Arts collaboration gives 2016 Business Plan Contest a creative edge

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Top prize-winning team “The Global Aesthetic Collective” make their pitch before the panel of Business Plan Contest judges.

The SUNY New Paltz School of Business held its annual Business Plan Contest, the culmination of the spring semester Entrepreneurship and Business Planning course, on April 20. The contest combines the excitement of competition with the joy of serious learning, giving students a chance to test their knowledge by researching and developing a business idea into a quality plan that is feasible, profitable and novel.

“The contest has been one of the highlights of the academic year for the School of Business for many years now, and every year we are amazed and dazzled by the originality and creativity of your ideas and presentations” said Dean Kristin Backhaus. “We refer to the Business Plan Contest as a high-impact learning practice – an opportunity to apply what you’ve learned in a real business setting, and one of the formative experiences that will stay with you long after you graduate.”

Seven student teams presented entrepreneurial plans before a panel of judges in hopes of taking home the top prize, which includes a cash reward intended to help the victorious team kick start their enterprise.

Unlike in years past, however, the School of Business invited students from the School of Fine and Performing Arts to enroll in the Entrepreneurship course and contribute new ideas to this year’s contest.

“All seven of the teams in this year’s Business Plan Contest included someone from outside the School of Business, including multiple students with an arts background,” said Professor and Entrepreneurship and Business Planning instructor Kevin Caskey. “I think as a result of that, we’re seeing plans that place more emphasis on design. These students have done more than just try to identify market opportunities, but have really aimed to create products of value.”

Art student Danielle Bolognini ’16 (Visual Arts) said the challenge of participating in the Business Plan Contest left her feeling prepared to work with professional clients.

“I’m a designer, and I know I’ll need to work with people with a business background in order to succeed after graduation,” Bolognini said. “This experience was great in that it helped me learn new ways of communicating with clients who may not have a design vocabulary, by giving me a sense of the skills and strategies that have value in a business context. I feel like every art student should have an opportunity like this.”

20160420-1_SoB Business Plan Contest_50In the end, Bolognini’s team took the runner-up prize, as “The Global Aesthetic Collective,” a team including Robyn Schnaudigel ’17 (General Business), Roy Linam ’17 (Finance, Management) and Maan Shah ’19 (English – Creative Writing), won top honors.

“This was a time-consuming project, and at inception we had questions about whether we could bring our plan to life,” Shah said. “After putting in all this work, I really want to start this business, and earning the respect and appreciation of the judges today feels like a confirmation that we can do it.”

The Business Plan Contest is sponsored by M&T Bank, Campus Auxiliary Services, Empire State Bank and Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union.

The judges who donated their time and expertise to evaluate the student teams’ proposals were Steve Deutsch of Campus Auxiliary Services; David Freer of Freer Associates; Gina Pambianchi of Rondout Savings Bank; Tom Smiley of Mohonk Mountain House; and Bill Spearman of the Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union Board of Directors.

More information about the School of Business is available online.