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Skidmore College
Ideas Wanted

Kenneth A. FREIRICH ENTREPRENEURSHIP COMPETITION 

Watch the Semi Finals | Friday 11/22/24 | 12:45 – 5 PM

2024-2025 Competition Information

November 22, 2024| Semi-final Round

o February 20, 2025 | The Entrepreneurial Artist Forum & Dinner

o February 21, 2025 | Final Competition

November 22, 2024 | Semi-final Round 

On Friday, November 22nd, students will present on the second floor of the Murray Aikins dining hall. Semi-final judges will participate via Zoom. Students will receive a link to signup for presentation times for Friday, November 22. 

Students should prepare a three minute elevator pitch and be prepared for an eight minute Q&A from the judges about their businesses.  Up to eight companies will proceed to the next round of the Freirich Competition, which will be held on February 21st

First Round Results

Congratulations to the following teams who will be moving forward in the 2025 Kenneth A. Freirich Entrepreneurship Competition:

Business Name Team Members
Adaptify Muhammad Salim '27
Duende Christopher Campos '26
Eidos Fineas Jackson '25
Polar Hockey Liala Cryer '26, Molly Smith '27, Sara Burr '25, and Justin Shafritz '26
Scanned Sweets Phoenix Goldenberg '26
SlayHood Emrah Jusufoski '28, Erdni Mangutov, and Bijan Shadid '28
Summit Taha Bhatti '25 and Kubair Bahl '25
TranslaSite Luke Curtin '25, Jimmy Gibbons '25, and Owen Quinn '25
 

Semi Final Judges Include: 

Founder of Nourrir Drinks — a sparkling juice brand inspired by West African, Caribbean, and Latin American flavors — was established in 2020 and now ships to more than 300 Stop & Shop grocery stores across New York state and New England. 

Founder and CEO Library Ideas

Attorney, Author, Board Director, Investor, Former Executive and Ex-Chairman, US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

Feven and Helena Yohannes are twin sisters and the co-founders of 2•4•1 Cosmetics - an effortless and clean beauty brand that not only enhances your beauty but also instills confidence, kindness, and integrity. The brand name itself "2•4•1" reflects their philosophy that beauty and brains are not mutually exclusive.

 

February 21, 2025 | Final Competition

On February 21st, 2025, at 1:00 pm, the 15th Annual Kenneth A. Freirich Entrepreneurship Competition will be held on the Second Floor of the Murray Aikens Dining Hall.  Participants may invite friends and family to view the event in person, or via Zoom.   

Pitches start promptly at 1:00pm. Participants must arrive at least 15 minutes prior to their presentation.  They are expected to create an updated pitch deck, with projected cashflow statements, and present an 10-minute proposal to alumni as they compete for prizes.  Judges will have 10-minutes to ask presenters questions about the business. 

Participants will be provided a link to sign up for their presentation time. All student competitors are invited to attend the finals to build their networks and knowledge of entrepreneurship.

The winner of the 15th Annual Kenneth A. Freirich Entrepreneurship Competition will be announced during a celebratory dinner, following the judges deliberations (location TBD).

Speakers for the 15th anniversary celebration dinner include, Kenneth A. Freirich '90, a seasoned entrepreneur, corporate executive and a Fortune 100 executive at age 29, and founder and funder of the competition, and Frank Gibeau P'27, the President of Zynga, a wholly-owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Mr. Gibeau joined Zynga as CEO in March 2016 and is a mobile, PC, and console gaming industry expert with 25 years of experience in interactive entertainment.


Final Round Judges include:

Director, Dyson Foundation, and Business Executive, Dyson-Kissner-Moran

Molly Dyson-Schwery is a licensed social worker, life coach, entrepreneur, and real estate investor. She serves as a board member for Dyson Kissner-Moran, a private investment firm, as well as for the Dyson Foundation, a nonprofit philanthropic organization that has supported myriad community organizations and social causes for decades. Through her work with the Dyson Foundation, Dyson-Schwery seeks to improve the quality of life in the region, strengthen resources available to economically disadvantaged individuals and families, and to strengthen the nonprofit sector. Dyson-Schwery graduated from Skidmore summa cum laude with degrees in psychology and Spanish.

President of Zynga

Frank Gibeau is the President of Zynga, a wholly-owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. He joined Zynga as CEO in March 2016 and is a mobile, PC, and console gaming industry expert with 30+ years of experience in interactive entertainment. As Zynga’s CEO, Gibeau led the company’s turnaround and transition to rapid growth. Zynga’s market cap increased significantly during Gibeau’s tenure as CEO, in large part due to optimizing live services and fortifying the company’s portfolio of wildly popular franchises. Gibeau’s groundbreaking series of studio acquisitions, along with innovation and success across Zynga’s games portfolio, positioned Zynga as among the fastest-growing public gaming companies in the world. In May 2022, Gibeau also led Zynga through its pivotal combination with Take-Two.

After graduating from Skidmore College with a BS in Fine Arts in 1964, Molly Haley began her career as an art teacher in Marblehead, Massachusetts. Five years later, she was asked to teach a screen printing class at a local arts center. This changed the course of her career, and in 1970 Molly co-founded Marblehead Handprints, a textile design business. She quickly developed expertise in all aspects of design, printing, product development, manufacturing, wholesale, and retail. Marblehead Handprints grew nationwide with multiple retail stores until it closed in 1994 after 25 successful years in business. Following Marblehead Handprints, Molly became the Director of Counseling and Special Programs at the American Women's Economic Development Corporation in Washington, D.C. Drawing on her experience operating a successful business, she developed training courses in entrepreneurship. Molly realized this training would work well for Skidmore students who want to start a business doing what they love. In 2013, Molly founded the Entrepreneurial Artist Initiative with the Arts Administration Program. Since then, the Entrepreneurial Artist Initiative has provided over 500 Skidmore students and alumni with professional development, business acumen, and resources, to turn their creative passions into successful careers. The Entrepreneurial Artist Initiative is endowed and supported by Molly Haley ’64, and her husband Ed Freitag.

Themba is a Financial Markets Advisory Associate at BlackRock. He is also a global change maker acquiring the skills necessary to advance African development and access to capital through sound capital markets. Themba has a strong interest in the intersection of financial markets and regulation as a tool for inclusive growth.

CEO and Founder, Two Labs Marketing

With more than 140 product launches in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries, Two Labs Pharma Services has a national reputation for product launch, life-cycle management, pricing, and payer strategy. Wartel serves as CEO of the private-equity backed company, which just completed its first acquisition in January of 2018. Prior to starting Two Labs in 2003, he served as vice president of business development for Cardinal Health Pharmaceutical Distribution, focused on brand and generic pharmaceutical launches. Before joining Cardinal, Wartel joined several partners in developing and commercializing the home health care superstore concept with their company American Health Superstore, which they sold in 1997. Wartel graduated from Skidmore with a degree in management and business specializing in accounting. He also holds a masters in accounting from George Mason University.

Peer Mentors include:

Prince Shyllon ’26 is a student-athlete and business owner, currently playing on the men's basketball team at Skidmore. Prince is actively involved in Skidmore’s Management and Business department. Along with assisting groups with their financial statements in the Kenneth A. Freirich Entrepreneurship Competition, he serves as the Senior Advisor for Investment Banking in Skidmore's Financemore Association, is a member of the investment club, and was the 2nd place winner of the Start-Up Skidmore Competition in 2023 with his business, Only 1 Up Brand. Next summer, Prince will be interning as a 2025 Investment Banking Summer Analyst at M&T Bank.