Colby Featherbottoms Custom Sound Machines Wins $20,000 at 2014 COSE Business Pitch Competition

Ryan Schoeneman (middle), Kent State University student
and Kent State Blackstone LaunchPad client, displays a
giant check of $20,000 that he received for earning top
honors for his business at the Council of Smaller
Enterprises (COSE) Business Pitch Competition.
Schoeneman is surrounded by COSE Business Pitch
Competition judges.

Northeast Ohio TechBelt manufacturing triumphed at the Oct. 22 Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE) Business Pitch Competition, when Kent State University Blackstone LaunchPad client Ryan Schoeneman and his business Colby Featherbottoms Custom Sound Machines won top honors and $20,000 to further develop his business.

Schoeneman, a Kent State Ph.D. student in ecology, started his custom guitar business that incorporates CNC robotics, custom software and select finishes with the assistance of the Blackstone LaunchPad program at Kent State.

“The whole COSE competition was an awesome experience,” Schoeneman says. “We got valuable feedback from accomplished entrepreneurs, and meeting the other contestants was really a humbling experience. There were so many good ideas and solid business plans in the finals— from beer donuts to a new method for college enrollment — I'm still pleasantly shocked that we left with the first prize.”

“Ryan’s business acumen was highlighted earlier this year as a runner-up in our Idea Olympics competition," says Kate Harmon, associate director of Blackstone LaunchPad at Kent State and Schoeneman’s mentor. “With additional mentoring, including the Burton D. Morgan venture coaching program, and funding from the Blackstone LaunchPad Student Launch Fund, Ryan has built a thriving business that builds upon the emerging TechBelt manufacturing industry in this region.”

Schoeneman plans to use the prize winnings to purchase additional equipment for his business and pursue legal protection of his custom software. The software, built by Blackstone LaunchPad business Innovative Pixel allows for one to draw the shape of one’s guitar online and have the guitar body cut to the exact specifications. The funding also will provide Schoeneman the opportunity to build out his mobile factory.

“With the COSE prize winnings, we can retrofit our Airstream mobile showroom into a fully equipped mobile guitar factory, allowing us to meet our customers at trade shows, festivals or even their own front yards for a truly immersive custom-shop experience,” Schoeneman says.

“Working with Blackstone Launchpad has been nothing short of phenomenal,” Schoeneman adds. “The awesome networking opportunities alone would have made it worthwhile, but add in their business coaching, social media support and funding opportunities, and there's just no way I could be where I am today without the Blackstone LaunchPad's help.”

For more information about Colby Featherbottoms Custom Sound Machine, visit http://featherbottomguitars.com.

For more information about Innovative Pixel, visit www.innovativepixel.com.

For more information about the Blackstone LaunchPad program at Kent State, visit www.kent.edu/blackstonelaunchpad.