Adelphi's Shark Tank-Style Business Plan Competition Offers $11,000 in Prizes on March 3

The previous release included the wrong date. Competition date is this Friday, March 3.

Garden City, NY (02/27/2023) — Adelphi University's 2023 Business Plan Competition will return on Friday, March 3. The annual Shark Tank-style contest is part of Adelphi's approach to experiential learning and the Willumstad School of Business (WSB) approach to providing students with a competitive edge to advance their careers. The competition puts students' entrepreneurial skills to the test while also giving them the opportunity to win $11,000 in prizes to help fund their businesses.

Offered by Adelphi's Robert B. Willumstad School of Business, the competition is made possible by support from alumnus Kevin Mahony, senior vice president of wealth management and financial advisor at UBS Financial Services.

All Adelphi students were eligible to submit a preliminary proposal either individually or in teams. Students have been working on their proposals and presentations since the contest opened in November 2022.

Finalists who will be competing in this year's event are Monish Churaman, finance major, Amita Radakichenane, biology major, Gloria Gantt, business administration graduate student, Luke Attride-Stirling, business administration graduate student, and Ashley Zingale, business management major with a specializating in information systems.

Prizes include $5,000 for first place, $3,000 for second, $2,000 for third and $1000 in prizes for best socially responsible approach. Cash prizes are funded through Mahony's contributions.

Each finalist will present their business plan to a panel of judges of Long Island business founders and owners. The panel will review student proposals, provide feedback and determine the winners.

This year's judges include Co-Founders of John's Crazy Socks Mark and John Cronin, Steven Cheng, corporate attorney at Meyer, Suozzi, English and Klein, PC, Founder and Owner of Precision Enterprises Inc James Reed, Founder and Owner of PARC Solutions Pawneet Abramowski, co-founder of OneDeal Nick Sterlacci and Zachary Johnson, Adelphi associate professor of marketing and founder of ProfVal, LLC.

The finalists' proposals include:

"Adelphi's Business Plan Competition has helped to increase entrepreneurship activity, attitude and aspiration among our students and the wider Adelphi community," said Murat Erogul, PhD, associate professor of entrepreneurship and organizer of the competition. "The finalists have been working very hard on their pitches with the potential of also competing in the New York Regional Business Plan competition for Long Island soon after."

See more about Adelphi's business plan competition.

Note to media: The final presentations and competition judging will take place in Adelphi's Ruth S. Harley University Center, room 113-115 from 9 a.m. to noon, with the announcement of winners at 1:30 p.m. Media coverage is welcome.

About Adelphi: A modern metropolitan university with a personalized approach to higher learning

Adelphi University, New York, is a highly awarded, nationally ranked, powerfully connected doctoral research university dedicated to transforming students' lives through small classes with world-class faculty, hands-on learning and innovative ways to support academic and career success. Adelphi offers exceptional liberal arts and sciences programs and professional training at the undergraduate and graduate level with particular strength in our Core Four-Arts and Humanities, STEM and Social Sciences, the Business and Education Professions, and Health and Wellness.

Recognized as a Best College by U.S. News & World Report, Adelphi is Long Island's oldest private coeducational university. It serves more than 7,250 students at its beautiful main campus in Garden City, New York-just 23 miles from New York City's cultural and internship opportunities-and at dynamic learning hubs in Manhattan, the Hudson Valley and Suffolk County, as well as online.

More than 119,000 Adelphi graduates have gained the skills to thrive professionally as active, engaged citizens, making their mark on the University, their communities, and the world.

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Media Attachments

MaryAnne Hyland, dean of Adelphi's Robert B. Willumstad School of Business presenting last year's winner Kayla Strayhorn with the first-place prize of $5,000 during Adelphi University's Business Plan Competition.