New York Business Plan Competition finalists advance to next round

MARCY, N.Y. — SUNY Polytechnic Institute has announced 10 teams of students that have emerged as regional finalists in the New York Business Plan Competition. Those finalists will now advance to the finals in the statewide contest.

The Mohawk Valley semifinal round of competition drew interest from 45 students who competed as part of 18 teams, including one team that also featured Adelphi University students. Teams pitched their business proposals for a chance to reach the final round and win cash prizes.

Finalist teams at SUNY Poly, by category, are:

Safety, Power & Mobility

• Dronix: Aaron Brazinski, Robert Evans, Richmond Hulse, and Mara Yukna
• Repairall Auto: Bryan Barks

Health and wellbeing

• Rental Fitness: Dylan Culbertson, Kevin Kaltak, Logan McClelland, Joseph O’Brien, and Carlie Shippee
• Maternal Health Monitoring Service: Robert Byszynski and Linda Irizarry-Byszynski (SUNY Poly and Adelphi University)

Food

• Small Farm Automation Inc.: Nikolas Varrone
• The Wonder of Wine: Ron LaDue, Leslie Hwaszcz, John Klaboe, and Morgan Randall

Products and hardware

• NYBraille: Zachary Westadt and Zackary Gray
• Rainmote: Jackson Posloski, Logan Reinold, Jay Schmitt, and Ryan Starr

Services and software

• Bluesky Quilter, LLC: Chris Burns, Sonia Cohen, Armin Dzehverovic, Elena Ruznic, and Kira Steinwandt
• Plum Tech: Michael Gray, Xavier Mandeville, Kerenza McDonald, and K’Pru Taw

The overall first place team, taking the grand prize of $2,000, was NYBraille. Bluesky Quilter, LLC won second place and a $1,000 prize. The Best of the Mohawk Valley winner for being the company that most embodies the region’s characteristics is Small Farm Automation, Inc., which received a $500 prize.

Teams around the state are participating in the competition, with finals taking place online the week of April 11, followed by live and online pitches April 20. After this, the first-place teams will pitch live at the grand finals at the WCNY Broadcast and Education Center in Syracuse on April 27.

Since it began in 2010, the New York Business Plan Competition has helped to launch more than 100 student-led ventures, awarded more than $1 million in prizes, and generated more than $100 million in economic impact.