An automotive-loving student in this year’s Monroe County startUP class was recently named Entrepreneur of the Year, with his oil change business standing out for the program’s board of directors.

A senior at Columbia High School, Max Barthel said he’s had an interest in vehicles from a very young age, thanks largely due to a grandfather and uncle who participated in racing their entire lives.

Barthel himself participated in a junior dragster program starting when he was 8, and he wanted to use that long-time passion as the inspiration for his startUP personal business project.

“I grew up in a racing family, so I’ve been around cars my entire life, and that’s what I wanna do in the future outside of college, so I kind of wanted to carry that into my personal business for startUP,” Barthel said.

As there have been a number of other auto-related startUP businesses in the past – specifically a mobile detailing company in recent years – he wanted to differentiate himself, thus resulting in MoCo Oil.

The business model is simple but unique. Those too busy to change their own oil or go to an automotive shop for a change can give Barthel a call and set up an appointment for a time that works for them.

Barthel said he just needs to know the make and model of the vehicle as well as where the oil change needs to happen in order for him to figure out what he’ll need for the job and offer a quote.

“The person who’s getting the oil change doesn’t need to provide anything except for the car,” Barthel said.

He further explained that as part of the job, he gets rid of the oil through Sydenstricker Nobbe Partners, a John Deere dealership in Waterloo of which Monroe County startUP Chairman George Obernagel is part owner.

On being this year’s recipient of the Entrepreneur of the Year award, Barthel spoke humbly, commending his peers for all the work they put into their projects.

“It feels really good to see everything that I’ve been working for all year and everything all the other students have been working for all year,” Barthel said. “Being Entrepreneur of the Year, it was a really good experience. At the same time, every single person in that class worked extremely hard. Every single person in that class worked through a lot of the same challenges that I did.”

He received a check in the amount of $2,250 for the honor.

Barthel added that he hopes to take all the effort he’s put into the project and carry it on into the future.

Barthel also spoke about his experience with startUP in general. He described it as the biggest part of his personal development in high school, adding that the program helped him grow in far more ways than just business knowledge.

In particular, Barthel noted his increased confidence in public speaking as well as his newfound willingness to open himself up to uncomfortable situations.

“(Monroe County) startUP really taught me not only how business runs, but it actually gives you a lot of character development as a person,” Barthel said. “I feel like walking in there, I knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur. I knew some of the things that it took. But startUP honestly taught a lot of how to do that while also giving experience.”

Barthel also touched on this year’s group business project as a major learning experience, as the students poured two months’ worth of time into planning for a concert in the Rock City development caves only for the Valmeyer Village Board to deny the request based on safety concerns.

That particular struggle, Barthel said, helped teach him and the other students to accept the decisions and mistakes they make while bouncing back from a bad situation.

Monroe County startUP program facilitator Jamie Matthews also spoke about Barthel’s recent award and how he made himself stand out among the class.

Matthews described how Barthel established himself as a trustworthy entrepreneur, and she further noted that, as CEO for the group throughout their group project, he was an excellent, receptive leader.

“He was just a really strong, humble leader,” Matthews said. “He knew what needed to be done, and he had a good pulse on the emotions in the room, but he didn’t let that get in the way of accomplishing what needed to be accomplished, and I think that’s what really made him stand out.”

Looking back on this year’s class and the many other successful students who recently showcased their businesses at the program’s trade show, Matthews echoed much of Barthel’s sentiment about the program being about even more than learning how to get a business going.

“We’re an entrepreneur program, but it’s so much more than just business,” Matthews said. “Students really learn about themselves and self discovery, and they just get a glimpse of the endless possibilities that are out there for them regardless of their family tradition or the cultural tradition of their high school or even the county. It just opens their eyes, and it gives them that confidence to believe in themselves that they can do anything they put their mind to.”

As Barthel will be graduating very soon, he said he plans to attend the University of Alabama in the fall in order to pursue a career in mechanical engineering.

“Once I graduate, I plan on working in the automotive industry for a couple years just to get some experience on how some of those places run,” Barthel said, “and then I plan to carry that knowledge to my own automotive shop once those few years are over.”

Barthel said he’s not quite sure whether he’ll be continuing the mobile oil change enterprise throughout college, though he entertained the possibility of either continuing the business himself as time allows or hiring someone to keep MoCo Oil going locally.

For the time being, those interested in a mobile oil change can get in touch with Barthel at maxsbarthel@gmail.com.