The Blackstone LaunchPad and Syracuse Libraries are pleased to host CompeteCNY, the regional qualifying event for the 2017 New York State Business Plan Competition.
The event will be held on March 24 at Bird Library. Regional winners will advance to the April 28 statewide competition in Albany, which features a $100,000 grand prize.
CompeteCNY is open to all undergraduate or graduate students currently enrolled in a Central New York college or university. In addition to Syracuse University, these include SUNY ESF, SUNY Upstate, SUNY Oswego, SUNY Cortland, Onondaga Community College, Cayuga Community College, LeMoyne College, Colgate University, Wells College, and Cazenovia College.
While all students can compete for the $100,000 statewide grand prize, only Syracuse University students can vie for an additional $40,000 provided through the iPrize, supported by The Raymond von Dran (RvD) Fund for Student Entrepreneurship at the School of Information Studies (iSchool).
Student teams can submit an application for one of the following categories:
- Information Technology/Software
- Clean Technology
- Advanced Technology
- Products
- Services
- Social Entrepreneurship/Non-profit.
Teams are required to indicate which category they are applying for on the application and provide a one sentence explanation of why they feel they should compete in the category that they are applying in. Details about these categories are available on the Compete CNY website, and the application is available online
Check-in is 2:30 p.m. at the Blackstone LaunchPad and pitches will be held in various locations in Bird Library. The wrap-up session will be in the Peter Graham Scholarly Commons at 5 p.m., when two winning teams in each of the six categories will be announced.
Regional winners will go on to compete for $100,000 state grand prize on April 28 in Albany against other regional semi-final winners from New York’s nine other Regional Economic Development Council districts – Capital Region, North Country, Mohawk Valley, Finger Lakes, Western New York, Southern Tier, Mid-Hudson, New York City, and Long Island.
Details, competition rules, and the CNY application are available through the Compete CNY website, with more information about the statewide competition available on the NYBP website. A template is provided for presentations. Applications for CompeteCNY close March 15.
For more information, contact: LaunchPad@syr.edu