April 01, 2016

Finalists selected in Fifth Annual Business Plan Competition

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

Harrisburg – One of 10 finalists will receive $10,000 in Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education’s 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.
"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,” said Guido M. Pichini, chairman of the State’s System’s Board of Governors, who will speak at the event prior to the presentation of the awards. “All of this year’s participants deserve to be congratulated.”
“The 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,” said State System Chancellor Frank T. Brogan, who will help present this year’s awards.

This year’s finalists are:
•Fader 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.
•Failure2Fail, 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.
•Green 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.
•HotLips 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.
•Implore 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.
•Kuja 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.
•No Left Overs, Kenneth Kelly (Clarion University of Pennsylvania)
Establishment of the “Red Fern Farm,” 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.
•Paintball Complex in Slippery Rock, Michael Kernan (Slippery Rock University)
Establishment of a modern, multi-themed paintball complex.
•Shepherd 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.
•The 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’s competition documentation.
Pennsylvania’s 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.