Business-plan finalists are competing for $10,000 prize

A first-place prize of $10,000 is at stake for nine students competing in the 2012 Kenneth A. Freirich Business Plan Competition, the finals of which will take place Friday, April 13, at 3:45 p.m. at the Surrey Williamson Inn.

A $5,000 second prize and $2,500 third prize also will be awarded. The prizes are intended to "act as a catalyst to help students start a new business or to assist the development of their existing business," said Roy Rotheim, professor of economics and director of the competition.

Competing both singly and in teams of two, the students will present plans for six new enterprises that impressed a jury of six Skidmore alumni in the first round of the competition in February. Now matched with the students as mentors, these alumni ? all of whom have entrepreneurial backgrounds ? are helping them to fine-tune their plans for the final round, which will be judged by a new set of alumni jurors.

"We want this to be a profound educational experience for our students, helping them to go beyond the intuitive and arrive at something concrete ? and to gain a first-hand understanding of that process," said Rotheim.

The competition was launched last year by Kenneth A. Freirich, Skidmore Class of 1990, serial entrepreneur, and president of Health Monitor Network. Visiting as Skidmore's first entrepreneur-in-residence in late 2010, he challenged students to present new-business ideas, and it was their "impressive talent, creativity and effort" that inspired him to launch the full-fledged business-plan contest as a way to support student innovation.

"My goal is to foster entrepreneurship and create real operating businesses,? says Freirich, who launched his first publishing venture as a Skidmore undergraduate. ?I don't want this to be just an academic exercise. I know this can be a life-changing experience for students."

Freirich contributed the $10,000 first prize. Dan Allen ?90, partner at Anchorage Capital Group, contributed the $5,000 second prize and Dan Antonelli '89, managing director, New York Institutional Equity Sales, with J.P. Morgan contributed the $2,500 third prize.

Judging the final round of the contest will be:

• Ken Freirich '90, President, Health Monitor Network
• Richard Flaherty, President & CEO, Cove Risk Services, LLC
• Ron Levene '86, Angel Investor and Advisor, STOC and Delaware Crossings
• Susan Magrino Dunning '83, President, Susan Magrino Agency
• Sage Nakamura '94, Managing Director, Syndications Division, GE Capital
• Penny Patterson-Smith '83, Director Innovation, Global Chocolate, The Hershey Company
• Michael Stein '89, Founding Partner, Pensam Capital, LLC

Competing for the prize: Six new companies in the making
Rephrase Dance Collective  Hattie Young '12, a dancer since age 12, plans to develop a Chicago-based professional dance company that takes dance to the public in a "flash-mob" way. Her mentor: Daniel Antonelli '89, managing director, New York Institutional Equity Sales, J.P. Morgan, New York City.																	Biscaitie Caitlin Allen '12 plans to market a preservative-free biscotti that's "crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside." Her mentor: Elizabeth King Farrell '81: owner and executive chef of Kings' Carriage House Restaurant, New York City
Grumbul  Isaiah Crossman '13 and Matthew Miron '13 plan to launch a new Website that enables customers to address customer service issues directly with businesses and open a dialog to resolve their grievance. Their mentor: Alan Osetek '91, president, Resolution Media at Omnicom Media Group, Boston, Mass.																	Noisemaker  Taylor Alderson '12 and Jonathan Zeidan '12 plan to launch a social networking platform that connects college musicians, performance venues, and music enthusiasts. Their mentor: Darren Herman '04: chief digital media officer at Kirshenbaum, Bond, and Senecal + Co and Director of their Media Kitchen, New York City.
Wellfleet Sea Salt Company  Hope Schwartz-Leeper '13 and Zachary Fagiano '13 have devised a low-cost eco-friendly way to produce an artisanal organic sea salt. They plan to develop it into a compelling Cape Cod brand. Their mentor: Nancy Wekselbaum '73: president, The Gracious Gourmet, Bridgewater, Conn.																	East Coast Lacrosse  Seth Berger '14 plans to expand his firm's sales of lacrosse apparel by increasing its online presence and targeting new markets. His mentor: Nick MacShane '91: senior managing director, Progress Partners, Inc., Cambridge, Mass.