Syracuse University Blackstone LaunchPad teams, Fundwurx, Tà, and Zeal won the first, second and third place in the campus wide Panasci Business Plan Competition.
$20,000 Grand prize went to Ben Ford ‘23 (Whitman), founder of Fundwurx, a data science driven giving platform that uses state of the art machine learning technology to better connect a younger generation of donors with non-profits. Learn more
Second place award of $7,500 went to Motolani Oladitan ’24 (A&S), founder of Tà, a virtual marketplace connecting African beauty and wellness brands with the diaspora, making it easier for consumers to discover and purchase high-quality, authentic African products.
Oladitan also won the Afropreneurship Challenge, Raymond von Dran iPrize, and Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award all this year as an undergraduate.
Third place prize of $2,500 was awarded to Bailey Davis ‘23 (Newhouse) after pitching Zeal, a Web3 magazine focusing on fashion, art, and culture. In addition, Davis received the Gilded Social Rising Entrepreneur Award of $5,000 funded by Scott Friedberg ’14.
The Whitman Entrepreneur of the Year Award went to Jack Adler ‘23, founder of Out2Win Sports. To date, Adler has built legitimate traction with Out2Win, and has the goal of continuing to build the venture past his days as a college student.
Also receiving a special recognition was Natasha Brao ‘22 G’23 for the Graduate Student Entrepreneurship award. This award is present for exhibiting the most entrepreneurial leadership out of the Graduate class.
Honorable mention to Noah Mechnig-Giordano ’22 G’23, founder of Happy Loose-Leaf Tea and Aidan Mickleburgh ’23 G’23, founder of Intervea.
