By GREGORY ZELLER //
An imaginary online marketplace catering exclusively to collegiate sellers and buyers took top honors in Adelphi University’s annual Business Plan Competition.
Campus Trade – brainchild of Finance majors Thiago Negrao (Class of 2024) and Matias Hoyos (2027), Computer Science major Hugo Munoz Reinoso (2024) and graduate student Casey Recci (on course for a Master’s Degree in Supply Chain Management this December) – took the $5,000 top prize in the Robert B. Willumstad School of Business’ seventh-annual competition, which concluded March 1.
The competition tasked participants with creating useful new business ventures, including preparation of a valid business plan, with $11,000 in total prize money at stake.
Campus Trade is envisioned as a secure, sustainable and socially responsible online marketplace designed exclusively for university and college students to buy and sell products within their campus communities.
Thiago Negrao: Entrepreneurism 101.
It edged out Campbell Postmodern Counseling (second place, $3,000) – which would offer innovative mental-health services integrating art, music and other creative and personalized therapies – and Global Link (third place, $2,000), designed to connect U.S. startups and other domestic small businesses with foreign workers.
Negrao, who’s set to earn his Finance degree this spring, framed the Business Plan Competition as a true learning experience, noting it “has shown us a tiny portion of how challenging it is to build a company.”
“It has taught us skills from every different area needed for our professional career and has motivated all of us to be entrepreneurial individuals,” the co-champion told Innovate Long Island. “In addition to that, the competition increased our network, since we met with successful businesspeople [who] will forever help us.”
Voice to Vision, an ambitious project aiming to bridge communication gaps with real-time captioning and other inclusive features, captured a $1,000 prize for “best socially responsible approach.”
Other finalists in the 2024 competition included 99New, a proposed online swap meet for trading secondhand furniture, and Burman Avenue, a proposed restaurant invoking Burmese street food.
Murat Erogul: Hands-on.
After significant mentoring by business executives representing California-based tech-first accounting firm Sprchrgr, Islip-based construction company J.C. Steel Erectors and Roslyn Heights-based digital-security ace NetWolf Cyber, the six finalist companies presented their business proposals to a panel of judges in a “Shark Tank”-like setting.
This year’s panel included Marnie Ives, owner of Great Neck-based Kron Chocolatier; Zachary Naglieri, business analytics engineer of California-based fintech investment strategist M13; Theodore Massillon, founder of New York City-based video-advertising platform NOM Media; and Michael O’Donnell, a clinical assistant professor of decision science and marketing at the Willumstad School.
The high bar for mentors and judges – not to mention the well-conceived business plans presented by the finalists and other competitors – speaks volumes about the quality of the annual Business Plan Competition, according to Willumstad School of Business Associate Dean Murat Erogul.
“Developing a business plan provides hands-on experience in conducting market research, creating financial projections and presenting their ideas to judges or even potential investors,” Erogul noted. “With the great help of our mentors and judges, finalists get practical feedback, constructive criticism and guidance to improve their business plans and entrepreneurial skills.”
