Marietta High School’s Kayla Floyd took the top prize during the first round of Marietta College’s Junior PioBiz competition that was held on campus on Friday, March 1.
A total of 18 students from Marietta and Parkersburg South high schools presented 15 business ideas during the “Problem/Solution” phase of Junior PioBiz and Floyd’s project — Foster Care — finished first.
Junior PioBiz is a business start-up competition open to all high school students in the Mid-Ohio Valley. The competition is co-sponsored by Marietta Community Foundation and Marietta College.
Parkersburg South’s William Lemon and Steven Parr finished second with their plan for NAIL ANCHOR.
Marietta High School claimed the next three spots with Sophia Westbrock claiming third place with an allergy prevention proposal, Katryna Temesvary finished fourth with Blindness and Rose Sandlin was fifth for Veterinarian Clinic.
South’s Josh Renfro, Josh Breedlove, and Jimmy Carson claimed the final spot with LIFE IN ALL. The top six teams each received $50 and have been invited back to present their ideas in Round 2 of the competition on April 4. During the Proof of Concept round students will take up to five minutes to prove that their business ideas are feasible.
The top three winning teams in Round 2 of competition will be chosen by the members of the audience and up to four new judges, and will receive the following awards:
- First place: Three free Marietta College 3-credit hour courses valued at $4,275 plus $200 in cash
- Second place: Two free Marietta College 3-credit hour courses valued at $2,850 plus $150 in cash.
- Third place: One free Marietta College 3-credit hour course valued at $1,425 plus $50. in cash.
Judges for the first round were Jamey Brooks, Superintendent of Construction at the Pleasants Power Station FirstEnergy; Ben W. Ebenhack, Benedum Professor and Industry Partners Chair of Petroleum Engineering and Geology Marietta College; Michael L. Fleak, Mid-Ohio Valley Division President of Premier Bank; Vanessa Watson, President of Gator Shredding Inc.
The members of the audience were also able to vote in the first round by investing their 1,000 PioBiz dollars on their favorite ideas.