Seven student startups to compete

Seven teams of entrepreneurial students will vie for $60,000 in cash and business services in the final round of Skidmore’s sixth annual Kenneth A. Freirich Business Plan Competition.

Twelve teams made seven-minute pitches Friday to a panel of alumni judges in the first round, held at the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery. As the finalists were announced, each was paired with a judge who will now serve as a mentor in preparing for the finals on April 8.

“This competition ultimately is about one thing, and that’s changing your life forever,” said Ken Freirich ’90, president of Health Monitor Network and founder of the competition. “It’s about following your passion. It’s about learning how to become an entrepreneur, which is about finding ways to make things happen. If you can acquire that skill during the competition, you’ll have an asset that will help make you successful in anything you do.”

“We turn creative thought into creative action,” added Roy Rotheim, professor of economics and director of the competition. “This is not a course. This is not something that appears on students’ transcripts. This is a labor of love.”

The final teams:

Good Citizen
Morgan Reid-Spaulding ’16 and Annys Aristy ’16 are developing a line of trendy clothing that uses recyclable fibers. They’ll be mentored by Nancy Wekselbaum ’73, owner of the Gracious Gourmet.

MyCity Brew
Jonah Epstein ’16 raised $10,000 in a Kickstarter campaign to produce a distinctive Buffalo, N.Y., beer. His mentor is Larry Peck ’92, managing director of Peck Asset Management.

Lemur Technologies
Derek Halden ’16, Anh Vu Nguyen ’17 and Khalil Hall-Hooper ’16 are developing a mobile app to evaluate employees via anonymous reviews from supervisors and colleagues. They’ll be mentored by Andrew Eifler ’07, vice president for product management at AppNexus.

AuxNation
Noam Kahn ’18, Dhruv Singh ’18 and Zack Jones ’18 are developing a mobile app to help DJs better match playlists with the preferences of event attendees. Mentoring them is entrepreneurial physician Kathryn Peper ’78.

Adirondack Flannel
Jamie Benjamin ’17 and Leif Catania ’17 are launching a line of men’s and women’s clothing that speaks to the spirit of the Adirondack Mountains. They’ll be mentored by Gregg Smith ’92, a partner in Edison Nation.

Rum Dogs
Alexander Nassief ’16 has produced a first run of premium ocean-aged rum for a growing luxury clientele in Dominica and in Europe. His mentor is Sara Arnell, senior managing director of the Magrino Agency, owned by Susan Magrino Dunning ’83.

Green Onion Farm Cooperative
Claire Lindsay ’16 is launching a farmers’ cooperative that brings consumers into a shared experience of retail events, food, arts and learning. She’ll be mentored by independent business advisor Christine Juneau ’82, P’18.

More than 285 students representing 175 businesses have participated in the competition since it began in 2010. This year’s finals will run all day on Friday, April 8, at the Tang Museum.

(Cover photo: From left, Nancy Wekselbaum ’73, Chris Juneau ’82, Roy Rotheim, Ken Freirich ’90, Sara Arnell ’82, Gregg Smith ’92, Andrew Eifler ’07, Larry Peck ’92, and Katie Peper ’78. Photo by Ed Burke)