For Students
The Business Plan Contest is a course (BUS457 for undergraduates and BUS587 for MBA students) in the Spring. The presentations before a panel and judges and Award Ceremony will be held in late April/early May. More details will be provided soon.
Please contact Danielle Semenchuk, by phone at (845) 257-2932 or by email semenchd@newpaltz.edu for more information.
For Businesses
» Overview
» Submit an Idea *
» Sponsor the Contest *
Highlights of this Year's Contest
Six teams participated in the Business Plan Contest this year.
D.O.M.E. Experience
Students: Sarah Coppola, Elizabeth O'Rourke, Amanda Peters, Sean Reminick
Business Mentor: Cathy Hyland, New Paltz Regional Chamber of Commerce
D.O.M.E. is an entertainment center in New Paltz offering a variety of services, such as bowling, arcade games, billiards and a restaurant.
PR Palate
Students: Rosa Mayer, Diana Ortiz, Jennifer Steckler, Lauren Tonnesen
Business Mentor: Joan Lawrence Bauer, RUPCO
PR Palate is a marketing firm focused on advertising, public relations, communications and sales needs of the artists in Ulster County.
Azucar
Students: Delaila Catalino, Emily Drazan, Karla Franco, Ericka Rodriguez
Business Mentor: Irwin Glenn, OC Capital Development Corp.
Azucar is a restaurant and lounge, located in New Paltz, with a combination of a Latin American environment and outstanding and interesting food.
Purple Bubbles Wine Bar
Students: Yao-Zong Luo, Lauren Martone, Rebecca Schenker, Chian-Yi Su
Business Mentor: Kathy Combs, 36 Main
Purple Bubbles is a wine bar in New Paltz devoted primarily to enhancing the wine drinking experience.
Sultan's Sports Bar & Grill
Students: Faye Colosi, Odessa Daly, Emil Mirzabalayev, Toni Peterkin
Business Mentor: Doug Thompson, Main Street Bistro
Sultan's is a bar and grill that combines healthier bar food in an atmosphere of local to international broadcasted sports.
CGA
Students: Mauno Ahlgren, Kwan Fai Cheng, Victoria Geller
Business Mentor: Rick Alfandre, Alfandre Architecture
CGA focuses on real estate development- purchase properties at one level, and through green investments, resell at higher levels. It also serve as a consultant for customer home retrofitting and general contracting.
Special Thanks to our Judges
Steve Deutsch, Campus Auxiliary Services, Inc.
John Dwyer, Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union
Charlie North, Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce
Arnaldo Sehwerert, Mid-Hudson Small Business Development Center
Thanks to Our Sponsors
We would like to extend a special thanks to the following companies for their contributions towards this program:
Campus Auxiliary Services (CAS), Inc.
M&T Charitable Foundation
Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union
Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union
Sodexho Food Services
Ulster Savings Bank
McAleer & Associates
Hadi Salavitabar
The School of Business
For Businesses
Overview
The Business Plan Contest gives students an opportunity to test their knowledge in real business settings by researching and developing an idea and turning it into a practical and profitable business plan. The contest combines the excitement of competition with the joy of serious learning. Students who participate reap the rewards of stronger skills and increased confidence in their abilities, along with college credit and a chance at a scholarship. The winning teams in the past years developed business plans to establish an on-campus storage facility, on-campus DVD store, a marketing research company, on-campus food delivery services, and an entertainment center in New Paltz.
In addition, past business plan ideas included a campus wide laptop program; computer retail store and technical support center on campus; graduate student housing on campus; campus-community shuttle service; rental carpet service on campus; student exchange system; improvement of the current garbage disposal system and creation of an effective campus recycling program; a m-commerce opportunity; financial planning company; concierge service for the Catskill area; an online art store featuring student and alumni work; marketing firm for local artists; Latin American restaurant; wine bar; sports bar and grill; and a company focused on green real estate development.
The Business Plan Contest is a valuable learning experience for the students. All of the students who participated said that the contest contributed toward making them more educated and informed. They believed the contest was a great opportunity to be involved in a real business team project and gain experience that cannot be learned in the classroom. They appreciated the opportunity to work with other individuals to create a business plan that incorporated all fields of business. Students said they learned important skills they will need in their careers, such as teamwork, communication, motivation, leadership and networking skills.
The School of Business is seeking donations from local businesses to provide scholarships to the student participants and to cover the costs of the contest. In addition, we are soliciting business plan ideas from local businesses for next year’s contest. We are also looking for business mentors for the teams. Businesses will have an opportunity to present their idea to students at the Kick Off event in the Fall. Each team, consisting of four students, will select from the submitted business plans the one they would like to research and develop, or choose their own idea. Each team will work closely with its partner company to share information and create the plan. The final business plan will include a description and analysis of the company, products and services, industry and market, marketing strategy, management and operations, and financials. The teams will present the business plans before a panel of judges in April/May.
To sponsor this contest, submit a business plan idea, volunteer to be a business mentor, or for additional information, please contact Danielle Semenchuk, by phone at (845) 257-2932 or by email semenchd@newpaltz.edu.» Submit an Idea *
» Sponsor the Contest *
