PioBiz Competition

Have you ever wondered?

• What if there was a product that solved the _______problem?
• What if there was an organization in our community that _______?
• What if there was a quicker (easier, cheaper, simpler, environmentally friendly) way to ______?
• What if an existing product was modified to save space, time, energy, or money?
• What if we combined ______ with _______ to create ______?
• What if there was a non-profit organization that assisted _______? 
• What if I turned my passion into a business that __ ____?

And the list goes on!

Well, wonder no more. Get to work! Put your great ideas into action. Enter the PioBiz Competition to win up to $3,000 in cash and access more funds, experts, and mentors that can assist you to turn your vision into a reality.

What is PioBiz?

PioBiz is a business start-up competition consisting of three rounds: Problem/Solution, Proof of Concept, and Business Plan.

Who can compete?

Any full-time, current, or recently graduated (in December 2022 or after) Marietta College student may compete in PioBiz alone or as a member of a two, or three-person team. The second and third team members do not have to be MC students or alumni. However, all students or alumni members of a team must have an ownership stake in the proposed business. Each team may enter each round of the competition with up to three different ideas. Only the MC members of a team may serve as the team leader or make presentations. The non-MC members of a team may only participate in the Q&A segment of the presentation with judges.   Only the leaders of the winning teams will directly receive the award money.

What types of ideas qualify for the competition?

Any idea that potentially results in the establishment of a new for-profit or non-profit business will work. The exceptions are:

• Proposals to buy franchises or distribution centers of existing companies.
• Business ideas that are not appropriate for a college-sponsored competition.
• Proposals to establish a business that has already been in existence for more than a year with revenue of $10,000 or more.

Do we have to participate and win in the previous round of the competition in order to compete in the next round?

No. However, the experience that you gain and the feedback that you receive from participating in the previous round of the competition definitely increases your chances of winning in the next round of the competition.

What are PioBiz Workshops?

To prepare you for the competition and increase your probability of success, we encourage (but do not require) you to participate in the following PioBiz workshops. 

Workshop 1: Problem/Solution

Workshop 2: Proof of Concept

Workshop 3: Business Plan

Do we have to participate in PioBiz workshops in order to compete?

No, but participating in PioBiz Workshops increases your chances of winning an award by:

• assisting you in identifying marketable business ideas,
• providing you with the opportunity to meet your potential business partners,
• familiarizing you with simple templates that guide you through your thought and planning processes,
• briefing you on a variety of methods to test the validity and feasibility of your proposed goods or services,
• informing you about resources that the Entrepreneurship Program makes available to you,
• walking you through the components of the required business plan.

Also, if you are pursuing a certificate, minor, or major in Entrepreneurship, you may count participating in the PioBiz workshops toward the required hours of out-of-class entrepreneurial activities.

What are some online resources that we can use to improve our pitch? 

We recommend the following online resources: 

• 5 Pitch Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make, and How To Fix Them, with Brendan Baker
• How to Pitch your Startup in 3 Minutes  
• How to Win a Pitch Competition (Quick Guide), by Stacie Shaw 
• If You Want to Win Pitch Competitions, Avoid These 10 Common Mistakes, by Aaron Dinin, Ph.D.  

Where do I go for more information?

For more information, contact Dr. Jacqueline Khorassani, Senior Director of Entrepreneurship and Career Development, in Thomas 201 or the Career center. You may also email entr@marietta.edu.

PioBiz Round 1: Problem/Solution

• Workshop
  • September 19, 2024
  • 7:00–8:00 p.m.
  • Thomas 327
  • Register here to attend this workshop
• Application Deadline
  • November 16, 2024
  • Before midnight
  • Apply here
• Competition Day
  • December 5, 2024
  • 4:00-6:00 p.m. (setup at 3:30 p.m.)
  • The Gathering Place
• Competition Format
  • Poster Presentation
• Awards
  • Top five business ideas win $120 to $200 each

Note: Only the leaders of the winning teams will directly receive the award money.

Round 1 of the PioBiz Competition simply consists of identifying a problem that is worth solving and describing your solution (your product or service). Your proposed solution must potentially lead to the establishment of a for-profit or non-profit business organization. 

On the day of the competition, your team will be provided a stand where you can attach a poster to display the problem and your proposed solution. 

Note: The Worthington Center for Teaching Excellence 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 winners in Round 1 of the PioBiz Competition.  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. The projects with the highest total points will win the competition.

Key Components of the Posters

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 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?

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

Poster Template 

Email Dr. Jacqueline Khorassani at khorassj@marietta.edu.

PioBiz Round 2: Proof of Concept

• Workshop: February 22, 2024, from 7:00–8:00 p.m., Thomas 327. Register on Handshake.
• Application Deadline: April 7, 2024, before 11:59 p.m. Apply here
• Competition Day: April 18, 2024, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., in Thomas 124
• Competition Format: 7-minute pitch followed by a 5-minute Q&A segment with judges. 
• Awards: The top 5 pitches win $200 to $400 each. 

Notes: Only the leaders of the winning teams will directly receive the award money.

This round of the competition consists of testing the feasibility, validity, practicality, and marketability of the proposed product or service by building a prototype, gauging potential customers' and other stakeholders’ interests via primary or secondary research, and listing the sources of cost and revenue.

Key components of the presentations

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.

You may include a variety of visual aids such as tables, graphs, charts, prototypes, and pictures in your pitch presentation.

Presentation Components

PioBiz Round 3: Business Plan

• Workshop: TBD
• Application Deadline: TBD
• Competition Day: TBD
• Competition Format: Up to 15 minutes, followed by 15-minute Q & A with judges.
• Awards: Up to $3,000 will be allocated among the top 2 plans

Notes:

1. Awards over $500 will be distributed within one year from the competition date, based on the winners' progress in implementing their business plans. If sufficient progress is not made within a year, the remaining award amount will be forfeited.
2. Winners who drop out of Marietta College before they graduate will not receive the remainder of their awards.

In this round of competition, you will develop and submit a full business plan. We will be using the Business Plan Template available at https://www.score.org/resource/business-plan-template-startup-business

Business Plan Components

Company Description	Competitive Analysis	Distribution/Place
Product/Services	Positioning Statement	Operational Plan
Market Research/SWOT	Promotions Plan/Budget	Management Org Chart
Customer Profile	Pricing Strategy	Financial Plan

The Key Parts of the Presentations

In general, your presentation must contain the main components of your business. Specifically, you must ensure that the following items are covered in your presentation. Note that many of the items below are very similar to PioBiz Round 2, but you should answer the questions in more depth.

1. The project (product or service) name, the names, majors, and graduating class of team members
2. A clear description of the problem that your proposed product or service will solve and the reason this problem is worth solving. Who is this product or service for? Who is your target audience?
3. What qualifies you to produce the proposed product or service? What are the resources/expertise that you already have, and what are the resources that you need?
4. Describe the nature of similar products or services that are currently available on the market, and the reasons your proposed product or service is better.
5. How do you know that your business idea is feasible? (For example, do you have a visual reference? Have you built a prototype? Have you had any customers already? What types of research and experiments have you conducted? What do the results show? How have you adjusted your plans based on what you have learned?)
6. How did you arrive at your financial plan? Specifically, where did your cost and revenue numbers come from? When do you expect to make a profit or cover your total cost? Elaborate, by describing the type/nature of the research that you have conducted.
7. Describe your next steps. What will happen if you don’t win the PioBiz award? What will you do if you win the award?

For more information

Contact Dr. Jacqueline Khorassani in Thomas 201 or email her at khorassj@marietta.edu.