Owen-Withee youth competes for business scholarship

Owen-Withee High School teen Mason Gay will showcase his business Purity Pressure Washing and Services in front of a panel of judges to compete for a $5,000 scholarship. It’s part of a Shark Tankstyle competition hosted by Junior Achievement of Wisconsin.

The JA Young Entrepreneur statewide competition finalist video premiere week is March 10-14. Stay tuned to the JA Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube channel for updates. The Viewer’s Choice Award voting opens March 14 and ends at midnight March 16.

Gay started his business in May 2023. What started as a pressure washing job for his great aunt turned into opportunities born from knocking on doors in a neighboring town. Mason’s business grew so quickly in the first year that he was able to offer additional services, like tree removal, and was able to hire a friend to help him with the work. He’s reinvested into his business to upgrade his own equipment and keep his customers happy.

Gay will present his business and state his case for earning the scholarship to the judges (listed below). The judges will critique the business, ask questions, and offer valuable feedback.

Among the many entries from across the state, Gay was selected as a finalist for the scholarship based on the following criteria: Charisma/Hustle, Business Success, Growth Potential and Social Involvement. Other considerations included the entrepreneur’s age when the business was started, special challenges faced, strategic direction, innovation, personal integrity, and leadership.

Judges include:

• Al Araque, Senior VP—Johnson Financial Group

• Mario Costantini, President—La Lune Collection

• Craig Culver, Co-founder—Culver’s

• Wes Saber, CFO—Haribo

• Denise Thomas, Founder/Owner— The Effective Communication Coach Finalists competing in the Young Entrepreneur Live Competition:

• Aiden Davis—Whitefish Bay

• Aiden Liu—Brookfield

• Clayton Elliott—Brodhead

• Mason Gay—Withee About Junior Achievement (JA)

Junior Achievement is the world’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. JA programs are delivered by corporate and community volunteers, typically in area schools, and provide relevant, hands-on experiences that give students from kindergarten through high school knowledge and skills in financial literacy, work readiness, and entrepreneurship. In the past 4 years, the 12 area offices of Junior Achievement of Wisconsin have used a dedicated core of more than 13,400 volunteer mentors to impact 440,000 Wisconsin students. For more information about Junior Achievement of Wisconsin: https://wisconsin.ja.org/