Congratulations to Dr. Louise Manfredi, assistant professor of industrial and interaction design in the VPA School of Design who received the 2020 Young Educator Award from the Industrial Designers Society of America at its international conference in September. The award recognizes recognizes junior faculty, non-tenured, or tenure-track educators who have made a noteworthy impact on industrial design education within the early years of their academic career.  Dr. Manfredi is assistant professor of Industrial and Interaction Design. She is a close collaborator of the LaunchPad and actively mentors student teams. She also serves as the program lead for the Invent@SU program offered through the College of Engineering and Computer Science and VPA and as a Syracuse University Center of Excellence Faculty Fellow.

This is the first time that a Syracuse faculty member has received this honor. She was nominated by Carmel Nocoletti, Don Carr and VPA Industrial and Interaction Design students.

The LaunchPad is pleased to announce that Professor Don Carr will be joining us as our inaugural Faculty Entrepreneur in Residence this fall.  Professor Carr, is an internationally known designer and design educator. He is also the program coordinator for the MFA in Design as well as the Industrial and Interaction Design Program. As an industrial designer, he has multiple research interests including Biomimicry, Inclusive Design, and Design Thinking.

Since joining the VPA faculty in 1995, Don has contributed to numerous interdisciplinary efforts throughout our campus. He is currently a CoE faculty fellow, a member of Aging Studies Institute, the Autonomous Systems Policy Institute, the Alliance of Disability and Social Work Advisory Board and Arise Adaptive Design.

Prior to teaching, he worked for companies such as AT&T, NCR and Savin Corporation. He also consults for companies such as Motorola Solutions, K2, and RAM ID. Don holds numerous patents, and his work is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. He’s also currently building a tiny house in the Adirondacks out of reclaimed materials.

He is currently collaborating with the LaunchPad and Inclusive U on a new Intelligence ++ initiative, and is also teaching DES400/DES600 in the LaunchPad this academic year. Intelligence ++ is an innovative, interdisciplinary program focused on inclusive entrepreneurship and design that is a partnership of the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars (LaunchPad) at Syracuse University Libraries, the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education (InclusiveU) and the  College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) through a generous donation by Gianfranco Zaccai ’70 H’09 and the Zaccai Foundation for Augmented Intelligence (Intelligence++). The program offers new courses culminates in a design and entrepreneurship competition with $30,000 in prizes in spring 2020.

Don will be available Thursday and Friday from 9:00 until 11:00 virtually over Zoom to work with students on innovation, strategy, usability, sustainability, prototyping, future forecasting and product positioning. 

The Martin J. Whitman School of Management’s sixth annual Orange Tank business pitch competition will be held virtually on October 22, 2020, at 6 p.m. Thanks to the generosity of Whitman Advisory Council member and lifetime SU Trustee John Couri ’63 (A&S), current students and alumni entrepreneurs from the Whitman School can apply for a chance to pitch their business venture to a panel of accomplished judges and vie for part of the $40,000 in cash prizes. A grand prize of $25,000 will be awarded to the competition’s top finisher. Monetary awards will be given to the ventures finishing in 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in both the student and alumni category.  Apply here.

Five alumni and five student ventures will be selected from the applicants to pitch at the competition. Candidates must apply online by Friday, October 2 at 11:59 p.m. EDT. Those selected to pitch will be notified by Friday, October 9.

Following are non-negotiable eligibility requirements for participation in the 2020 Orange Tank competition:

• Student teams must have at least one Whitman School of Management student (i.e. major) on the founding team, not just as an employee, of the new venture. To be determined as a student, the individual must be a full- or part-time matriculated undergraduate or graduate student currently pursuing a degree program at the Whitman School of Management. Online Master’s students are eligible.
• Alumni teams must have at least one Whitman School of Management alumnus (i.e. major) on the founding team, not just as an employee, of the new venture.
• Founding team membership is determined based on timing of membership in the new venture, title in the organization, and significance of ownership stake.
• Ideas submitted as part of a team’s new business venture must represent the original work of the team members.
• Participants cannot previously have won the Panasci Business Plan competition grand prize or placed in the top 3 of a previous Orange Tank competition (as a student or alumnus).
• 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.
• The Orange Tank competition is primarily for early-stage ventures. Accordingly, the new venture should not have earned in excess of $100,000 in revenues by the time of entry submission.

In order to receive funding, participants must legally form their business entity (e.g. a corporation or LLC). Prize money is granted only to the business entity that the winning team forms.
A project budget will need to be submitted to receive funding.

Applicants will be notified of their selection status on or before Friday, October 9, and full details will be provided regarding the competition format and logistics. Those chosen will have six minutes to pitch, followed by five minutes of Q&A from the judges, who will be looking for:

• Market potential
• Differentiation and economic feasibility
• Ability to protect intellectual property, technology
• Sound execution strategy
• Scalability of the business
• Proposed use of finances
• Expertise and abilities of the founder(s)
• Quality of pitch

Event organizers welcome the Whitman community to view Orange Tank virtually this year. For questions about the event, please contact John Torrens, Whitman’s deputy chair of entrepreneurship and emerging enterprises and professor of entrepreneurial practice, at jtorrens@syr.edu with questions.

Have an idea for a potential business, product, or service? Participate in the first annual IdeaX competition, September 26, noon – 5:00 p.m. with a $500 grand prize for the best new idea that can propel you into campus, state and national competitions by the LaunchPad & Techstars at Syracuse University.  IdeaX is a virtual mini startup “rocket lab” meant to jumpstart new ideas. Your idea can be at the very basic level, with no traction and no details hashed out. The event is built on the idea of jumpstarting ideas and teams.  Register here. (Registration extended until Friday, September 25 because of interest!)

Here is the schedule of events:

• 12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. Idea sharing with your peers: Begin the competition on the MeetAway platform being matched randomly with other participants of the IdeaX event. Share your ideas with each other and give each other feedback in this quick, 5-minute interval, networking event. You must participate in this portion to qualify for the competition portion of the event.
• 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. First Round: 90-second elevator pitches: The competition is organized into 3 sessions, with a maximum of 10 competitors per room. On your turn, you will pitch your idea in front of a panel of LaunchPad mentors for 90 seconds. They will then have 2 minutes to ask questions and give feedback.
• 4:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Judges select finalists: The judges will select a winner from each session and the 3 finalists will go on to compete for the prize.
• 4:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. Finals: The 3 finalists will pitch their idea again for 90-seconds, but this time with a twist that they will find out at 4:00 p.m. The judges will have another 2-minutes for feedback and will select a winner.

Sign up for the event by doing the all three of the following:

1. Fill out the Google Form to register
2. Register for the MeetAway networking event
3. Join our Discord server for the competition portion of the event

This year’s Family Weekend kicks off with a “Shark-Tank” style competition featuring idea pitches by student innovators to a panel of distinguished parent entrepreneurs, innovators and investors.  On-line applications are now open through October 4 for the competition on Friday afternoon, October 16.  This year’s event will offer $10,000 in prizes sponsored by a generous donor who is a SU parent, investor and entrepreneur.

The competition is open to undergraduate and graduate students from all academic program areas who are working on ideas for new products, services, technologies or impact ventures.  Cash awards will be determined by the judges to help students take ideas to the next stage such as prototype, incorporation, proof of concept, or other business need.  Beyond the seed funding for the ideas, feedback from successful entrepreneur parent judges who have launched successful ventures will help strengthen business models for major campus, state and national competitions in spring 2021.

The event is coordinated by the Blackstone LaunchPad and Techstars, in conjunction with Syracuse University Libraries and the SU Parents Office.

Want more info?  E-mail us at LaunchPad@syr.edu

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You’ve got to be in it to win it, so now is the time to apply for $25,000 in prize funding at fall 2020 idea competitions sponsored by the Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars.  Do you have an idea for a project, service or technology or impact venture?  Submit it.  All undergraduate and graduate students from all academic programs across campus are encouraged to participate. Apply here and select among the three competitions: ‘Cuse Tank on October 16, The Impact Prize on November 13 and The Hult Prize on December 4. Students may compete in all three, or select which ones they are most interested in. The first deadline, October 4 for ‘Cuse Tank, is coming fast. 

Here are some basics on the competitions:

• October 16, 2020 – ‘Cuse Tank (Applications close October 4 at 11:59 p.m.). Cuse Tank is sponsored by the LaunchPad as part of Family Weekend. It features parent entrepreneurs and “LaunchPad family” as judges in a “shark-Tank” style idea pitch fest with $10,000 in prizes.
• November 13, 2020 — Impact Prize Competition (Applications close November 1 at 11:59 p.m.). The Impact Prize Competition is a social impact entrepreneurship event showcasing ideas that solve pressing societal issues, with change-maker entrepreneurs as judges, and $15,000 in prizes for the best ideas.
• December 4, 2020 — Syracuse University Hult Prize Competition (Applications open on October 1 here and close November 22 at 11:59 p.m. for the Syracuse campus competition). Considered the “Nobel Prize of social entrepreneurship,” the global finals offer a $1 million grant prize. This year’s theme has been announced, “Food for Good.” Learn more here and register here:  http://www.hultprize.org/challenge/

Work with us on your one-page executive summary and we’ll assign you mentors to help you.  Many great ideas come for classes that require group projects, so consider taking your class idea and turning into a competition pitch.  Ideas that started in Syracuse University dorm rooms or classrooms are now successful companies. 

Have questions, e-mail: LaunchPad@syr.edu

Are you a LaunchPad member? If not, please join here: https://launchpad.syr.edu/join/

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Join co-founders of Geek Girl Careers Sundar Vanchinathan and Sandhya Iyer ’19 for a LaunchPad Fireside Chat this Friday, September 25 at 3 p.m. at http://bit.ly/launchpad-fall-fireside-chat

Having been in the Silicon Valley tech industry for almost three decades and seeing the lack of career guidance resources for young women, Sundar launched Geek Girl Careers. “When I graduated many years ago with an engineering degree, I had no understanding of how to discover a career that would suit my personality and passions,” says Sundar, who pivoted to success in technical sales and marketing as he discovered his own strengths. That was his inspiration for starting Geek Girls

Fast forward, and his daughter Sandhya graduated from Syracuse University in 2020 with degrees in public relations and marketing and has gone on to become the CEO of the company that her dad started. “When she was in high school, Geek Girl Careers helped her understand how to tie her skills and passions into a potential career in marketing communications,” says Sundar.  “We built this platform to provide guidance and inspiration to millions of girls like her worldwide. There is nothing better than helping individuals discover careers where they can blossom for who they truly are.”

Sandhya is passionate about female empowerment, sustainability and most importantly, helping those in need. Sandhya leads the outreach, recruitment and partnership development for GGC, as well as managing the growth of the company.  Read more about Sandhya in this profile by LaunchPad Global Fellow Claire Howard ’23.

Her dad, who helped build the technology platform, is now Chief Career Counselor and calls himself a passionate do-gooder who has always found the most happiness in helping people find jobs, guiding careers and seeing people flourish in their personal and professional lives. In his spare time, he loves to dabble in art, music and fashion. He has always said “Everybody has something great to offer to the world. It’s just the question of finding out what it is.”

About 74 percent of young girls express interest in STEM fields. However, women represent just 28 percent of computer science graduates, and 11 percent of executive leaders in Silicon Valley, and that number is in decline. Together, the father and daughter entrepreneurs are building Geek Girls Careers to help close that gap. They are committed to helping young women discover their ideal career path in tech and also help professionals and recruiters find talent and bring more women into tech fields.  Learn more about the venture here and their two-sided platform that allows young women to JOIN AS A GEEK GIRL and recruiters to JOIN AS A PROFESSIONAL. 

LaunchPad Fireside Chats are 3 p.m. on Fridays and are open to the community.  Dates this fall are September 4, 11, 18, 25, October 2, 9, 23, 30, and November 6, 20. Each chat is a conversation with a dynamic innovator with a powerful message, unique perspective and insight into the minds of great entrepreneurs.  

We invite you to join us over a cup of tea for up-close and personal chats in partnership with The Republic of Tea, a generous supporter of the LaunchPad at Syracuse University. 

Attend any chat in the series:  http://bit.ly/launchpad-fall-fireside-chat.

We are pleased to invite Syracuse University innovators to join Syracuse community innovators at an event sponsored by Generation Next and CenterState CEO on Wednesday, September 23 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.  The event highlights diverse professionals in the tech industry to help build bridges between the diverse audience and a career in tech. The featured speaker is Bobby Allen, CTO and Chief Evangelist for CloudGenera based in Charlotte, NC.  He will explore the options individuals from the urban community have in tech related fields, and how a career in tech can increase your salary to those comparable to professional athletes. 

Bobby is a veteran of Intel, Bank of America, TIAA and multiple startups including one that was successfully acquired by the former CSC (now DXC). He went into corporate America after being an Intel fellow at the University of Michigan (MS in Computer Science and Engineering) and a Meyerhoff scholar at UMBC (BS in Computer Science). Bobby has been involved in cloud computing startups since 2012. 

Here is the registration link: https://www.centerstateceo.com/news-events/tech-culture-speaker-series-bobby-allen-cto-and-chief-evangelist-cloudgene

For more information about Generation Next: Marcus Webb, Economic Inclusion Fellow,  CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity, mwebb@centerstateceo.com

The Blackstone LaunchPad & Techstars global network invites you to apply by September 30 for U.PITCH, a prestigious national elevator pitch competition where top collegiate founders showcase business ideas to accomplished entrepreneurs and investors. The U.Pitch Competition presents students with a great opportunity to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges for a chance to win recognition and a portion of a $10,000 prize pool. Applications are due by September 30.

U.Pitch is an elevator pitch competition. An elevator pitch is a quick description of your business and/or idea in the time it would take to ride up an elevator. Presenting yourself effectively is an essential tool in the business arena. A well-planned elevator pitch can open the doors to success in your future endeavors. Ideas may be at any stage of development from creation of concepts or ideas to an established business.

Consult the Contestant Handbook for full details regarding dates and eligibility. Highlights:

• Applicants must be one of the following:
  1. Currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program
  2. A recent graduate of an undergraduate or graduate program (within six months or less)
  3. A student in transition between school opportunities
• Applicants may compete with either a business idea OR business currently in operation
• Businesses must be headquartered within the United States of America
• Businesses must be for-profit ventures
• Businesses cannot have raised more than $1M in capital prior to applying 
• Cannabis-related businesses are not eligible to apply
• One applicant per business may apply; the pitch video should show the presenter pitching the idea or business; the presenter should have a founder/co-founder role within the business
• The application should take about 10 minutes to complete. Before applying, make sure you have a YouTube or Vimeo link to your 90 second elevator pitch. You can save your application information by clicking the “Save and Continue Later” button at the bottom of the application page.
• For advice on how to submit an application check out these 8 Tips for a World Class Pitch Competition Application.