ROANOKE, W.Va. — West Virginia University Extension is ready to showcase business ideas from West Virginia entrepreneurs and students as part of the first-ever Mountain State Innovators Summit at the Stonewall Resort.
The summit will be hosted from Wednesday, November 12, through Friday, November 14, where Mountain State middle school and high school students will be joined alongside prospective entrepreneurs from WVU and other parts of the state who will pitch their ideas for a chance at $300,000 in prizes. WVU Extension Specialist for Community and Economic Development Lauren Prinzo expressed excitement for the just over a dozen counties that will be showcased, with judges from both the public and private sectors expected to participate.
“The Innovators Summit is hosted by WVU Extension, the WVU (Morris L. Hayhurst) LaunchLab, and the Hayhurst family,” said Prinzo. “And it is a statewide conference that brings youth, college students, early-stage entrepreneurs, and established entrepreneurs all to the same place.”
According to Prinzo, the middle school and high school students will represent 13 counties as part of the competition, and they will lead off the 2025 Mountain State Innovators Summit. They will be followed by five separate adult competitions with five competitors in each one before established businesses participate in the Hayhurst Invitational that will take place on Thursday. For the students that are competing, they will have a chance to earn money to support programs right in their community.
“Middle school kids are pitching ideas from the My Hometown is Cool program that WVU Extension created,” said Prinzo. “The judges can then ask them questions, and they will win mini-grant funds to turn their ideas into reality over the spring semester in their home school.”
Among the small businesses that will be showcased during the 2025 Mountain State Innovators Summit Hayhurst Invitational will be Morgantown-based consignment shop Old School, which is owned and operated by WVU students. They will compete with businesses from across the state, with Secretary of State Kris Warner and WVU Extension Dean Jorge Atillies among the judges that will be participating. The winner of the Hayhurst Invitational will get a chance to win a cash prize to directly expand their business.
“Old School is a clothing consignment shop that is located on High Street right now, and it’s run by two students whose names are Shelby Cavender and Tyler Jeffries,” said WVU LaunchLab Entrepreneurship Coordinator Allen Beavers. “They find clothes from the eighties and nineties, clean them up, make them look good, and resell them.”
The 2025 Mountain State Innovators Summit is supported by the Morris L. Hayhurst LaunchLab along with the Hayhurst family as part of an effort to support West Virginia entrepreneurs. The summit will include participants from the WVU Extension Young Innovators program, which extended to 16 middle and high schools statewide to start the 2025-26 school year. With the hope to improve entrepreneurship in West Virginia, WVU Extension feels the summit is a good opportunity to showcase the creative minds in the Mountain State.
“The goal of the event is really to build a pipeline of talent, and we’re excited to have that full pipeline on display here of West Virginians who are innovating across the state,” said Prinzo. “From middle school students to those who are ready to take a big jump in it as established entrepreneurs.”