To win funding for your startup, sometimes you’ve got to put on your overalls and your boots and get to work.
That’s how West DeWaard ’27 took home first place at the ninth-annual Terrier Startup Challenge. The student-led business event is organized by the Career Center’s Launch Program, which aims to support and guide students in growing their entrepreneurial skills and ventures.
DeWaard’s fledgling business Raised Outdoors aims to divert wood waste by upcycling wooden pallets into raised flower beds. “I started Raised Outdoors almost three years ago with my mom. We have those original beds at my home in Maine right now,” DeWaard says.
The top prize of $4,000 will allow DeWaard to create a website, pay for initial advertisements, buy various materials and fund customer service and delivery positions this summer.
Not only did DeWaard present his pitch in a full gardener’s outfit, which he decided upon through conversations with Launch Program manager Sarah Butler, but he also shared his vision without reading off a notecard.
“The night before I would go into the theatre and I would crank out 20 pushups and get my heart rate up and go through my speech at midnight,” he says.
This year Wofford alumni were involved in the Terrier Startup Challenge in new ways, including a restructured judging panel.
“Historically, Terrier Startup Challenge has included a mix of judges with varying expertise throughout the entrepreneurial ecosystem. We tried a different approach this year by asking an all-alumni panel, and we received immediate yeses with enthusiasm,” Butler says.
Judges were Clay Johnson ’16, an investment associate with the South Carolina Research Authority; Victoria Breckenridge ’17, owner and operator of Mountain Grounds Coffee and Tea Co.; and Marcus Reid ’21, an entrepreneur and wealth strategist with Northwestern Mutual.
Butler believes having alumni hear, evaluate and rank the pitches levels the playing field for Wofford-specific ideas, such as Campus Closet Wofford, which won $3,000 as the second-place finisher. The clothing rental service for students was pitched by Julia Brooks ’25.
“The judges studied in the same library, participated in some of the same traditions and lived in the same residence halls as the presenters. That sort of perspective goes a long way,” Butler says.
“It’s cool to have Wofford people coming to these events and supporting you,” DeWaard says. “They had good questions, and they congratulated me afterward again and again.”
This year’s edition also featured the event’s first keynote speaker, again an alumnus. Keith Washington ’94 has leveraged his 35 years studying business and climbing the corporate ladder to provide career coaching and professional development to universities, colleges, nonprofits, businesses and individuals through his venture Next Level Coaching LLC.
Returning to McMillan Theater for the event, where he had his first team meeting as a member of the Terriers football team, Washington shared advice about building a business centered on purpose, integrity and excellence. He says he saw a lot of those values on display in the Terrier Startup Challenge.
“They believe in what they’re doing,” Washington says, “and what I love about this event is they’re not here to say, ‘This is how I can make money.’ They literally have a problem and focus. I believe that makes a tremendous difference.”
2025 Terrier Startup Challenge winners:
First place ($4,000): West DeWaard ’27, Raised Outdoors
Second place ($3,000): Julia Brooks ’25, Campus Closet Wofford
Third place ($2,000): Daniel Bryant ’26, Hostr
Fourth place ($1,000): Nick Ross ’26, Carolina Aerial Solutions
Audience choice award ($500): Caris Mitchell ’27 and Joe Cahill ’26, Studio Smoothie