In February 2019, three hundred Pitt students of all degrees and disciplines, gathered at the O’Hara Student Center to kick off the two-month long Randall Family Big Idea Competition. The road would eventually end on March 21st with $100,000 given to deserving teams who showed dedication to their idea and promise towards starting their own entrepreneurship endeavors.
At the initial Bootcamp event, teams heard from entrepreneurship professionals throughout the academic arena. These included Babs Carryer (Director, Big Idea Center), Kit Needham (Director, Project Olympus at Carnegie Mellon University), as well as the Big Idea Center’s own entrepreneurs in Residence (Phil Marzolf, Joanna Sutton, Don Morrison, and Ketaki Desai). As students moved from station to station, they gathered information imperative to their success not only in the competition, but in any business that they may potentially build from the ground up.
Information presented in such a format is critical for teams who may not have a background in business or entrepreneurship. In a way, Bootcamp acts as a crash course in how to start a startup. Additionally, it provides students who do study these fields a reminder of what is important at the genesis of an idea. Phil Marzolf, entrepreneur in residence at the Big Idea Center, presented on the topics of solutions and benefits. “We don’t start with why. We start with who because everything we do is for somebody,” he stated during his brief lecture.
Kyle Wyche, a senior studying ecology and evolution, spoke on his experience throughout the day and what he learned: “You can have any idea. As long as you understand the process and where to start with your idea and how to move it through, you’re golden. Work on understanding the process, even if you are not synched on your idea at the moment. Learn the process.”
Where does the journey end?
Emily Siegel began her process as part of the Big Idea Blitz in January where her team placed first with the same idea that would eventually lead her to win the Randall Family Big Idea Competition grand prize of $25,000. The idea was a biodegradable gum that brushes your teeth. “We spend 24 hours trying to develop the idea and make a business plan for it – to see how it would turn out in the real world and if it was a practical thing. That brought me to participating in Randall to hopefully get some startup money. That way, I could use the money to start this company and see where it goes,” Emily said while participating in Bootcamp two months prior to a giant check (literally) and a handshake from Bob Randall himself.
At the beginning of any competition, energy is high, and teams are full of hope for the future. While not all teams can win a monetary prize, the real value of the process is the knowledge gained through experience and council. Bootcamp is the beginning of that journey.