April 01, 2016
Finalists selected in Fifth Annual Business Plan Competition
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
Harrisburg 鈥� One of 10 finalists will receive $10,000 in Pennsylvania鈥檚 State System of Higher
Education鈥檚 fifth annual Business Plan Competition, designed to provide student entrepreneurs
a real-world opportunity to pitch their original business plans and to win funds to
assist in the start-up of their businesses.
The competition will conclude Wednesday with an awards ceremony at the Dixon University Center. In addition to the top prize, the student with the second-place plan will receive a $5,000 award; and third place, $2,500. The program will begin with a reception and student poster session at 5:30 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 6 p.m.
Students from the 14 State System universities were invited to participate in the competition in the fall. A total of 223 students/student teams submitted their intent to compete in the competition this year. Of those, 109 made it through the first round of judging, from which 17 entrants were selected as semi-finalists. Ten teams were selected as finalists.
The competition will conclude Wednesday with an awards ceremony at the Dixon University Center. In addition to the top prize, the student with the second-place plan will receive a $5,000 award; and third place, $2,500. The program will begin with a reception and student poster session at 5:30 p.m., followed by the awards ceremony at 6 p.m.
Students from the 14 State System universities were invited to participate in the competition in the fall. A total of 223 students/student teams submitted their intent to compete in the competition this year. Of those, 109 made it through the first round of judging, from which 17 entrants were selected as semi-finalists. Ten teams were selected as finalists.
"As a business owner myself, I know how daunting a task it is to develop a workable
business plan, and then to make it succeed,鈥� said Guido M. Pichini, chairman of the
State鈥檚 System鈥檚 Board of Governors, who will speak at the event prior to the presentation
of the awards. 鈥淎ll of this year鈥檚 participants deserve to be congratulated.鈥�
鈥淭he number of students participating in this competition keeps growing every year,
which is a remarkable testament to our students, their faculty and everyone who is
involved in the program from start to finish,鈥� said State System Chancellor Frank
T. Brogan, who will help present this year鈥檚 awards.
This year鈥檚 finalists are:
鈥ader Plugs, Blaise Delfino (East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania)
Research and development followed by commercialization of ear plugs providing hearing
loss protection. The product line would allow for controlled decibel reduction in
a highly functional and fashionable design.
鈥ailure2Fail, Edmond Hawi (East Stroudsburg University)
Expansion of a silkscreen production facility. The company incorporates its trademarked
logo (Failure2Fail) into the active wear/sports apparel product line available for
imprinting.
鈥reen Street Asphalt, Jacob Field and Shannon Bissnette (Lock Haven University of
Pennsylvania)
Commercialization of a chemical additive that would improve utilization of cold patch
asphalt applications.
鈥otLips Instrumental Supplies, David Tini (Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania)
Commercialization of an attachment to the mouthpiece of brass musical instruments.
The attachment is designed to warm the mouthpiece for improved musician performance
during cold weather.
鈥mplore Outdoor Company, Franklin Herr (Millersville University of Pennsylvania)
Research and development followed by commercialization of various sized and performance-graded
carrier packs, e.g. school backpacks and expedition grade backpacks. The carrier packs
will be constructed from recycled plastic bags as the main material.
鈥uja Pamoja, Tara McQuade and Christopher Cwenar (Slippery Rock University)
Development of a company to supply various apparel and accessory items that feature
endangered species as the key theme.
鈥o Left Overs, Kenneth Kelly (Clarion University of Pennsylvania)
Establishment of the 鈥淩ed Fern Farm,鈥� which would be an agricultural operation focused
on providing food stuffs to needy populations in the Johnstown area of Pennsylvania.
The business will operate as a non-profit corporation.
鈥aintball Complex in Slippery Rock, Michael Kernan (Slippery Rock University)
Establishment of a modern, multi-themed paintball complex.
鈥hepherd Home Services, Brendan Shepherd (Clarion University)
Establishment of a residential remodeling business. Growth of the company will be
into residential rental property and real estate development.
鈥he Tiara Talk Show, Tammy Tuckey (East Stroudsburg University)
Expansion of a talk show focused on individual interviews of members of the Disney
Company. Guests include actors, composer, cast members, producers, directors and others
associated with the company with a multi-generational theme.
The three cash prizes will be provided through the sponsorship of the Pennsylvania
State Employee Credit Union, PNC and J.P. Morgan. Hershey Entertainment & Resorts,
East Stroudsburg University Center For Research and Economic Development and Marathon
Studios, Inc., are sponsors for the awards ceremony and other program costs. Marathon
Studies was founded by Jonathon Weber, the initial winner of the business plan competition,
whose company is located in the East Stroudsburg University Innovation Center.
For the first time, two cash awards will be presented for the best posters depicting
the business model submitted by the student competitors. A first place award of $350
and a second place award of $150 will be announced during the awards ceremony. As
in prior competitions a Certificate of Achievement will be presented to the student
video having the most YouTube views that was included in the student鈥檚 competition
documentation.
Pennsylvania鈥檚 State System of Higher Education is the largest provider of higher
education in the Commonwealth, with about 107,000 degree-seeking students and thousands
more who are enrolled 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.