North student wins regional Maverick Challenge

A Columbus North student is the winner of the Maverick Challenge Regional Finals held last weekend.

According to the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, Siddhant Jain, a Junior at Columbus North, took first place with Sid’s Studios. Sid’s Studios is a social media marketing agency that creates media content for businesses and individuals as a subscription service.

The Maverick Challenge is a youth entrepreneurship initiative organized by the local chamber. The region includes Bartholomew, Dearborn, Franklin/Ripley, Jackson, and Scott counties and this year more than 330 students took part in the program. The competition includes mentorship requirements, digital curriculum on foundational business concepts, and rounds of pitches. Seven students competed in last weekend’s regional finals.

All three of the top finishers have already launched real businesses based on their proposals, a first for the competition.

Jain was awarded $1,500 for his business. Benjamin Stoops of Lawrenceburg High School received $750 for his second place finish with his business BS Baseball Gloves. And the judges awarded the Judges’ Choice Award to Luke Imlay of Brownstown Central High School for his business, Lucky’s Farrier Equipment. That award came with a $500 prize.