The New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC) provides a platform for our students to grow their entrepreneurial skills. It is a tri-level competition. At each level, the competition increases along with the expected quality of the business model presented. Similar to the hit ABC TV show "Shark Tank" student teams pitch their business model to a panel of judges to gain feedback and cash prizes to reinvest back into their business plan.

Farmingdale's School of Business hosts our Campus Competition for students of any major. In preparation, we held campus-wide workshops in January and February for the students to refine their ideas and their pitch strategies. Dr. Tesfayohannes-Beraki led the workshops for the students and he also advised them independently on the best practices to formulate their ideas.
In early March the student teams were preparing for their in-person Campus Competition. Due to New York's shelter in place order in mid-March in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic, the School of Business moved the Campus Business Plan Competition to a digital format. The student teams eager to showcase their start-up businesses, switched gears for this new twist on this year's competition.

Traditionally, the teams pitch their business models in person. These 10-minute presentations can include a PowerPoint presentation, live demonstrations, taste testing, and a question and answer section from our judges where the teams are also given immediate feedback from the judges. Each team experiences this throughout the day of the event and the winner is announced at the conclusion of the day. This year's competition moved to an asynchronous format with new requirements. Moving forward the student was asked to submit a narrated slide deck for our judges to review virtually by April 3rd, 2020. The students stepped up to the plate and constructed their digital presentations.

Four teams submitted presentations for this year's Campus Competition. Event Central by Bahia Benabbbad a Business Management and Alexander Bennett a Computer Systems major joined forces to create an innovative event planning application. Competing in the Technology & Entertainment category, they aimed this application to be the one-stop-shop for private event planning. Users can come to the app and select catering options, a DJ, and even a theme. They found a need in the market to simplify this very time-consuming task for local Long Island families.

MULTI Infovert by Megan Morillo Torres a Global Business Management and Randy Mejia a Civil Engineering major turned a communication issue into an idea to better help possible language barriers when going to the pharmacy. They entered in the MedTech & Well-Being category with their kiosk invention named Multi Infovert.

Craft Cannoli by Andrew Tocci, a Business Management major entered into the AgTech & Food category. Craft Cannoli is a unique pastry cafe that offers custom and specialty cannolis with fillings and flavors that range from s'mores to peanut butter and jelly.

Up To Date by Maria Porcasi a Visual Communications major envisioned a restaurant for primarily single individuals to visit. Her restaurant business model was coupled with her custom application to have restaurant goers enter into more engaging conversations when they go on first dates or blind dates. This application would provide games and conversation prompts to navigate a smooth and fun experience.

FSC's panel of judges, who included Dr. Betty Feng, Dr. Rick Weber, and Prof. Mary Catherine Clifford reviewed the submissions from all four teams and reached a conclusion. While the School of Business with funding from Farmingdale's ASC provided cash prizes for first, second, and third place student teams, the teams also have the ability to advance to the Long Island Regional Competition and ultimately the State-Wide Business Plan Competition. The judges awarded first place and $500 prize to Craft Cannoli. Second place and $350 went to Event Central, and the third place team MULTI Infovert was awarded $150.

Two FSC teams, Event Central and Craft Cannoli, advanced to the Long Island Regional Competition. Both teams were able to take in the feedback from the campus judges that they received and make additional updates to their business pitch respectively.

The Long Island Regional Competition this year was also held in an asynchronous format. In addition to the narrated slide decks student teams can submit a one-page executive summary to provide more details about the team's background of any financial clarifications of their business model. The regional judging panel which included Dr. Richard, Vogel, Shannon Goldsmith, Anmarie Scheidt, Stacy Sikes, Marta Panero, and Gabriella Czerw reviewed the submissions. Students from Hofstra University, New York Institute of Technology, SUNY Old Westbury, and Stony Brook University entered their business model in all six categories AgTech & Food, Energy & Environment, Military & First Responder, MedTech & Well-Being, Technology & Entertainment, and Consumer Products & Services.

Farmingdale's Event Central took second place in their category at the Long Island Regional
Competition and advanced to the New York State Business Plan Competition. Event Central went on and competed well at the NYBPC, although they did not place at the state level. Bahia expressed "The NYBPC was a great learning experience, and we enjoyed being a part of it. We were able to connect with other entrepreneurs and learn about their ideas, and also talk with mentors. Since then, we have been working on taking our product to the next level. Although it has been a bit difficult due to the COVID-19 situation and our plan involves events and gatherings, we are continuing to monitor any changes and how they affect our business plan." With their head and hearts in the right place, Event Central will undoubtedly flourish.

Andrew Tocci from Craft Cannoli entered into a fierce category AgTech & Food, and did not advance. In reaction to his Campus Competition advancement, Andrew got to work and started reaching out to local bakeries and restaurants. Within a few days, he secured a partnership with a recognized Long Island bagel shop owner. Giving Andrew the ability to make and distribute his branded cannolis at three bagel shops across Long Island. He is also able to take in catering orders and create his cannolis in a restaurant-grade kitchen to abide by New York State law for commercial food sale.

Andrews's focus is to keep growing his business and his brand. In the following months, Andrew started to file Craft Cannoli with New York State to become an LLC business owner. He verbalized the amazing opportunity he was afforded with NYBPC series programming and recognized the success he earned through the program. Great things are definitely on the horizon for Andrew and the Craft Cannoli team.

The Business Plan Competition series in an approved applied learning experience. It not only continues to give a voice to our students but also provides multiple opportunities to FSC start-up companies. Our student teams have been resilient in this past year's competition by taking on every twist and turn and manifesting positive progress along the way.