PioBiz 2024-25 Recap

Round 2: Proof of Concept

April 24, 2025
3:00–5:30 p.m.
124 Thomas Hall

Twelve business ideas were pitched in Round 2 (the Proof of Concept round) of the PioBiz Competition, which was in part supported by the sponsors of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development at Marietta College.

The Round 2 competitors provided evidence that their business ideas are feasible.  The key components of the 7-minute pitch presentation were as follows.  

1. Problem: A clear description of the problem
2. Customer Segment: Who has this problem? Define the characteristics of your typical customer.
3. Solution: A clear description of your product or service.
4. Proof of Need: Share the results of your secondary research on the overall demand in the market, and the potential demand for your product. Report the results of your primary need finding (surveys and interviews) research.
5. Existing Alternatives: How do your target customers currently solve the problem? Describe the nature, availability, and price of the competing products or services.
6. Unique Value Proposition: What is the advantage of your product or service over the alternatives? Why should people buy your product?
7. Prototype/Experiments: Display a prototype, and/or describe the results of your experiments and hypotheses testing.
8. Existing & Needed Resources: What are the major resources that you already have, and what are the major resources that you need to start producing your product or service?
9. Cost Structure: Describe the major sources of your fixed and variable costs.
10. Revenue Stream: Describe how you are planning to generate revenue.
11. Road Map/Next Steps: Provide a timeline on what you are planning to do next.

Upon the completion of their 7-minute pitches, the competitors were provided up to 5 minutes to engage in a Q&A session with five judges.

The top three business ideas were jointly determined by five judges and over forty members of the audience. Each member of the audience had one vote, equivalent to 1 point. The judges were instructed to assign between 0 to 10 points in each of the above eleven categories, a total of 110 points per project.

The competition judges were as follows:

• Eric Little, Radio Broadcaster at Seven Ranges Radio  
• Jason Nulton, Director, Veteran & Military Services; Associate Director, Office of Community Engagement; Professor of Leadership, Marietta College
• Jesse C. Roush, Executive Director, Southeastern Ohio Port Authority
• Dr. Tao Wu, Chief Operation Officer at SAIHEAT, Director of OCEC Computing Heat Recycle Center

Top Three Award Winners & Their Businesses

Round 1: Problem/Solution

December 5, 2024
4:00–6:00 p.m.
The Gathering Place

Round 1 of the PioBiz Competition consists of identifying a problem that is worth solving and describing a new product or service that solves the problem. The proposed solution must potentially lead to the establishment of a for-profit or non-profit organization.

This year’s competition was delivered in poster format. The key components of the posters were as follows:

1. Problem: A clear description of the problem
2. Customer Segment: Who has this problem? Define the characteristics of your typical customer.
3. Why is the problem worth solving?
4. Existing Alternatives: How do your target customers currently solve the problem? Describe the nature, availability, and price of the competing products or services.
5. Solution: A clear description of your product or service and how it solves the problem.
6. Unique Value Proposition: What is the advantage of your product or service over the alternatives? Why should people buy your product?

The winners of the competition were jointly determined by four judges and eighty members of the community. Each judge assigned a score between 0 to 100 points to each project.  Each member of the community received 1,000 PioBiz dollars to invest in their favorite projects, with each 100 dollar investment representing one vote. The top ten projects with the highest total points won the competition.

The competition judges were as follows:

1. Dr. James Morell: Assistant Professor of Management, Marietta College
2. Rocky Peck ’88: Owner, Rocky Peck Sales & Marketing LLC
3. Mike Workman: CEO, Contraxx Furniture
4. Dr. Julie Wilkes ' 98:  North American Well-Being & Resiliency Lead & Global Health Faculty; Motivational Speaker; Author; Entrepreneur

 Top Five PioBiz Projects