Students Deserve More Than a Path.
They Deserve a Choice.
Startup School 365 exists to empower the next generation of young entrepreneurs in Ohio by providing accessible, hands-on entrepreneurship education and mentorship. Our vision is to spark entrepreneurial mindsets in students and young professionals across the state—especially those who may not have access to traditional business resources—so they can launch ideas, build skills, and create economic impact in their communities.
Mission: We deliver practical, year-round programs that combine education, real-world application, and mentorship to help participants turn ideas into viable ventures.
Real-world education & experience
Kevin Steidel is the Founder and Executive Director of Startup School 365, a nonprofit organization dedicated to equipping young people with the confidence, skills, and real-world experience to launch businesses and lead boldly.
Kevin brings more than a decade of university-level entrepreneurship leadership to the foundation. He served for 10 years at Wittenberg University in the Department of Entrepreneurship and Business, where he built and expanded experiential learning programs that empowered students to move from idea to execution. During his tenure, Kevin mentored the Wittenberg Entrepreneurship Club, led Tiger Tank (the university’s student pitch competition), and founded Tiger Ventures—an initiative designed to help students turn classroom concepts into real operating businesses. Under his leadership, dozens of students launched ventures, competed for funding, and developed the confidence to build in the real world.
In addition to his academic leadership, Kevin is a lifelong entrepreneur who has founded, acquired, and scaled multiple successful businesses across industries. His real-world experience—combined with years of mentoring young founders—drives the mission of Startup School 365: to give students practical tools, access to capital pathways, and the belief that they can build something meaningful.
Kevin believes entrepreneurship should not wait until college—it should begin early, when confidence is forming and dreams are still wide open. His work is focused on helping students build skills, take ownership of ideas, and realize that they are capable of creating opportunity for themselves and others. Kevin believes entrepreneurship is more than starting a business—it is learning to solve problems, take initiative, and create opportunities where none existed before.
Read about Tiger Tank
Read: Inspiring the Next Generation
meet
the founder
Help a Student Take Their First Real Step
What happens next is up to us.
