Two ESU Student Teams Advance in Business Plan Competition

East Stroudsburg University has two student teams still in the running for the $10,000 top prize in the seventh annual Business Plan Competition held by Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.

The winner of the top prize—along with the second- and third-place finishers, who will receive prizes of $5,000 and $2,500 respectively—will be announced April 4 at an awards ceremony to be held in the Tuscarora Room of Reisner Dining Hall on the campus of Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. The program will begin at 5 p.m. with a reception and student poster session; the awards ceremony will follow.

The annual competition provides student entrepreneurs an opportunity to pitch their original business plans and to win funds to assist in the start-up or expansion of their businesses. Students from the 14 State System universities were invited to participate in the competition in the fall. Nearly 200 students and student teams submitted their business ideas.

“This is an exciting opportunity for our students to put everything they have learned in the classroom to practical use,” said Board of Governors Chairwoman Cynthia D. Shapira. “A number of past winners have gone on to successfully launch the businesses they conceived as part of this practical, real-life experience. There is no better demonstration of how our universities prepare students for success than this competition.”

“It is so exciting just to be able to have the opportunity to listen to the students who participate in this competition each year as they talk about their dreams,” said State System Interim Chancellor Dr. Karen M. Whitney. “The ingenuity and determination they demonstrate is remarkable. The large number of students who participate each year speaks volumes about our students, the faculty who work with them and everyone who is involved in the competition from start to finish.”

The 14 business plans still in the competition and the students who developed them are:

• Andrew Skubisz Music, Andrew Skubisz (Clarion University)

Would offer recordings, performances and other services associated with the original songwriting of Andrew Skubisz to individual consumers as well as businesses.

• Awakened Wellness, Jonathan Burton (Shippensburg University

Would offer massage therapy, floatation therapy and mindfulness meditation.

• Blockchain PDMP Management, Tyler Klenk (California University of Pennsylvania)

Would link the PA Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) to other state prescription tracking systems to increase efficiency in order to reduce overdose deaths.

• Brew Crew Labs, Jeffrey Dillon (Shippensburg University)

Would provide the space, equipment and ingredients for first-time professional brewers to become established without the significant risk and complexity of starting from scratch.

• CrocReady, Ben Smith (Indiana University of Pennsylvania)

A food delivery service that would be based in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area and would  deliver already made crock-pot meals to customers.

• Enhanced Visual, Logan Chernicky (Clarion University)

Uses drone technology along with cutting-edge software platforms to allow construction site managers and engineers to monitor site progression and to compare actual versus planned progress to help keep projects on track and under budget.

• Falchion Systems, Zachary Waldman and Nick Neely (East Stroudsburg University)

Would help large enterprises better secure their networks and counter web-based social engineering attacks through an innovative, lightweight virtualization platform.

• Garden Sitter Service, Zakaria Benbedda (West Chester University)

Would provide an opportunity for clients to hire a garden sitter to care for their plants or gardens.

• Gator Oil and Gas Services, Colin Gasper (Indiana University of Pennsylvania)

Provides support for major oil and gas operators and service companies in the Marcellus and Utica Shales.

• Harmony, LLC, Megan Fannin (Clarion University)

Would be a small restaurant that would offer music lessons in downtown Clarion.

• Hat Rack Games, Tom Matteson (West Chester University)

Would create a story-driven strategy game with unique game mechanics and an interesting art style devoid of gender stereotypes that would appeal to a wide audience of gamers of all backgrounds.

• Organtick, Amanda Layden (East Stroudsburg University)

Would commercialize a direct-to-consumer all-natural tick repellent containing sunscreen protection. The product would decrease the risk for a tick bite, ultimately decreasing exposure to tick-borne diseases.

• Sassy Girl, Samantha Schlak (Clarion University)

Would create personal development planners to help women execute their goals. Through research and studies, the Sassy Girl planner would combine the psychological advantages of self-reflection of journaling with daily planning in one convenient location.

• White Rapids, Kevin White (West Chester University)

Would develop a professional automotive cleaning and detailing company focused on meeting the demands of clients in the Delaware Valley.

Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher education in the Commonwealth, enrolling more than 100,000 degree-seeking students and thousands more in certificate and other career-development programs. Collectively, the 14 universities that comprise the State System offer more than 2,300 degree and certificate programs in more than 530 academic areas. Nearly 520,000 State System university alumni live in Pennsylvania.

The State System universities are Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester Universities of Pennsylvania. The universities also operate branch campuses in Oil City (Clarion), Freeport and Punxsutawney (IUP), and Clearfield (Lock Haven), and offer classes and programs at several regional centers, including the Dixon University Center in Harrisburg and in Center City in Philadelphia.

Search

Recent Posts