April 07, 2016

East Stroudsburg University student wins fifth annual Business Plan Competition

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

Harrisburg – An East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania student who developed “Fader Plugs,” designed to protect the wearer from harmful noise, won the $10,000 first place prize in the fifth annual Student Business Plan Competition sponsored by Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education.

Blaise Delfino, a licensed hearing aid dispenser and audio engineer, is a graduate student studying speech-language pathology at ESU. Fader plugs are designed to provide for “controlled decibel reduction in a highly functional and fashionable design.” Delfino’s winning business plan included a blueprint for research and development following by commercialization of the product.
The first-place prize was donated by the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union, the event’s platinum sponsor.
Second place in the competition went to David Tini, a student at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, who developed “Hot Lips,” an attachment to the mouthpiece of brass musical instruments. The attachment is designed to warm the instrument’s mouthpiece for improved musician performance during cold weather.
The third-place prize went to Brendan Shepherd of Clarion University of Pennsylvania, who developed a plan to establish a home remodeling business. Growth of the company will be into residential rental properties and real estate development.
The second- and third-place winners received $5,000 and $2,500 respectively, to be used to assist in the further development of their proposed business ventures. The runners-up awards were donated by PNC Bank and J.P. Morgan.
The annual Business Plan Competition is 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. Students from the 14 State System universities are invited to participate in the competition each year.
A total of 223 students/student teams submitted their intent to compete in the competition last fall. 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.
This year’s finalists also included:
Edmond Hawi of East Stroudsburg University, who submitted a plan to expand a silkscreen production facility; Jacob Field and Shannon Bissnett of Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania, for the commercialization of a chemical additive that would improve utilization of cold patch asphalt applications; Franklin Herr of Millersville University of Pennsylvania, for research and development followed by commercialization of various sized and performance-graded carrier packs that will be constructed from recycled plastic bags as the main material; Tara McQuaide and Christopher Cwenar of Slippery Rock University, for the development of a company to supply various apparel and accessory items that feature endangered species as the key theme; Kenneth Kelly of Clarion University, for the establishment of the “Red Fern Farm,” which would be a non-profit agricultural operation focused on providing food stuffs to needy populations in the Johnstown area of Pennsylvania; Michael Kernan of Slippery Rock University, for the establishment of a modern, multi-themed paintball complex; and Tammy Tuckey of East Stroudsburg University, for the expansion of a talk show focused on individual interviews of members of the Disney Company.
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.