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More than a dozen Marietta students pitched their best business ideas in Round 1 of the PioBiz Competition, with concepts ranging from an app for scheduling landscaping services to a mobile stress-relief service featuring therapy animals and arts and crafts, and a religious brand aimed at inspiring kids about Catholic saints and faith.

Dr. Jacqueline Khorassani, Senior Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Career Development, said Round 1, which was held in The Gathering Place, 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,” Khorassani said.

Fourteen students presented their ideas, which were reviewed by four judges: Dr. James Morell, Assistant Professor of Management, Rocky Peck ’88, owner of Rocky Peck Sales & Marketing LLC, Mike Workman, CEO of Contraxx Furniture, and Dr. Julie Wilkes ”98, who is a North American Well-Being & Resiliency Lead & Global Health Faculty, motivational speaker, author and entrepreneur.

The top idea came from Entrepreneurship major Loreena Williams ’25, who presented Reena Maes Baker, a one-of-a-kind experience that combines high-quality, creative desserts with strategically paired beverages.

“Unlike other local bakeries and coffee shops, we provide a carefully selected selection of globally inspired sweets, as well as innovative drink pairings that enhance the experience,” Williams said of her business plan. “The emphasis on mixing desserts with alcohol and mocktails separates us, attracting customers seeking elegance and variety, as well as those looking to indulge in something else than the conventional bakery or coffee shop experience”

Williams’ plan took the top award of $200.

Khorassani said the competition was delivered in poster format, with key components being a clear description of the problem, identifying the customer and their characteristics, addressing why the problem needs to be solved, the entrepreneur’s product or service and a description of how it solves the problem, and the unique value proposition — the advantage of the entrepreneur’s product or service over the alternatives/why customers should buy the product.

“The winners were collectively selected by a panel of four judges and an enthusiastic community of over sixty members,” Khorassani said. “Judges evaluated each project, assigning scores on a scale of 0 to 100 points. Simultaneously, community members actively participated by investing $1000 PioBiz dollars in their preferred project(s), with each $100 investment serving as one point.”

The second-highest award went to Hinata Sotsuda ’26, a Management major who proposed Global Study Nexus as her business — which earned a $180 award.

“This is an online matching platform that connects college professors around the world,” Sotsuda said of her business plan. “The platform makes it possible for professors to create classroom projects that require students from various countries to form teams and work collaboratively on their projects.”

Teagan Klaner ’28, an Entrepreneurship major, Dayne Johnke ’28, a Marketing major, and Reece Rupert ’28, an Exploratory major, proposed the landscaping scheduling app, Opus, which earned a $160 award. Rebecca Streets ’28, a Biology major, Mason Rice ’25, a Psychology major, and Jameson Embrescia ’28, a Management major, earned a $140 award with their mobile, stress-relieving activities mobile business, ZenDen. The final award went to Kaitlyn Gough ’24, a Graphic Design major who presented Holy Helpers, a product line that provides educational resources and materials that inspires, educates and excites children about Catholic saints and faith.

The next phase of PioBiz will be Round 2: Proof of Concept, which “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.”