Adrian Outlaw’s idea to create a high-powered, hydrogen-fueled engine started with a “why.” One heck of a “why.”
During his first deployment to Iraq back in 2006 as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army, a young Iraqi family was hit with an improvised explosive device (IED)—one Outlaw thinks was probably intended for him and his unit.
The victims were brought to the forward operating base Outlaw was on, and despite best efforts, nobody in the family survived.
“That event made me realize that I wasn’t able to do as much as I wanted to help people,” Outlaw said. “I wanted to do something meaningful with my life after that, something that could make a real impact.”
So, he got to work—gradually. And 19 years later, he presented his big idea, Outlaw Motor Company, at the George Washington University’s New Venture Competition, where he won second place in the Business Goods and Services Track, earning $7,500 worth of startup capital.
Outlaw retired from the military early last fall and moved with his family, which includes a wife and three children, from their station post in Germany to Northern Virginia. He enrolled at GW as a graduate student in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, primarily for the opportunity to partake in the nationally renowned student entrepreneurship competition put on by the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (OIE).
For the past school year, he has worked with OIE mentors and GW professors to hone his prototype, which is an engine optimized to burn hydrogen as fuel. In simpler terms, it’s an eco-friendly engine that could fit in autonomous vehicles. His initial focus is on the vertical takeoff and landing market, addressing a specific need in the military to transport items such as artillery, water or fuel without the need for human drivers to traverse routes that are dangerous and vulnerable—ones that might be lined with hidden IEDs. His “why” has always been at the top of mind.
“The technology could change the way people move in the world,” said Outlaw, who first presented his idea this fall at Pitch George, where he won the special category prize for perfect value proposition and had the top presentation in his independent track.
For 17 years, the NVC has provided budding innovators such as Outlaw with real-world entrepreneurship experience. Applicants bring their idea to the table and work with mentors-in-residence who provide consistent oversight and direction as they hone prototypes that address their areas of passion. They then go through multiple rounds of competitions, pitching to judges before cash prizes are awarded after the final round every April.
Over 4,000 GW students, faculty, staff and alumni have participated in NVC, yielding 2,000 teams since 2009. A total of $1.9 million in cash prizes have been awarded. This year, there were more than 500 participants, and 19 teams collectively won $128,000 in prize money.
NVC participants compete across four vertical tracks—Business Goods and Services (as Outlaw did), Social Innovation, Consumer Goods and Services and Health and Life Sciences.
Recently, the competition added the Explorer Track, which appeals to those students who may have less experience with innovation and entrepreneurship concepts but are curious to learn. That’s how Christine Wenzel, who is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration at GW, got her idea off the ground.
When she was an undergrad studying global health at the University of California San Diego, she worked on a couple of research projects focused on intimate partner violence and unhealthy relationships on college campuses. She even co-led a project focused on sexual education and relationship outcomes, which allowed her to speak in-depth with students about what they did or didn’t learn growing up and how those gaps influenced their early relationships.
In 2023, she was listening to a podcast about how dating apps are more designed to keep users engaged rather than helping them form lasting connections. Given what she had just learned through her undergraduate research, Wenzel believed traditional apps weren’t doing enough to foster healthy relationships. Suddenly, an innovation itch she didn’t know she had was tickled.
What if she helped develop a dating app from a public health perspective?
“I started talking to friends about it, and they encouraged me to develop the idea further,” Wenzel said.
Her big idea was to create a platform combining expert-supported tools, activities and resources with a space for people to meet others who are equally committed to self-growth and informed relationship-building.
Thus, Heartwise was born.
She entered it in the Explorer Track during the 2024 New Venture Competition and learned invaluable lessons on how to further her idea, especially from a communications perspective.
“When I explain Heartwise to my peers, they instantly understand it because they can relate it to their own experiences,” Wenzel said. “But when presenting to judges—who might have met their partners in 1982 and never used a dating app—I had to rethink how I framed the problem and solution. I realized I was making assumptions about what people knew, and I had to refine my communication to resonate with a broader audience.
“This experience taught me the importance of articulating my ideas clearly, succinctly and without unnecessary complexity—especially when pitching to investors, mentors or partners.”
She took that advice to heart—wisely, if you will. While entered in the Consumer Goods and Services Track this go around, Wenzel won the $5,000 Best Storytelling Prize during the 2025 competition.
Holding the big checks during the competition’s annual awards show is icing on the cake for the immense amount of prep work teams go through. Each phase of the competition helps participants refine their ideas, and there are workshops along the way to challenge their thinking. They attended workshops on things they wouldn’t have considered before, such as Wenzel partaking in a prototyping workshop that taught her not to be too attached to one approach and to connect ideas in ways she never thought. Outlaw found great value in learning how to pitch to angel investors. It’s one thing to have the idea. It’s another to pitch it.
For both Outlaw and Wenzel, the guidance and championing they received from the university, OIE specifically, was priceless.
“I felt supported throughout this process,” Outlaw said. “It’s not just me presenting an idea; it's like, ‘Hey, we’re investing time in you. We want to see you succeed. We want to see your idea develop and, if nothing else, see you grow as a person.’ It’s been encouraging, and it's been a supportive environment.”
For some, the NVC experience is a springboard to mold an idea years—or decades—in the making and send it down a path toward a sustainable and profitable business. For others who used NVC as an opportunity to get their feet wet in the startup culture, it’s just the beginning.
Regardless, the NVC provides all its participants with the tools needed to see an idea, whatever it may be, through–valuable in any life endeavor.
“What I do know is that my time at GW, along with the resources and experiences I’ve gained through the New Venture Competition, has given me the confidence to navigate whatever comes next,” Wenzel said. “Now, I feel much more prepared to take on whatever opportunities come my way.”
