Binghamton students to compete for startup money at state business plan competition

VESTAL — Two Binghamton University students will participate in the New York State Business Plan Competition in Albany on April 25 and vie for a chance to win a share of $500,000 in startup money.

The competition will be held at the SUNY College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE), according to a Binghamton University news release.

Ohad BarSimanTov and Tyler Bender, and their respective teams, competed against 29 other teams from Binghamton University, Cornell University, Ithaca College and SUNY Broome last weekend in the regional business plan competition held at Binghamton University’s Innovative Technologies Complex.

Winners from the regional competition won a share of $15,000 in prizes and awards and also earned the chance to compete in the statewide contest next week, according to the release.

At the statewide competition, the students’ products and business plans will be judged by a panel of venture capitalists, angel-fund investors, investment bankers, public/private investors. and seasoned entrepreneurs.

“We’re proud of all of the participants from Binghamton University but are especially excited about Tyler and Ohad’s success at the regional competition,” Per Stromhaug, executive director of Binghamton’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovative Partnerships, said in the release. “Their products and business plans are impressive and this is a real opportunity for them to gain the financial support they need to bridge that gap between our campus and the commercial market.”

BarSimanTov is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in electrical engineering at Binghamton University. He presented his business plan at the regional competition for Infrasonic, a portable, non-invasive and continuous-cardiac, output-monitoring device for sports, wellness, and medical markets. He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degree at Binghamton University in 2007 and 2009.

Bender, a bioengineering student at Binghamton University, showcased his business plan for Retware, an inexpensive diabetic retinopathy diagnostics system that can be used anywhere in the world without a doctor present to conduct the test.

Bender and BarSimanTov and their teams will compete against eight other teams from this region at the statewide competition, the release stated. Almost 100 teams in total are expected to compete.

Contact The Business Journal News Network at news@cnybj.com