The Fourth Annual Pace Pitch Contest
Finalists
Social Venture Finalists
EverGreen Club Warehouse
Hope Runs
Social Goods Purchasing Portal
Socialmarkets
Through My Eyes
New Business Concept Finalists
Beer Pong Cooling Rack
CollegeWikis.com
The MouthShop
Paria-Glide Adventure
TrackPay
Alternates
DoNotForgetMe.org - Social Venture Alternate
Team Blue Chip - New Business Concept Alternate
Social Venture Finalists
EverGreen Club Warehouse
EverGreen Club Warehouse makes "green" the easy choice by being the first truly environmental superstore. EverGreen will be a membership warehouse retailer focusing on increasing sustainable and environmental consumerism at affordable prices in an efficent, educational, and fun shopping environment. EverGreen will be identified as the most responsible retailer and recycling center.
Consumers are increasingly looking to maximize their value purchasing while maintaining high-quality products. They are also more willing to make lifestyle changes in order to act more responsibly and are demanding the same from companies they support. This has led to a booming industry for more eco-friendly products.
EverGreen's target consumer will be affluent, dual-income families, earning $75k+. They are very busy and buying-savvy but care about the environment - they already buy organic groceries and would consider purchasing a hybrid car. The company will be based in California and focus its development in affluent areas around San Francisco and Southern California, where environmental consumerism is very prevalent. EverGreen plans to roll out regionally throughout California and the West.
EverGreen will offer a broad mix of home and office supplies for the environmentally-conscious consumer. Our product mix will meet the highest environmental and quality standards available in the market. EverGreen is also a recycling center offering customers credits towards in-store purchases.
EverGreen will sell its products and services through its physical locations and e-commerce site. Advertising will be targeted billboards, direct mail, and online newsletters. Public relations and strategic association partnerships will be important in driving initial store traffic. Our Web site will broaden our brand recognition. The in-store sales force will be educated to provide the best possible shopping experience.
Initial capital requirements of $3 million will provide construction and opening financing. Government subsidies for environmental practices are expected to cover 1/6 of this cost. The first warehouse is projected to generate stabilized monthly revenues of $6 million, with free cash flow expected to be $220,000. We expect breakeven to occur early in year three.
Biographies
Justin Mandel has over five years of experience advising consumer-oriented companies as a management consultant with DiamondCluster International. Serving clients in Europe, Latin America, Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East, he has assisted clients with marketing, sales, customer service, product development, product pricing, human resources, and cost control. Justin has experience developing strategies for the small business market. He holds a BA in Comparative Politics from Dartmouth College. He is currently completing a dual-degree in Business and International Affairs at Columbia Business School and the Columbia School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), concentrating on Emerging Markets and Entrepreneurship.
Emily Sheetz has ten years of experience in retailing with her family's $3 billion convenience store and food retailing chain, Sheetz Inc, owner and operator of over 300 locations. She has worked across many functions, including marketing strategy, inventory management, pricing strategy, advertising, merchandising and internal reporting. Emily has three years experience in financial corporate advising as a consultant at Huron Consulting Group and as an investment banker with Deutsche Bank. She has advised companies across industries, including many large-scale retailers, on capital structure issues. She holds a BS in Economics, concentrating in Finance and Marketing, from the Wharton School at UPenn. Emily is currently completing an MBA in Entrepreneurship at Columbia Business School.
Hope Runs
In many developing nations in East Africa, children's orphanages are the first line of defense in keeping children from lives of drug abuse, starvation, and sexual and physical abuse. By creating healthier and safer environments for kids, these orphanages provide the hope and support that children need to build constructive and healthy lives. However, in East Africa, where millions of orphans have been made so due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic, orphanages rightly spend their limited resources on medicating, feeding, clothing, and schooling the children they house. Hope Runs does the rest - implementing on-site programming in health, social entrepreneurship, and technology.
Hope Runs is a non-profit organization that extends extracurricular programming to AIDS orphans in orphanages in East Africa. Specifically, Hope Runs implements and manages programs within orphanages in the areas of athletics, technology, social entrepreneurship, and health. During the summer, Hope Runs volunteers overseas at the orphanages for ten weeks to implement micro-projects. Hope Runs then employs locals to carry out the programs throughout the year. Hope Runs also manages an educational scholarship fund, in which we pay for the students graduating from secondary school in our orphanages to attend college in their local countries. In doing so, each student enters into a no-interest loan agreement with Hope Runs - within 5 years they must pay back 1% of their tuition costs.
We are proud to have made several key accomplishments, including starting the first blog on the Internet written by orphans and vulnerable children, implementing programs in four orphanages, making valuable partnerships with NGOs, and securing on-going press with major news sources - including our ongoing partnership with Runner's World Magazine.
In January 2009, Hope Runs will break several Guinness World Records with the Hope Runs 777 Challenge: 7 Marathons, 7 Continents, 7 Weeks. Our team of dedicated runners will bring the issues facing the 14.5 million AIDS orphans in Africa to the forefront of the world's consciousness. With all donations going directly to the Hope Runs Education Fund, the Hope Runs 777 Challenge aims to make a lasting impact on the children who need it most. Ultimately, Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) face the most impossible task of overcoming their pasts. By extending even the smallest amount of the training we Westerners received growing up in a developed nation, Hope Runs aims to better equip children in Hope Runs programs for bright futures.
Biography
Claire Williams holds a BA and an MA from Stanford University. She works as an anthropology consultant with several different international volunteer organizations to encourage programming that improves volunteer experiences in the field. She firmly believes in the power of such volunteer efforts to transform the lives of the individuals who take part in such endeavors - on both sides. Doing something worthwhile in this world is not just about the money you give out, but the connections and experiences you have trying to do so. For this reason, Claire believes that a volunteer's experience in another place in the globe can certainly be worth the cost of a plane ticket to get there, and in the long run such an expense really can do as much as or more than sending money abroad - since it helps transform the nature of our global citizens' response to growth, aid, and healing change. In 2006, Claire became the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Hope Runs, an NGO implementing extracurricular programs in AIDS orphanages in East Africa.
Social Goods Purchasing Portal
Our idea is to create an online purchasing portal, acting as an aggregator of socially responsible goods (eco-friendly, fair trade, etc). It is our belief that given two products of comparative quality and price, consumers will choose the more socially responsible product. However, gaps exist on both ends of the value chain. For consumers, it is difficult and time-consuming to find and purchase goods that meet their various criteria. For certain suppliers, it is difficult to scale without access to a larger market.
We are striving to be a "social Amazon.com." Unlike Amazon, which is almost indiscriminate in the goods it sells, we intend to apply rigorous standards to ensure our products and suppliers meet various environmental, fair trade, and community development criteria. We intend to focus on social goods that have mainstream appeal. We believe there is a certain degree of social good subsidization, where a consumer purchases a good for its social value at a premium above its fundamental value: this is unsustainable. We intend to target all consumers with any level of social awareness, but, once they are on our site, letting them focus on price, value, appearance, and other fundamental purchasing factors.
By becoming a large scale aggregator, we can have significant social impact. First, we create a new level of demand for social goods, diverting consumer dollars away from conventional goods. Second, with a large marketplace, we can work with our suppliers in several ways. We could provide consumer preference data, something that would be largely unavailable to many smaller social good suppliers.
Our customers consist of two major segments. First, there are enthusiasts. These are the highly socially conscious consumers who already spend a good deal on social goods and undertake the lengthy research involved to find and identify social goods. Our second segment is the mainstream average consumer who is aware, but not motivated enough to conduct independent research to identify social goods.
The model we adopt will be a for-profit model. We anticipate two main sources of revenue. The first is a consignment model where we collect a percentage of sales from the supplier based on a pay-per-purchase model. The second is a "slotting fee" model, similar to Google's model. Here a supplier can bid for optimal placement within the webpage to maximize their brand's presence.
Biographies
London Davies has 4 years of production planning, online sales, and marketing for start-up social venture with triple bottom line. She also has in-depth knowledge and understanding of the U.S. online marketplace for environmentally and socially responsible goods. She holds a BA in Psychology from Stanford University and will receive her MBA in 2009 from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Adam Gromis has 6 years of experience in clean vehicle and energy technology industries. He is a Program Manager for California Fuel Cell Partnership, overseeing wells-to-wheels analysis of products and progress on environment codes and standards. He holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science from UC Davis and will receive his MBA in 2009 from the NYU Stern School of Business.
John Ku is a former technology consultant with experience in business operations and information technology. He currently holds a senior analyst role at the American Red Cross evaluating and making recommendations on business operations, capital expenditures, and long-term growth strategies. He earned a Certificate in Web Development from George Mason University and a BS in Finance and MIS from the University of Maryland. He will receive his MBA in 2009 from the NYU Stern School of Business.
Socialmarkets
Socialmarkets is a web-based application which applies the market model to the social sector, and supports the community around that application. Socialmarkets redefines the relationship between donors and charities, because today's donor wants to do more than just give money - they want to invest in creating positive social change. Our fundamental premise is that in any context, better information makes for better investment.
Socialmarkets is a social capital marketplace. It is made possible through the measurement of both social good and the risk involved in its creation, which in turn is made possible through the cooperation of both those who create social goods and those who invest in them.
We believe that if the result of a non-profit's efforts has value, then we should be able to see it. There is no readily available market price for outcomes like:
- a child getting vaccinated
- a community getting a library
- a planet getting rid of its greenhouse gasses
but they are all nonetheless valuable. Capturing this value increases both transparency and accountability, which increases the power of both internal managers and external investors.
Socialmarkets lists individual programs looking for investment much like stocks on an exchange, and includes the social return expected for that investment. That social return is based on the related charity's measured experience in meeting the goals they set for themselves in fulfilling their stated mission.
However, in order to capture a true social value for these programs, Socialmarkets also includes the input of its larger web-based community. Web 2.0 tools like blogs, voting and competitions bring donors and nonprofits to new levels of inter-connection, and it is the combination of both nonprofit and donor inputs that ultimately determines how much social capital at stake.
We believe the time is right for Socialmarkets' new model of giving. Along with new trends in technology, new entrants in the philanthropy arena are raising both the scale and visibility of the nonprofit sector. At the same time, general donor confidence in nonprofit's ability to use their donations effectively is at historic lows. We believe Socialmarkets is just the ticket to prove them wrong.
Biographies
Allan Benamer has extensive experience working as a web developer in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. He's old enough to remember carrying the Webmaster title for the California Administrative Office of the Courts and was also webmaster for the McGraw-Hill Companies. For the last five years, he was IT Director for New York's Coalition for the Homeless. He is also the blogger behind www.nonprofittechblog.org, and a graduate of UC Berkeley.
Jeff Tuller started his career in the very private sector, with nearly a decade at financial firms Bear Stearns and State Street Bank. In 2001 he made the leap of faith into the non-profit sector, beginning at the SIFEE Educational Foundation and most recently at The Atlantic Philanthropies. He recently supplemented his MS in Computer Science with an MPA from NYU's Wagner School for Public Service.
Through My Eyes
My objective is to enhance the lives of the mentally disabled in the United States through the outlet of self expression. Rarely does this population of 32.5 million, as shown by the US Census Bureau, get the chance to explore their creative ability. Based on a well established art program in the Westchester chapter of the US ARC (Association for Retarded Citizens), I plan to expand this program to all 80 chapters.
The highlight of this program is a yearly arts competition/celebration held near the ARC headquarters located in Silver Spring, MD. Each chapter has the option to enter pieces and ten finalists are chosen. Every finalist receives an award and the top three receive cash prizes and would be featured on our Web site. This brings a sense of accomplishment and pride to the artists, which is priceless. The artwork featured in the contest would also be auctioned off for donation funds to continue the nationwide program.
My main source for inspiration and knowledge is my father, Steven Lipkin, who started the WARC art program from the bottom up and is highly respected in the community. His program has brought in considerable donation money to the ARC and has given him the opportunity to develop networks at other chapters. Due to the praise and success already achieved, we feel that this would be a widely accepted program across the US. As a consultant, he holds the expertise, networks, and experience to collaborate with the largest US organization serving the mentally disabled. This will allow us to gain access to our client base and develop relationships to obtain grant and donation funds. Also, with my father's unique background consisting of a Bachelor's of Fine Arts and 30 years of service with the mentally and physically disabled there is no better, unique resource to utilize in this venture.
The funds we request would go towards getting the venture going which include working with a marketing firm to set up a Web site, developing training videos, create direct marketing materials, and write PR pieces, and also other costs of traveling to the ARC chapters across the US to supervise the launch of the program. This hands on approach ensures that the new art programs will maintain the standards set at the Westchester, NY chapter. Eventually, we would like to also expand to other forms of creation such as photography, sculpture, and performing arts.
Biography
Sarah Lipkin is currently pursuing her MBA in Marketing Management from Pace University's Lubin School of Business and is expected to graduate June, 2009. During the day she works at Reader's Digest in Chappaqua, NY as a Circulation Associate in the Customer Marketing group. Sarah developed her interest in helping the developmentally disabled while helping to teach one of her fathers weekly art classes along with seeing the success of his program. Using her business background and creative ability, she hopes to one day dedicate herself to successfully expanding this "Outsider" art program across the US and become involved in other ventures. She earned her Bachelor's in 2006 from the University at Buffalo School of Management. Sarah has a diverse background ranging from on-campus promotion and advertising, to career counseling, presenting New Hire Orientation, IT, and currently marketing analysis and research. Her diverse background has allowed her to be flexible and transfer her skill set to any task she takes on. Outside of work and school, Sarah enjoys traveling, cooking, fashion, painting, exercising, and movies. She currently resides in Dutchess County, NY.
New Business Finalists
Beer Pong Cooling Rack
Our invention is a cooling rack designed for the game of beer pong. Beer pong is a game in which plastic solo cups are aligned in groups of 6 in the shape of a triangle. Players in teams of 2 on opposite sides of a table attempt to throw a ping pong ball into the opposing teams cups. If the ball lands in a team's cup, they must drink the contents.
Two of the major problems facing the game of beer pong are that the cups tend to be knocked over, and the beer tends to become warm. Because the game is played with lightweight, plastic solo cups, they are easily knocked over and spilled. This makes cleaning the game up a significant hassle to the person or bar that is hosting the game. Additionally, beer pong is usually played in a crowded and enclosed environment that tends to get hot. This causes the beer in the cups to get warm over the course of the game. As one could imagine, drinking warm beer quickly is extremely undesirable.
Our rack solves both these problems associated with beer pong. It resembles the triangle in a game of pool except that there is a solid bottom panel and a top panel that has 6 holes for the cups to fit in. The holes are measured so that the cups maintain the 6 cup triangle formation. The structure keeps the cups perfectly aligned so that the game is played with the greatest convenience and prevents them from being knocked over. Additionally, within the hollow rack, are 6 rings of small icepacks designed to surround each cup individually. They will be in flexible strips and arranged in circles in the same formation as the cups are arranged. The hollow rack will be plastic and the top can be removed so that the icepack rings can be removed and frozen before game play.
Since beer pong is immensely popular, the number of potential customers is huge, but the number of competitors is currently small. Our marketing strategy is to introduce the product by giving it to bars when they host beer pong tournaments and hope it will generate interest in the local area amongst college students and recent graduates. Exposure through the bars will most likely be the best form of advertising in order to make individual sales to Fraternity houses and individuals.
Biographies
Peter Steube and Ryan Wynne are sophomores at Villanova University. They are both in the Villanova School of Business. Ryan is pursuing a degree in Finance and Peter is pursuing a degree in Accountancy. They are active members on the Men's Club Lacrosse team and volunteers for the Special Olympics. Ryan is a member of Gamma Phi Honor Society and Peter is a member of the Villanova Accounting Society. They are working with Doctors Klingler and Hurley of the Villanova Entrepreneur Department in an attempt to gain a patent for their idea.
They are both graduates of Yorktown High School and members of the National Honor Society. They were both members of the Yorktown Varsity Lacrosse team. Ryan was the Captain of the Varsity Football team and Peter was captain of the Varsity Soccer team. They are both excited to pursue their venture and hope to see it realized in the near future.
CollegeWikis.com
CollegeWikis.com is a rapidly-growing community information network, starting with the college demographic. We've combined the user-generated content of a wiki, the utility of Yahoo answers, and the viral features of e-mail.
We launched in April, and since have succeeded in the 3 crucial areas of traction: depth, breadth, and loyalty.
Depth: our unique visitors, intra-school, are doubling every 6 weeks.
Breadth: in our first 4 months, 200 schools were requested. In our last month alone, another 200 schools were requested.
Loyalty: Our unique visitors return over 17 times per month - this ranks their loyalty 5th highest of the major social networks, higher than hi5, imeem, tagged, and more.
Example sites are at: stanford.collegewikis.com, ucsd.collegewikis.com, and uga.collegewikis.com.
We're now raising financing to take the concept the success we've achieved with our first 200 "beta" schools and expand to over 1,000 schools nationwide by April.
Biography
Joe DiPasquale has a background in Strategy Consulting, where he worked for IBM Business Consulting Services, Bain, and McKinsey. His entrepreneurial experience includes work on a yet-to-launch channel for MTV Networks, a newly-founded pet supplies company, and the since-sold JobDirect.com. His venture capital experience includes work for Venturepark Investors. His seemingly northeastern background belies a youth in Alabama and work experience in Berlin and Amsterdam, but he will maintain he grew up in Connecticut, went to college at Harvard, and lived in New York City before joining the Entrepreneur Club at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
The MouthShop
Where do you usually buy your toothpaste? Is there truly a variety of brands and flavors offered to you? Just picture a walk though the aisles of Rite Aid, Walgreens or CVS, which are the most common places for buying toothpaste. You walk through the shampoo or deodorant section and your variety is endless. You walk over to get your toothpaste, and you see a space of about 2'x2' and a maximum of 10 brand choices with about 12 flavor choices.
Most people buy their toothpaste in the pharmacy as a necessary product that brings no excitement or pleasure to using it. Our mouths are very powerful parts of our body as they contain one of the five senses where we can taste, while receiving satisfaction. The industry for toothpaste is underdeveloped and there is much room for growth as the market is huge. Everyone uses toothpaste (hopefully everyone).
The MouthShop Company will begin by launching toothpaste in exotic flavors which will trigger the taste buds as well as freshen breath. The toothpaste will be launched in 5 flavors: Mango, Strawberry, Passion Fruit, Banana and Watermelon, with more flavors to follow. The toothpaste will be made of high quality ingredients: organic with whitening and cavity protection formulas.
The toothpaste will be launched as a premium product with exclusive rights to Sephora for the first year. That will provide the MouthShop with the opportunity to introduce the product to the market as well as position it as a high quality, luxury product while saving money on space and marketing.
After the exclusive rights are up, the MouthShop will open flagship locations in New York, Miami, Chicago and LA. The MouthShop products will also be available online at www.MouthShop.com. The stores will provide a luxury and interactive environment where customers will be able to mix their own combinations of flavors. The stores will also carry mouthwashes, toothbrushes, floss and travel/carry pouches so that people will never leave home without the MouthShop products.
"MouthShop will provide a truly unique experience with a high quality product for individual tastes and healthy teeth!"
Biography
Anna Geller was born in Odessa, Ukraine and immigrated with her family to America at 6 years old. Anna studied at the Academy of Finance while she was in high school. Every class that dealt with Management/Leadership became a part of her life. Anna took her knowledge outside of the classroom and applied it in different organizations such as SIFE and IVE. In IVE, she became the CEO of her company. In SIFE, she developed projects for which her team became Regional Champions. She received the "President's Student Service Award" from President Bush and "The Service Leadership Award" from Tom Coughlin (President and CEO, Wal-Mart) and Alvin Rohrs (President and CEO, SIFE). After college, she worked for Thomson Financial where she was awarded the "Thomson Outstanding Performers Award." She later joined Deutsche Bank as a Controller. Anna's entrepreneurial spirit never died while she worked in the corporate world, and she started her own business (www.AnnushkaVacations.com). She continues to lead a busy life, obtaining her MBA, working in the corporate world, running her current businesses, and seeking out new opportunities. Her latest accomplishment was being a Dream Team member and challenge consultant for Donald Trump's "Apprentice 7."
Paria-Glide Adventure
Located in the northern range of Trinidad, Paria is the perfect location to develop a zip line and elevated obstacle course. Zip lining, also known as canopy tours, allows the adventurer to be surrounded by the wonders of nature whilst flying across the jungle. Participants put on a harness with a carabineer that is attached to a wheel on a cable strung between trees. They then push off from a platform on one tree and zip along the cable to a platform on another tree, moving from platform to platform throughout the tour. Imagine participants can be 20 to 80 feet off the ground, literally flying between the trees and over streams at heights where birds and monkeys can be found. On platforms, guides will identify specific flora and wildlife indigenous to Trinidad and Tobago. Prior to beginning the course, a thorough demonstration and short low level practice course will be used so participants can become familiar with the equipment to ensure safety. On platforms, guides will double check equipment set up before participants leave the platform, once again ensuring the safety of our patrons.
Currently, there is no company in Trinidad and Tobago providing this form of extreme adventure opportunity. Being the first in this arena is an advantage, but even more crucial is the enormous savings on the initial cash investment, as I already own the land for the project. We would like to provide the "ultimate eco-adventure" to the middle to upper class local market including young locals into extreme sports. In addition, we also want to tap in to the tourist industry by an attracting the cruise ship market and eco-tourism traveler market. Lastly, we intend to target the corporate market, by highlighting the benefits of team building using trust activities provided at Paria Glide. Moreover, Paria has a waterfall in close proximity to the main site as well as many beautiful secluded beaches. After developing the zip line course this area can be further developed to offer other types of tours such as hiking, mountain biking, and beach excursions, which gives Paria-Glide Adventure room for growth.
Biography
Ross Charbonne is originally from Trinidad and Tobago and grew up in an entrepreneurial family, with both parents owning and starting their own businesses. After graduating high school and working in the family business for two years, Ross decided he was ready to embark on the next stage of his life. Subsequent to much searching for the college with the right fit, he decided to attend Pace University on the Pleasantville campus for his undergraduate degree. During his freshman year at Pace, Ross joined the tennis team and was awarded the "North East 10 Third Team Men's All Conference" in 2004 and 2005 for doubles and singles, respectively. In his third and final year of undergrad, he was a Resident Assistant in Dow Hall. The skills he learned while being an RA continually help him as he continues on the path of life. In May 2005, Ross graduated in front of his family and friends with a Bachelor of Science in Information Systems and a minor in Business with Cum Laude distinction. After graduation, Ross worked for a year as the IT Manager at Inergy Group LLC. in Wilton, CT and made the decision to return to school. He is currently in his final year of his MBA at Pace University, concentrating in Financial Management. He is due to graduate in Mid-July to embark on his next journey.
TrackPay
TrackPay offers business owners a unique service, which allows them to receive payments without hassle or confusion. Often, companies receive wire payments and checks from sources without a description. Without remittance information, cash may not be applied correctly (i.e. a payment comes in but it doesn't state that the payment is for that particular invoice). It is then their job to track down the client to find out what the payment is for. The process could be time consuming.
Whenever a company receives a payment without the proper information, they will be able to scan in the check or wire through a special scanner provided by TrackPay, which will convert the data to TrackPay's database. The more often they use the service the more efficient it becomes for both parties.
TrackPay will compile a database of all the vendors and clients of their customers. Whenever a request for information is sent, the employees at TrackPay will investigate and retrieve the missing information by examining what the payment was made for. This information will be added to the database for later use and then sent to the client either electronically or by any other means that they prefer.
This service is useful for both small and large companies. The advantage for large companies is hours saved for the employees working in the accounting department. Employers will be able to reduce their payroll by having to hire fewer employees due to the Accounts Receivable staff performing more efficiently. Small businesses will benefit because these companies usually involve the owner doing a lot of the actual payment research. Since the owner's time will be greatly reduced pertaining to this task, the owner will be able to spend more time focusing on other aspects of the business.
By compiling an extensive database of clients and vendors, TrackPay will be able to offer other services in the future, such as making payments on behalf of our clients. TrackPay's goal is to assist the accounting departments of companies, not to replace them. However, for any company wishing to outsource their accounting tasks, TrackPay will be seeking to accommodate them in the future. Trackpay feels that there is great room for improvement in the area of accounting, and we are seeking to improve it through our unique approach of payment investigations.
Biographies
Harry Brodsky holds a BS in Information Systems with a concentration in Economics from Pace University. He was a data analyst at Bank of America Securities for 2 years where he was responsible for programming report programs that translated the FX gains and losses of international stocks trades and bond prices. He is now responsible for various accounting/financial responsibilities at Viacom.
Ricky Huy La is a Technology Service Analyst at Columbia University, where he is pursuing a Master's in Technology Management. He earned a BS in Information Systems with a concentration in Technology Systems from Pace University. Ricky's goal is to successfully manage a technology venture.
Yury Shteyman is a project manager of the NYC Department of Transportation. During the past 5 years, Mr. Shteyman has headed several beneficial projects with the NYPD, Telecom franchises, as well as other entities ranging in wireless data transmission, GIS, Intranet design, logistics, and database management. He holds a BS in Information Systems with a concentration in Technology systems from Pace University.
Dmitry Voller holds a BA in Psychology and Human Relations from Pace University, where he was a leader heavily involved in extracurricular activities. He served on the executive board of his fraternity and the Greek Organizations Council. He now holds a management and sales position in one of New York City's leading Laundromat parts and service companies.
Alternates
DoNotForgetMe.org - Social Venture Alternate
The rates of Autism in the United States have been growing at alarming rates. It is estimated that 1.5 million Americans and their families are affected by autism, with 1 in 150 children today being diagnosed. Autism is growing at a high rate and it is estimated that in the next decade, autism could impact 4 million Americans.
There are support groups available for parents; however, little is done to help siblings of autistic children. To no fault of parents, very often, siblings of developmentally disabled do not receive the attention they need, as their siblings require more attention on a daily basis. Therefore, they often feel ignored, and lack a support system through difficult years. As the children get older, they go from being a sibling to a caretaker, and support groups at this stage are also essential, yet they do not exist.
Donotforgetme.org will be a Web site and organization targeted to help siblings of autistic children and adults in the United States. In time, this site will expand to help siblings of all developmental disabilities, as well as future expansion to children of mentally ill parents (children of depressed parents, schizophrenic parents, etc). Currently, the only site that exists for siblings is targeted towards school-aged children, is not segmented for each disability, and is not meant to act as a support group or therapy for users. Donotforgetme.org will act as a support group for siblings of all ages, allowing users to contact other siblings in similar situations. This organization will provide chat rooms, bulletin boards, helpful links, as well as allow users to contact others to create support groups in their area. Lastly, this organization will not only allow siblings to contact other siblings of autistic children to discuss problems and challenges they face, but will also assist parents who are unaware of these challenges and provide them with the tools to help their children.
As an organization, we will partner and receive funds through donations from agencies such as The National Autistic Society, Cure Autism Now, The American Psychiatric Association, and The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychology. The funds will be used to create the Web site as well as market this organization those with autistic siblings. Together, we have the backgrounds necessary to create and launch a successful organization. This organization can impact millions of people in the United States and throughout the world.
Biographies
Lisa Glatzer earned her BA in Psychology and Business Administration from Muhlenberg College in 2000. For the past seven years, Lisa has worked for a marketing company in New Jersey, where she is currently a Senior Account Executive with experience in marketing and sales. Lisa is a part-time MBA Marketing Management student at Pace University, expecting to graduate in 2009. Lisa is the youngest of three children, and her oldest brother is autistic. From her undergraduate studies and personal experience, Lisa has extensive knowledge and experience with developmental disabilities and psychiatric disorders. Lisa has also interned in college at KidsPeace, which works with children in crisis.
Ashley Perry earned her MBA in marketing from the University of Maine in 2004. She also earned her BS in Business Administration in management, from the University of Maine in 2003. Ashley worked at the Target Technology Business Incubator from 2002 - 2004 as an assistant to the Program Director. During her assistantship, Ashley helped several start-up companies conduct market research, write business plans, complete grant applications, develop Web sites, and launch their products. Ashley also has experience running some companies of her own. She co-founded MEP ISC, LLC in 1998, a company that conducted surveys nationwide. She is also currently a co-owner of Intellectual Threads, LLC, a company that markets intellectually savvy clothing to various niche markets. Additionally, Ashley's mother has suffered from clinical depression for more than thirty years and she has a brother that is nine years younger than her.
Team Blue Chip - New Business Concept Alternate
TeamBlueChip.com is a niche social networking community where student athletes and collegiate coaches can interact and communicate. Users are able to create profiles containing all of their vital information and statistics as well as pictures and digital videos of themselves in action. When a coach decides he would like to recruit a student athlete he can simply look the athlete up, gain information that he needs to make educated decisions, and communicate using our e-mail system. Both athletes and coaches will also be able to use their homepages as a way to track progress, keep calendared events, take notes, search the network, and communicate. TeamBlueChip.com is currently only available to college/university baseball programs across the country, with forty-two coaches in the network and twenty-seven athletes.
The service is free for users, with revenue generated from banner advertising and Google Ad-Sense. We will look to expand into additional sports in 2008 as well as a system to create unique networks on an individualized university basis, charging a yearly subscription/maintenance fee. We will also explore possibilities within the professional sports world, for teams to use during their draft process and player development process.
Biography
Stephen O'Sullivan is a recent MBA graduate from the Pace University New York City campus and also has a Bachelor's of Science from Marist College. Stephen is currently a project manager in his family operated construction company based in New York City, which specializes in Brownstone and Town House restorations. Prior to his current position, Stephen spent two years at Standard and Poor's as an analyst in the securities pricing arm of the company. After graduating from college Stephen spent two years playing professional baseball with both the Chicago Cubs and Texas Rangers organizations before his career ended due to injury. He currently lives in the Bronx with his fiancée and is pursuing the development of TeamBlueChip.com.
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![[Justin Mandel]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/JustinMandel.jpg)
![[Emily Sheetz]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/EmilySheetz.jpg)
![[Claire Williams]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/ClaireWilliams.jpg)
![[London Davies]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/LondonDavies.jpg)
![[Adam Gromis]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/AdamGromis.jpg)
![[John Ku]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/JohnKu.jpg)
![[Allan Benamer]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/AllanBenamer.jpg)
![[Jeff Tuller]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/JeffTuller.jpg)
![[Sarah Lipkin]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/SarahLipkin.jpg)
![[Peter Steube]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/PeterSteube.jpg)
![[Ryan Wynne]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/RyanWynne.jpg)
![[Joe DiPasquale]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/JoeDiPasquale.jpg)
![[Anna Geller]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/AnnaGeller.jpg)
![[Ross Charbonne]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/RossCharbonne.jpg)
![[Harry Brodsky]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/HarryBrodsky.jpg)
![[Ricky Huy La]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/RickyHuyLa.jpg)
![[Yury Shteyman]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/YuryShteyman.jpg)
![[Dmitry Voller]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/DmitryVoller.jpg)
![[Lisa Glatzer]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/LisaGlatzer.jpg)
![[Ashley Perry]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/AshleyPerry.jpg)
![[Stephen O'Sullivan]](http://appsrv.pace.edu/Lubin/images/pitchcontest/2007/finalists/StephenOSullivan.jpg)
