Freirich Business Plan Competition to launch fifth year

With kickoff meetings set for Thursday and Friday, October 16 and 17, the Kenneth A. Freirich Business Plan Competition is preparing to launch its fifth year with more prizes and a determination to encourage Skidmore students in every major to apply creative thought to the development of new businesses, enterprises and non profit organizations.

The total value of the prizes is set at an all-time high of $65,000. A high-profile group of alumni entrepreneurs and executives will pick the winners in April.

To foster entrepreneurship across all departments and maximize its impact, the competition has expanded this year to include prizes for Artistic and Social Entrepreneurship. Students who are committed to making the world a better place by creating new non-profit organizations that create and sustain social value are invited to submit business plans. So are students who aim to establish new artistic enterprises in such areas as film, dance, art and creative writing.

Winners will be awarded cash prizes ranging from $1000 to $20,000.  The competition is open to all currently enrolled Skidmore students, regardless of year or major.

The competition has become a signature event at Skidmore. More than 200 students have entered since 2010 and at least a dozen student-run businesses are up and running, including Summer Destinations, Rum Dogs, Wellfleet Sea Salt, and East Coast Lacrosse.

More than half the students who have competed since 2010 have majored in areas other than management and business. During that time, more than $150,000 in prize money and services has been awarded.

“It’s deeply rewarding to see so many students following their passions by starting and developing businesses and organizations with such amazing talent and creativity,” said Ken Freirich ’90, who started his own publishing business as a sophomore at Skidmore. “The competition has the potential to change lives, and I wanted to be sure this year that we gave students whose interests are geared more toward artistic and social entrepreneurship an opportunity to participate.”

If you’re thinking about starting a new business, expand an existing business, pursue your artistic passion, or start a non-profit or community initiative, you’ll want to attend either of the two organizational meetings that Freirich will lead:

• Thursday, October 16, 7 p.m., Room 202, Palamountain Hall
• Friday, October 17, 5 p.m., Room 202, Palamountain Hall

Freirich also will available to students at Career Jam, which the Career Development Center is hosting Friday, October 17 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. on the second floor of Murray-Aikins Dining Hall.

If you decide to compete, you’ll have until late January to develop and submit your plan. Educational workshops given by faculty and alumni will be scheduled starting in late October to help you assemble your plan. In February, a diverse panel of entrepreneurs, executives, investors, artists and heads of non-profits will judge your  presentations.

These judges -- who will also serve as mentors -- will narrow the submissions to a list of finalists who will then spend the next two months refining their plans with assistance from mentors. These experiences have proved to be life-changing. Final presentations will be made in April.

Mentors in last year’s competition included:

  

• Geoffrey Citron, founder and president, Nomia Inc.
• Andrew Eifler ‘07, chief of staff, AppNexus. 
• Laurie J. Giddins ’82,senior vice president, The Partnership Fund for NYC.
• Christine Juneau ’82, principal, Christine Juneau, LLC.
• Jim Rossi ’82, managing partner, Saratoga Polo Association.
• Michael Stein ’89, founding partner, Pensam Capital LLC. 

“The Kenneth A. Freirich Business Plan Competition provides students an opportunity to develop innovations and ideas that address quality of life issues, sometimes on a broad scale and sometimes with a more targeted focus,” said Tim Harper, associate professor and chair of management and business. “While the end-game involves winning the competition, the process is an academic exercise involving creativity, problem-solving ability, critical thinking skills and both a micro- and macro-perspective of the human dilemma and the world around us.”