Junior PioBiz

Thursday, April 13, 2023, Starting at 4:00 pm

Gathering Place at Marietta College

What is Junior PioBiz?

Junior PioBiz is a business idea competition for high school students that is sponsored by Marietta College. The competition simply 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 business organization. All business ideas must be appropriate for a college-sponsored competition. Marietta College may disqualify any entry that is inappropriate in its judgment. Proposals to buy franchises or distribution centers of existing companies are not accepted.

Who can compete?

High school students may compete alone or in up to 4-member teams. While there is no limit to the number of teams a particular student may belong to, we are limiting the number of competing teams per school to six. We encourage schools to put in place their own procedures to determine the top six teams that will compete at the Junior PioBiz Competition. Note: Homeschooled students may also compete by having a parent or guardian register them for the competition.

What are the awards?

• All participants will receive gift bags from Marietta College.
• Each member of the teams representing the top five business ideas will receive a certificate of achievement.
• The top five business ideas will be awarded $50 to $250. Note: Only the leaders of the winning teams will directly receive the award money.
• Each member of the team representing the top business idea will receive a free Marietta College 3-credit hour course valued at $1,486.

When and how can we apply?

To express your intention to compete, a school representative (faculty/staff) or a parent or guardian (if homeschooled) must complete the “Intend-to-Compete” form on or before midnight on February 6, 2023. On this form, you do not have to outline the nature of your proposed projects. The competition will take place at the Gathering Place located on the corner of Butler and 7th streets on the campus of Marietta College on April 13, 2023, starting at 4 pm.

The application deadline is March 30, 2023. Click here to apply. Note that one application per product or service must be completed by a school representative or a parent or a guardian. Besides the basic information on the name of the product or service, the name and contact information of the school representative, and the team members’ names and classes, the application form also includes questions on:

1. Problem: A clear description of the problem
2. Target Customers:  Who has this problem? Define the characteristics (gender, age, economic status, preferences, etc.)  of your typical customer.
3. Why is the problem worth solving? How desperate are your target customers for a solution to their problem? Why would they be interested in your product or service?
4. Existing Alternatives:  How do your target customers currently solve the problem? Describe the nature of the competing products or services.  
5. Solution: Clearly describe 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 competition will take place at the Gathering Place on the campus of Marietta College on April 13, 2023, starting at 4 pm.

What is the format of the competition?

This is a poster competition.  Below please find our suggested format for your posters.

.Poster Template

You may include a variety of visual aids such as slides, tables, graphs, charts, and pictures on your posters.

Note: The Worthington Center for Teaching Excellence at Marietta College will print all 3 ft. by 4 ft. competition posters that have white backgrounds for free. For more information on how to submit your poster, contact Dr. Khorassani at khorassj@marietta.edu

On the day of the competition, be prepared to interact with judges and community members effectively.  The competition judges and the other members of the community will jointly determine the winning projects. Each judge assigns a score between 0 to 100 points to each project.  Each member of the community will be provided with 100 PioBiz dollars to invest in their favorite projects. Each $10 investment is equivalent to 1 point. The projects with the highest total points will win the competition.

How can we receive more support and assistance?

If you need additional information and support, please contact Dr. Jacqueline Khorassani, Director of the Entrepreneurship Program at Marietta College at khorassj@marietta.edu 

The following table highlights the important dates and activities.