Deloitte’s Consulting Apprenticeship Program (DCAP) is launching soon and we invite Syracuse University LaunchPad & Techstars students to showcase your innovation and entrepreneurial skills as you build you career path.  DCAP will be virtual events focusing on inspiring, mentoring, and educating SU students about the intersection of business and technology. Through this program, you will be immersed in discussions surrounding technology trends, case simulations, and in-depth guest lectures about consulting culture, team-building, and much more. 

Learning Opportunities/ Takeaways that DCAP will provide:

• Work with a cross-disciplinary team from different majors
• Learn how to creatively and effectively solve real-world problems
• Build your leadership skills
• Grow your professional network
• Improve understanding of consulting as a career path

Qualifications:

• Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior student from any college
• GPA of 3.0 or higher
• Interest in technology
• Availability to attend the program virtually from April 6^th – April 15^th (specific dates/times listed below):
  • 4/6 7-9 PM ET
  • 4/7 7-9 PM ET
  • 4/8 7-9 PM ET
  • 4/13 7-9 PM ET
  • 4/14 7-9 PM ET
  • 4/15 7-9 PM ET

Sign up: https://app.joinhandshake.com/jobs/4444956

Josh Aviv ’15 G ’17 opened his SparkCharge manufacturing plant earlier this year in Buffalo.  Rolling off the line are the world’s first ultrafast portable EV chargers for the world’s first on-demand EV charging network.  He created the idea as a student at Syracuse working with the LaunchPad and the Syracuse CoE.  How did he finding funding to prototype?  From FuzeHub’s Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund manufacturing grant program which he won as a SU grad student.  Are you making something too?  Applications are now open through March 31 for grants to encourage collaboration between not-for-profit organizations and small to medium-sized manufacturing companies in New York State. The grants can help companies achieve success from early stage, proof of concept through maturity.  It is a pathway to technology transfer, adoption and implementation of new manufacturing processes, as well as the creation of enhanced products and services.

Eligible projects include:

• Adoption of new technology to enhance a process and/or product
• Prototype development
• Design for manufacturing
• Proof-of-concept manufacturing
• Manufacturing scale-up
• Manufacturing related equipment purchases

Learn more and apply here.

This FuzeHub program is funded through Empire State Development’s Division of Science, Technology and Innovation (NYSTAR) which emphasizes academic-industry partnerships to leverage New York State’s technology strengths to produce new products. The state also offers other innovation development support resources, including financial incentives, to foster university collaboration, research and innovation.

Did you apply yet to The Panasci Business Plan Competition?   Applications close March 19 for the Martin J. Whitman School of Management’s Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship annual competition for students at Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF.  Applicants will write and submit a business plan for the chance to advance to the semi-finals and finals, held on virtually on April 23-24. With more than $42,000 in cash prizes, this competition is a great opportunity to compete for seed funding for your business or idea. It’s also a great way to network with competition judges including high-level entrepreneurs and alumni. 

The program was made possible by the late Henry A. Panasci, founder of Fay’s Drugs.

Qualifications

• Team leader must be a full-time or part-time matriculated student, undergraduate or graduate level, who is currently enrolled in and pursuing a degree program, and who is registered at Syracuse University or SUNY ESF. Other team members can be non-SU/ESF students or community members.
• Ideas submitted as part of a team’s new business venture must represent the original work of the team members.
• If the new venture has already received funding from any outside sources (angel investors, other competitions, etc.), amounts, investors and dates of funding must be disclosed in the initial entry – funding must not exceed $100,000.
• Prize money is granted only to the business entity that the winning team forms, e.g. a corporation or LLC.

Deadlines

• Applications are due by midnight on March 19, 2021.
• At least one member of each team must attend the competition’s orientation session (TBD). 

Overview and Judging

The Panasci Business Plan Competition rewards both the innovativeness of the idea and the quality of the plan, including innovative thinking regarding new markets, products and services, coupled with the ability to strategize on how to make it happen.

Rules and Regulations 

View the rules and regulations of the annual competition.

Apply here

Apply here by March 15 for Compete CNY, the regional qualifier for the New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC). The event is coordinated by the LaunchPad and will run concurrently with the iPrize on March 26. It is open to any full-time or part-time undergraduate or graduate student enrolled in an accredited college or university in the Central New York Region (Cayuga, Cortland, Madison, Onondaga and Oswego Counties). Top teams will be selected at the regional qualifier to move on to the statewide competition by The Upstate Capital Foundation and The Upstate Capital Association of New York.

Since 2010, more than 4,000 students have participated in the NYBPC, with more than 150 student-led ventures started.  The NYBPC provides opportunities for students enrolled in colleges and universities across New York to gain entrepreneurial skills and compete on their ingenuity, first on campus, then in the region, and for top teams, the statewide finals. The program has created over $150M+ economic impact including follow-on funding for 100+ startups.

The six competition tracks this year will be:

• Ag Tech & Food
• Infrastructure, First Responder & Defense
• Med Tech & Life Sciences
• Education & Well Being
• Consumer & Business Products
• Software & Services

In addition to the grand prize, special awards will be given in the following categories:

• Venture backable
• Social entrepreneurship
• BIPOC
• Female Founder
• Veteran Founder
• COVID-19 Response

The on-line Compete CNY application is here.

The 2021 rulebook is here.

Get full competition details here.

Applications are being accepted now through March 15 for the Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award. The competition runs concurrently with the RvD iPrize and uses the same common app.  The events will be held virtually Friday afternoon, March 26.  Apply here and be entered for both the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award (with a $10,000 prize package) and the iPrize (with a $40,000 prize package). The competitions are open to all full and part-time undergraduate and graduate students at Syracuse University.

Students can pitch their ideas for products, services, technologies or creative ventures as either for-profit or non-profit impact enterprises. Teams must upload a one-page executive summary and answer a brief questionnaire which will help indicate which category they will be grouped with.

After completing the common app, campus teams will receive important updates and information, invitations to pitch practice workshops and other tools to help prepare for the competition. A pitch workshop on March 19 will be coordinated by the LaunchPad.

Both competitions are coordinated by the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at SU Libraries for the Syracuse University School of Information Studies (iSchool).

The annual $10,000 award competition celebrates the life and spirit of Hunter Brooks Watson. It is is made possible through the generosity of the Hunter Brooks Watson Memorial Fund. Hunter Brooks Watson was a Syracuse University student who died at age 20 due to injuries suffered in an automobile accident.  Hunter was a passenger in one of the two vehicles involved and, although wearing his seatbelt, died at the scene. He was an entrepreneur and a creative, with passionate interests in music, technology, data analytics and much more.

The Hunter Brooks Watson Fund also manages a separate grant program.  Hunter’s Fund offers individual grants, up to $5,000, to help support young people who have interests in areas similar to Hunter’s, but who may not have the financial means to follow their passions.

Applications are being accepted now through March 15 for the School of Information Studies’ (iSchool) Raymond von Dran (RvD) iPrize pitch competition. The competition, which features a $40,000 prize package, is open to all full and part-time undergraduate and graduate students at Syracuse University. The event is coordinated by the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at SU Libraries, and will be held virtually March 26. Apply here through the common app.

“Each year the excitement around these entrepreneurial and innovation competitions grows, and the caliber of applications is always impressive,” says David Seaman, dean of Syracuse University Libraries. “Cross-campus partnerships, like our strong collaboration with the iSchool, is what makes the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at Syracuse University Libraries such a successful program at Syracuse University.”

The RvD Fund is named after former iSchool dean Raymond Von Dran, who served from 1995 until his passing in 2007. Von Dran was a longtime academic entrepreneur and staunch supporter of student innovation. He started several innovative programs in higher education. To honor his memory and ensure that her husband’s infectious spirit for innovation continued, his wife Gisela generously created the RvD Fund. Prizes totaling $40,000 will be awarded to top performing Syracuse University students across categories through the RvD Fund, and an additional $10,000 will be awarded to Syracuse University student teams through the Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award. All monies will be awarded as non-dilutive seed funding, so students will not give up any equity in their proposed business venture.

“We’re proud to support this competition as part of our ongoing investment in innovation and student entrepreneurship,” says Raj Dewan, dean of the iSchool. “This program is an excellent reflection of dean Von Dran’s legacy, and we look forward to seeing what exciting ventures come out of this year’s class.”

Students can pitch their ideas for products, services, technologies or creative ventures as either for-profit or non-profit impact enterprises. Teams must upload a one-page executive summary and answer a brief questionnaire which will help indicate which category they will be grouped with.

After completing the common app, campus teams will receive important updates and information, invitations to pitch practice workshops and other tools to help prepare for the competition. A pitch workshop on March 19 will be coordinated by the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars in Bird Library.

Participating teams will be asked to provide their pitch decks in advance of the competition. Top Central New York student teams will be selected by a panel of independent judges to move on to a chance for more funding at the statewide virtual finals coordinated by the Capital Foundation of New York with the Upstate Capital Association of New York.

iSchool alumni who won the RvD iPrize and went on to launch successful companies include Josh Aviv ’15 G’17, Josh Jackson ’17 G’19 and Ryan Taggart ’21.

After winning the RvD iPrize, Aviv then captured the grand prize at the NYBPC and used his winnings to help launch SparkCharge, a platform that is bringing portable ultrafast chargers to the electric vehicle market. He has since raised nearly $5 million in funding, including a $1 million deal he secured on Shark Tank in fall of 2020. He is now manufacturing, and has operations in both Boston and Buffalo, with sales operations in cities around the country.

Jackson used his RvD iPrize winnings to help launch Promptous, a tech platform that makes it easy for companies to save on dental benefits through seamless self-funding. The Promptous team has also raised funds and launched into the market. It has offices in Long Island and Syracuse.

 Taggart used RvD iPrize winnings to develop Itemize, an app to keep track of items for insurance purposes. He continues to work on his venture while pursuing a career as a cloud applications consultant for Oracle.

For more information or to schedule coaching, e-mail LaunchPad@syr.edu

Do you have a cleantech venture?  Applications for the SyracuseCoE Innovation Fund are due by Thursday, March 11, 2021, at 5:00 p.m.  To date, SyracuseCoE has supported nearly 50 commercialization-driven Innovation Fund projects by Partner firms, with awards totaling more than $525,000. Some of them have been Syracuse University faculty and student startups who used the funds to develop prototypes or achieve other accessibility milestones. 

Grants are available of up to $10,000 to help overcome barriers to commercialization of potentially transformative innovations. Projects must address a challenge within SyracuseCoE’s core focus areas, and preference may be available for projects that address the ongoing pandemic, as well as post-pandemic challenges.  The SyracuseCoE welcomes projects that include research engagements with faculty and students, support for product development and testing, market analyses, proposal match requirement, and more.

Eligibility for awards is extended to current and new members of the 2021 SyracuseCoE Partner Program. Collaborations with academic researchers from Partner institutions are encouraged, however, proposals must be submitted and led by SyracuseCoE Partner firms.  Proposals may be accepted from new Partners.  Visit the Partner webpage or contact tlrosani@syr.edu  to learn more about joining the program.

Seed funding for the Innovation Fund was provided in 2013 by NYIEQ, Inc., and the program is now funded by SyracuseCoE Partner Program Industry Partner annual member revenues.

Learn more and apply here.

From challenge comes change. In celebration of women’s achievements, join us for International Women’s Day, a 90-minute event that will explore what it takes to create change.  The virtual event on Monday, March 8, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. will share stories by successful professionals, founders and small business owners of how they met challenges head on.  Learn and be inspired by what drives them in pursuit of personal and professional success, equality and inclusiveness.  The program will feature a dynamic keynote conversation and a choice of two breakout panel sessions.  Many of the speakers are Syracuse University alumni.

The program is being jointly sponsored by the WISE Women’s Business Center (a program of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and the U.S. SBA), the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at Syracuse University, Gwen, Inc. and Community Bank System, Inc.

Register here and receive a Zoom link emailed to you.

The program kicks off with a keynote conversation between two extraordinary women, Kathryn Ruscitto and Aminy Audi.

Ruscitto is a graduate of the Maxwell School in Public Administration at SU, having earned her undergraduate degree at LeMoyne. Her career has included not for profits, government, and as President and CEO of St. Joseph’s Health, a system of 5,000 employees with an annual budget in excess of $800 million.  She led investments to revitalize the community, a strategy to join Trinity the second largest U.S. health system, and a $750 million construction project to create a state-of-the art green patient tower.

She is a founding board member and chair of grants for the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation, a $4 billion dollar foundation investing in improving the social determinants of health care. In addition, she has helped launch the CNY Lyme and Tick Borne Disease Alliance and is a Chair of the Board of View Arts.  Over the years she has served as a board member of local and national health care and philanthropic organizations.  She is a LaunchPad mentor, advising a number of student startups.  In the third age of her life, she is focused on acting as an advisor, board leader and advocate for emerging leaders. 

Audi, CEO and Chairman of L. & J.G. Stickley, with her late husband, Alfred, purchased a struggling company with only 25 employees in 1974 and turned it into a thriving enterprise known throughout the world for its quality Arts & Crafts designs. Today, Stickley employs more than 1,500 people with three manufacturing plants and 14 company-owned stores. An accomplished leader in an industry traditionally led by men, she has grown Stickley by leveraging the company’s revered brand name, modernizing operations and sparking a resurgence of interest in high-end Arts & Crafts styling.

Throughout her career, she has made a major impact on manufacturing operations, helping lead seven expansions of the company’s facility in Manlius, N.Y. The factory now covers more than 400,000 square feet, runs two full shifts and has never had a layoff. She has received the Legacy Award and the Woman of the Year in Manufacturing Award from WithIt (Women in the Home Industries Today) and the Laurel Award for excellence from the International Furnishings and Design Association’s New York Chapter.  She was inducted into the American Home Furnishings Hall of Fame.

Panel discussions – 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. (select one)

Panel 1: #ChoosetoChallenge: How Embracing Challenge Can Drive Change

Panel Members: Catherine Richardson, retired partner, Bond, Schoeneck & King, (moderator); Kelsey Davis, founder & CEO of CLLCTVE; Caeresa Richardson, owner of Gypsy Freedom; and Kimberly Townsend, president and CEO of Loretto.

During this session, participants will explore changing the status quo through the lens of a Gen Z digital tech start-up, a pioneer in law, a small business owner who succeeded through the pandemic, and a leader in healthcare operating a large and innovative organization in the most challenging times imaginable as they explore challenges and opportunities to become a trailblazing woman in your own life and career.

Panel 2: The Art of Sistering: The Importance of Diverse Women Supporting Each Other in the Workplace

Panel Members: Gwen Webber-McLeod, president & CEO of Gwen, Inc., (moderator): Bryony Grealish, owner of Fingerless Kitchen: Diana Jaramillo, principal architect at Kin Studio: Indaria Jones, founder & CEO of The Creators Lounge; and Michelle Horton, CEO of The Archemy Group.

During this session, participants will explore why women need to support other women in the workplace, discuss the dynamics of leading at the intersection of gender and/or race and identify best practices for supporting women in the workplace from a diverse panel of women practicing this leadership competency.

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, as well as advocating for gender parity. It is held annually on March 8 and marked by programs and educational events around the world.  This year’s theme is #ChooseToChallenge.  The topic addresses the opportunities that can come from challenge when individuals and groups mobilize to drive change.  This year that theme particularly resonates around issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.   Speakers for this Syracuse-CNY event include women who are forging lives and careers that are helping create inclusion and drive innovation.  They represent different colors, disabilities, ages, sexual orientations and gender identities and leading lives that are creating diverse and inclusive businesses and communities that encourage collaboration, respect and equity.

Learn more at:

• https://wisecenter.org/
• https://launchpad.syr.edu/
• https://gweninc.com/
• https://ir.communitybanksystem.com/corporate-overview/corporate-profile/  and https://cbna.com/

March is Women’s History Month.  Join us for a free virtual event featuring Syracuse women who are making history in their own lives and in the world.  This 90-minute event on Monday, March 8, from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. will inspire you, as women who #ChoseToChalleng share their stories and wisdom.  Meet other trailblazing women and chat about how they meet challenges head on, and how they are creating personal success, equality and inclusiveness.  The program is being jointly sponsored by the WISE Women’s Business Center (a program of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management and the U.S. SBA), the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars at Syracuse University, Gwen, Inc. and Community Bank System, Inc.  We would love to see you, so register here for this motivational Zoom event.

Enjoy welcome remarks and a dynamic keynote speaker, then choose from one of two panels.

Panel 1

#ChoosetoChallenge: How Embracing Challenge Can Drive Change

Panel Members: Catherine Richardson, retired partner, Bond, Schoeneck & King, (moderator); Kelsey Davis, founder & CEO of CLLCTVE; Caeresa Richardson, owner of Gypsy Freedom; and Kimberly Townsend, president and CEO of Loretto. From challenge comes change. Think for a moment about the pioneers and the leaders you look up to as role models. They likely have something in common—the ability to embrace change. Join a discussion with four powerful change agents who are embracing challenge and entrepreneurial thinking as a mode of operation. Talk about where they find inspiration, advice they would offer you from their own experiences and how women build skill sets to survive and thrive.

Panel 2

The Art of Sistering: The Importance of Diverse Women Supporting Each Other in the Workplace

Panel Members: Gwen Webber-McLeod, president & CEO of Gwen, Inc., (moderator): Bryony Grealish, owner of Fingerless Kitchen: Diana Jaramillo, principal architect at Kin Studio: Indaria Jones, founder & CEO of The Creators Lounge; and Michelle Horton, CEO of The Archemy Group. It is all too common to hear this statement from women in the workforce, “I prefer working with men. Working with women is too difficult.”  Trend data indicate, within the next 10 years, 85% of new entrants into the workforce will be female, millennials and people of color. Given this demographic reality, it is imperative for women to be intentional about building high-trust relationships with the diverse groups of women they work with daily. In fact, many of the most successful women in our region would say this is a core leadership competency for emerging and established women leaders.

International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, as well as advocating for gender parity. It is held annually on March 8 and marked by programs and educational events around the world. 

This year’s theme is #ChooseToChallenge.  The topic addresses the opportunities that can come from challenge when individuals and groups mobilize to drive change.  This year that theme particularly resonates around issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.  

Speakers for this Syracuse-CNY event include women who are forging lives and careers that are helping create inclusion and drive innovation.  They represent different colors, disabilities, ages, sexual orientations and gender identities, and are leading lives that are creating diverse and inclusive businesses and communities that encourage collaboration, respect and equity.

Learn more at:

• WISE Women’s Business Center: https://wisecenter.org/
• Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars Syracuse University:  https://launchpad.syr.edu/
• Gwen, Inc.:  https://gweninc.com/
• Community Bank System, Inc:  https://ir.communitybanksystem.com/corporate-overview/corporate-profile/  and https://cbna.com/