April 05, 2017

Bloomsburg University student wins sixth annual Business Plan Competition

Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu

Nathaniel Treichler, a sophomore from Northampton, developed The Fly Crate to provide a convenient way for fishermen to purchase fly fishing flies and have them delivered right to their door. “Members pass all the worries and burdens of fly fishing on to us. No longer do anglers have to worry about matching the hatch or overspending for flies,” Treichler wrote in his winning business plan.

Brianna Nellis of Clarion, who graduated from Clarion University of Pennsylvania in December, won the second place, $5,000 award in the competition, with her plan for Bri Nellis Photography. A team of students from West Chester University of Pennsylvania captured third place and the $2,500 award with Trainer Interactive, a software application that offers live, on-demand personal training sessions through Facetime or Skype.

“Our focus is to tell stories through our photos, whether it be under the Friday night lights, candid personalities in portraits, focusing on the friendships made in high school sports” or capturing “breathless views,” said Nellis, describing her business plan.

In describing his team’s business plan for Trainer Interactive, team leader Carl Newton of Downingtown, wrote, “This application will offer flexibility to those who have an on-the-go lifestyle and need the availability of personal training anytime, anywhere. It will also offer a solution for those who are intimidated by the gym, but still want the accountability and one-on-one interaction of a personal trainer, from the comfort of their own home.”

The prizes in this year’s competition were donated by the Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union (PSECU), the State System of Higher Education Foundation and Hershey Entertainment and Resorts, respectively. Other competition sponsors were the East Stroudsburg University Center for Research and Economic Development, Marathon Studios Inc. and MVM Associates.

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.

“The imagination and ingenuity on display this evening certainly gives me confidence in our future, and a real sense of pride in our students, our faculty and our universities,” State System Board of Governors Chairwoman Cynthia D. Shapira said during the awards ceremony held at the Dixon University Center.

Congratulating each of the 202 students and student teams that initially submitted their intent to compete in the competition last fall, Chancellor Frank T. Brogan called the large number of participants “a remarkable testament to our students, to our faculty who guide and mentor them, and to everyone involved in the program from start to finish.”

A total of 109 students and student teams submitted completed proposals in this year’s competition; 82 made it through the first round of judging. Seventeen entrants were selected as semi-finalists, and seven, as finalists.

Also selected as finalists in this year’s competition were business plans proposing:

•Catnaps, developed by a team of students from Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania led by Daniel Spiker, a junior from Fombell. Catnaps is a closed-in, chair type of capsule designed to provide a comfortable and convenient place to nap during the school day.

•Shaffer Rental Solutions, developed by Jonathan Shaffer of Dover, a junior at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Shaffer Rental Solutions was designed to create an easy and reliable renting experience for both renters and property owners through transparent and organized third-party management.

•ChapCap, developed by a team of students from IUP led by Seth Peterman of Clymer. ChapCap is a patent pending cap attachment for the bottom of a lip balm tube.

•Subscription Box for Parents, developed by Sierra Peña of York, a senior at Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania. Subscription Box for Parents is a box parents receive monthly, filled with new baby care and bath products, toys, snacks and coupons from their favorite brands.

Judges for this year’s competition were Michael Pochan of Seton Hill University, Don Webster of TecBridge, Kenneth G. Okrepkie of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern PA and Sara K. Weiser of PSECU.

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.