Clarkson Students Win Big In NYS Business Plan Competition
Several Clarkson University student teams were awarded prize money at the 12th annual North Country Regional Business Plan Competition, hosted last week at Clarkson and coordinated by Clarkson Ignite.
The event is one of 10 regional competitions held for student teams to qualify for the New York Business Plan Competition, which will be hosted in Albany at the end of April. Since 2010, over 2,500 student teams have been able to pitch their ideas at regional competitions across the state.
At Clarkson, STEM Means Business. Learn How.
This year’s competition included 77 students across 34 teams registered from Clarkson University, SUNY Plattsburgh, and Paul Smith's College. Assigned to one of six ‘tracks’, each team had eight minutes to pitch their business to local judges, and six minutes to answer questions. Late in the event, the first-place team in each track participated in a ‘pitch-off’, with one team being declared the Grand Prize winner.
The following teams, who are all from Clarkson University, received prizes within their respective tracks, receiving monetary awards of $500 for third place, $1,000 for second place, and $2,000 for first place. The Grand Prize team won an additional $3,000, and all first- and second-place teams are eligible to participate in the state-level competition next month.
Software & Services
1st place - IME; Marline Fries
2nd place - Emmet Croteau Goalie Consulting; Emmett Croteau
3rd place - Sendy Paradise; Dylan Lutz
AgTech & Food
1st place - Fat Head Feeder; Lily Clonan
2nd place - Nuovo; Ethan Flamand, Rocco Albanese, & Casey Monesano
3rd place - 2 Saucy; Ally Chang, Kobe Steorts, Talon Sigurdson & Oliver Martin
Learn, Work, & Live
1st place - EmeliesMinis; Emelie Laribee
2nd place - Fill The Bucket; Nicole Wing, Ava O’Neal, Shane Franklin, & James Dinius
3rd place - ROTC4ME; David Hart
Products & Hardware
1st place - Slope Snap; Alyssa Bleau & Rebecca Morissette
2nd place - Meltmaster; Ethan Harmon, Emily Greene, Julia Patterson, & Brigham Dubey
3rd place - Steel Shield; Ben Webster, Ryan Makowski, Matt Fluty, & Max Miller
Health & Well-Being
1st place - TRIN LLC; Peter Nekos
2nd place - CMS Biotechnology; Robert Kayton
3rd place - MABE; Andrew Downer, Makenna Cassin, Elias Gonzalez, Robert O’Conner
Safety, Power, & Mobility
1st place - DoorBit; Jerry Orans, Corey Delisa & Izzy Vacaro
2nd place - DenfendHer; Delaney Smith & Allison Szwagulinski
3rd place - Revolt Optics; Carson Wescott
The Grand Prize winner was EmelieMinis, owned by Clarkson Innovation and Entrepreneurship student Emelie Laribee '26, who strives to create a learn-to-crochet kit for young children aged 5-12. Laribee had this to say about her experience:
“I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have showcased EmeliesMinis at the Business Plan Competition, and honored to have won. It's a testament to my hard work and dedication in bringing this vision to life. Thank you to all the judges and sponsors who made the competition possible. I am excited to continue inspiring creativity and cultivating a life-long passion for learning in children everywhere," Emelie said.
Clarkson University would like to extend thanks to this year’s sponsors, without whom this event would not have been possible.
The Shipley Center for Innovation
Woods Oviat Gilman LLP
NuMed, Inc.
St. Lawrence Health Systems
Sperry Energy
Point Positive
North Country Savings Bank
While the 12th Annual North Country Regional Business Plan Competition has come to a close, teams are encouraged to begin developing their pitches for next year. We look forward to seeing how this year’s winning students perform at the state-level competition!
