Syracuse University students to compete in annual Panasci Business Plan Competition for $40,000

Syracuse University students to compete in annual Panasci Business Plan Competition for $40,000April 08, 2008Amy Schmitzaemehrin@syr.edu

Sixteen teams of innovative and entrepreneurial college students will come together on April 18 and 19 to compete in the annual Panasci Business Plan Competition hosted by the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship at the Whitman School of Management. The students will present their plans to Syracuse business leaders in hopes of winning up to $40,000 in prizes.

On April 18, the “Sweet Sixteen” finalists will compete, and the top four teams will proceed to the finals on April 19. The business plans are a diverse collection of entrepreneurial ideas from across the SU and SUNY College of Environmental and Forestry campuses. The winning teams will be judged on creativity, innovation, feasibility, comprehensiveness and the oral presentation. Past winners have gone on to win national competitions.

The Panasci Business Plan Competition has become an icon for economic growth in Syracuse. Many past winners of the competition have gone on to open businesses in the Syracuse area, including the successful University Hill staple Funk `n’ Waffles.

Students are also taking their plans and prizes nationwide. Last year’s winning business plan, Logmedia, has started up in New York City. Developed by Newhouse and Whitman dual majors, Logmedia is a specialty post-production video service that logs time codes and short descriptions for film editing. The service also includes a film archiving and database system.

“The Logmedia team produced a solid plan and is a wonderful example of the opportunities that come from the Panasci competition,” says Nola Miyasaki, executive director of the Falcone Center. “Producers and news executives have shown strong interest in utilizing Logmedia’s services, and people are going to be wondering why this service didn’t exist before. The students identified a needed service and developed it into a feasible plan that will greatly serve the television and film community.”

Another example of a Panasci competition team impacting the business world is the 2006 winner Fresh Cut Florals, which won for its business idea of incorporating air fresheners into high-quality silk flowers. The team members continued on to Los Angeles to compete in the national ABC television show “American Inventor.”

The Panasci competition also brings together the Syracuse business community and the SU campus. The competition will be judged by some of Syracuse’s most influential and innovative business leaders, including Phil McNeill, CEO of SPP Capital Partners; John Couri, president of the Couri Foundation Inc.; and Shawn Kreloff, president of Sona Mobile.

For more information about the Panasci Business Plan competition, contact Justin Carlucci at jcarlucc@syr.edu or (315) 443-3550.