March 29, 2018
Top entries selected in seventh annual Business Plan Competition
Contact: Kevin Hensil, khensil@passhe.edu
Harrisburg – It’s not the Final Four, but 14 student teams are 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.