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Read the storyFight Against FraudThe Pettis Business Idea Competition, hosted annually by the School of Business and Management, brings a “Shark Tank”-style experience to campus — giving students the opportunity to present business ideas and compete for up to $2,500 in funding.
Open to students of all majors, the competition promotes entrepreneurship and innovation. Hear from our top three winners as they share their ideas and reflect on the experience.
First Place Winner: Josiah Stevens ’27
Major: Economics
Q: Can you describe your business idea?
A: Slate Sixteen is a modern intellectual game designed to challenge spatial awareness. It features a four-by-four octagonal grid, and the objective is to fit 16 unique pieces into the grid to successfully solve the puzzle.
Q: What makes Slate Sixteen special?
A: Most puzzles only have one solution, so once you solve them, they tend to collect dust. With Slate Sixteen, we don’t even know how many solutions exist yet — that’s part of what makes it exciting.
Unlike traditional puzzles, it allows for multiple solutions, and from a production standpoint, it’s efficient — you can replicate the same design over and over again, which creates a manufacturing advantage.
Q: Most valuable takeaway from competing?
A: The most valuable thing I gained was the connections and opportunities outside the classroom. Experiences like this showed me that a lot of the value in college comes from conversations you have and the programs you get involved in. It really helped me see the bigger picture and ultimately played a role in my decision to stay at Brockport.
Q: What kind of support have you received participating in the Competition or at Brockport?
A: The support I’ve received has been great, both academically and personally. Honestly, Educational Opportunity Program feels like a family, and they’ve been some of my biggest supporters throughout this process. They have the puzzle prototype in the office right now and have been trying to crack it.
I’ve also been working with the Small Business Development Center to help secure my provisional patent.
And of course, I have to shout out my father — he encouraged me to bring the puzzle to different schools and start sharing it with others. It was originally a Christmas gift for him before it turned into a business idea.
Q: How has this experience shaped your entrepreneurial mindset?
A: Working on Slate Sixteen has really taught me the importance of getting ideas into the world instead of over-perfecting them. I often try to refine something endlessly before sharing it, which can prevent me from ever launching it. This experience taught me to start putting things out there and learning through feedback. The biggest lesson has been to stop waiting for perfection and to let your ideas go into the world — you have to let your “babies” go, in a sense.
Q: What’s next for Slate Sixteen?
A: I plan to start producing additional versions of the puzzle over the summer and launch a competition between universities to see which schools can generate the most solutions within a set time frame.
I’ve already spoken to Columbia, and I’m working on bringing it to NYU as well — Brockport will definitely be a part of it, too.
The goal is to get the puzzle into about 10 universities across the country and see how each campus engages with it and what results come out of it.
Second Place Winner: Khianna Deseide ’26
Major: Health & Society
Khianna Deseide ’26
Q: Can you describe your business idea?
A: Krovio is a healthcare platform designed to support patients after discharge, helping them to follow through on their care plans, stay on track with recovery, and reduce the chances of readmission by improving follow-ups.
The idea is to fill the gap where care often ends at discharge, even though patients still need support afterward. The goal is to remove barriers like language, confusion, and lack of follow-up, and to help patients feel supported throughout their entire care journey.
Q: Most valuable takeaway from competing?
A: The biggest value for me was gaining exposure. It helped validate my idea and gave me something concrete to show investors. It reinforced that I was on the right path, even though I already felt confident in it going in. It also allowed me to connect with others and receive feedback that helped ground and refine my thinking.
Q: What’s next for Krovio?
A: I want to get incorporated. That’s the next big step for me because I can’t move forward with a lot of investors until that’s in place. Also, I’m actively rewriting my pitch deck to match where I am right now and where I’m going.
Preparing for the competition helped ground a lot of that process for me. Conversations with faculty and staff — like those in healthcare and administrative roles over in the Hazen Center for Integrated Care — really helped me think through what’s actually feasible with an existing healthcare system and how something like Krovio could realistically be implemented.
Third Place Winner: Jackson Moretti ’26
Major: Accounting
Jackson Moretti ’26
Q: Can you describe your business idea?
A: LinxTimes LLC is a business-to-business SaaS platform sold directly to golf courses, rather than individual customers. It allows courses to digitize their booking process by allowing users to view available tee times online, reserve them, and complete payment through the platform.
The system is designed to streamline operations for golf courses by reducing the volume of phone calls — some courses receive hundreds per day — so even cutting that number in half would represent a significant improvement.
In addition, LinxTimes LLC supports operational management by providing tools such as booking calendars, member databases, and customer accounts, making it easier for customers to rebook in the future.
Q: Most valuable takeaway from competing?
A: The biggest takeaway was getting feedback and being able to reflect on it afterward. Not every idea is perfect, and working through the judges’ questions helped me feel more confident in my business. It also pushed me to think more critically about my decisions and ideas.
Q: What’s next for LinxTimes LLC?
A: We’re currently focused on growing partnerships with golf courses. At this point, we have two courses that are essentially in, and a third that has shown interest but is waiting to see the completed software before making a final decision.
We’ve also received a development quote and are now moving forward with building the software. Once development is underway, the next phase will be execution — finalizing the platform, launching it with our partner courses, and then using those early rollouts to scale the product further.
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