On March 7, Oakland University students were invited to partake in the 2024 Idea Business Pitch Competition. The competition was open to undergraduate and graduate students of any major. The competition challenged students to brainstorm and pitch a business or product idea for the chance to win cash prizes.
Students could enter the contest as an individual pitch or they could group up into teams of two or three.
By March 7, all submissions were required to be submitted as PowerPoint presentations. This was round one of the competition. Thirty contestants were selected to move on to round two of the contest. In round two, contestants were required to present their pitch in front of two judges. Based on the judge’s score, a few candidates were selected to move on to the final round.
All contestants were judged based on their idea, the concept of the idea, the audience or market the person wants to target, the business model and strategy, a well-thought-out solution and the overall presentation of the pitch.
The grand cash prizes went to the top 3 contestants. First place won $1,000, second place won $500 and third place won $250.
Eight finalists moved on to the third and final round of the idea pitch competition. Each idea was unique. Megan Taggart, a second-year marketing student, pitched her “PurdyPup” idea.
“PurdyPup” is a bathroom pad for dogs, that can show if there are any underlying issues with the dog that can be overseen. Taggart’s “PurdyPup” idea ended up winning the second-place prize.
“Honestly, it just came to me because a lot of customers that would come inside of Pet Supplies Plus were looking for care for their pets, but unfortunately there was nothing there for them,” Taggart said. “It really broke my heart and that’s why PurdyPup is now going to be invented.”
This competition helped students to prepare for future business ventures.
“I saw it in an email, and I decided to enter,” Taggart said. “I wasn’t doing anything that day, I kind of just put it together super quickly and now I am super glad I did. It is definitely worth doing if you were thinking about it for next year. This pitch is definitely going to help build my portfolio in the pet industry and hopefully take PurdyPup to the next level.”
The judges of the competition were professionals from different businesses. The judges provided advice and insight to the students who entered the competition.
“Criticism has never been an issue for me, I really take it as a grain of salt,” Taggart said. “I never take it personally. Some people may. Honestly, the criticism makes you a better person depending on how you take it.”
Other notable entries included Alexandria Green’s “The Cloth Clip,” Evan Boardman’s “Spike Strip,” Nneka Dike’s “Afro Flavors Express,” and Zohaib Ali’s “Power Plant.”
The first-place winner was Nicholas Fenderson, with his business idea, “One Shop.” Taggart earned second place with Purdy Pup and David Melanshek won third place with Cat Cam. Guadalupe Sanchez’s Creative Waiting was chosen as the fan favorite of the competition.
If students have questions about the Idea Pitch Competition, please contact Dr. Jae Kang at [email protected] or Molly Gagnon at [email protected].
