the resources of the Keenan Center, these founders gain the skills and confidence to transform challenges into viable businesses and solutions that can create meaningful impact.”
Student participants highlighted how mentorship and feedback helped them improve their projects. Kevin Ravakhah, co-founder of SimVive, said: “Throughout Boost Camp, we were able to build and improve SimVive based on user feedback with the help of incredible mentorship. Now, with PBA funding and support, we’ll be able to expand our patient-scenario library, pursue accreditation, and help more EMS providers prepare for real-world emergencies.”
The winning ventures include Coachable (a digital playbook platform), Colectic (a marketplace for vintage resellers), PathoTrace (an airborne microbe detection system), Side Coach Sports (an operating system for youth sports), SimVive (a clinical decision-making simulator), and Viera Wellness (an at-home screening kit for vaginal health). Founders described how participating in PBA changed their approach to entrepreneurship. Luke Carrell from Side Coach Sports said: “PBA has been an incredible opportunity for me… We truly would not be where we are today without it.” Eric Ishekwene from Coachable added: “It provided real mentorship, real engagement and tangible financial results… I’m honored to be selected as one of the winners.”
According to the official website, The Ohio State University competes in thirty-six varsity sports with numerous Big Ten championships as well as national titles. The university also supports community engagement through fundraising initiatives for pediatric cancer research and global service trips each year according to its official website. Facilities such as Wexner Center for the Arts support academics while recreation centers provide opportunities beyond athletics according to university sources. Ohio State operates six campuses statewide along with eighty-eight Extension offices serving every county according to its official site.
The university continues its land-grant mission through affordable education programs across Ohio along with innovative research efforts as reported by its official website.
