Columbus North student wins Maverick Challenge for Bartholomew County

A Columbus North High School student is the winner of this year’s Maverick Challenge for Bartholomew County, recognizing a small business he is already operating.

The Maverick Challenge is a youth entrepreneurship initiative organized by the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce. It gives high school students experience in entrepreneurship through its rounds of pitches and digital curriculum on business concepts. This year, 330 students from Bartholomew, Dearborn, Franklin/Ripley, Jackson, and Scott counties are participating in the program.

The first place winner, Siddhant Jain, pitched his business plan for Sid’s Studio — a social media marketing agency offering a monthly-based subscription service. According to the chamber, Sid’s Studio is already a profitable Columbus business with two part-time employees.

The second place winner was Haylee Cain from CSA New Tech with her plan for TeenReady Staffing. 31 Bartholomew County teams competed for the prize, with four teams taking part in the county finals over the weekend.

Finalists from each participating county will take part in The Maverick Challenge Regional Finals on February 18th via Zoom.