Pace Lubin

 

 

ANNOUNCING THE WINNERS

First Place: Minute Mantra - Danielle Ran (Lubin), Rachel González (Seidenberg)

Second Place: VAICAM Pi - Andrew Ku (Seidenberg), Rohana Sosa (Seidenberg)

Third Place: Fitness Dynasty - Destiny Wagner (Lubin), Ivan Cody (Dyson)

The Thirteenth Annual Pace Pitch Contest

Presented by

The Entrepreneurship Lab

Contest Date: Thursday, April 20th 2017

Time: 5.30 p.m. to 8.30 p.m.

Venue: Bianco Room, One Pace Plaza,

New York NY 10038

 

 

 

  • 5:30 - 6:00 Registration and Networking
  • 6:00 - 6:30 Welcome and Keynote Address
  • 6:30 - 7:15 Finalists make their Pitch
  • 7:15 - 7:30 Break (Judging Panel selects the winning pitches in private)
  • 7:30 - 8:30 Awards Ceremony and Networking
  •  

Darius Daftary, Director of Product Engineering, Artivest

Darius Daftary works for Artivest as Director of Product Engineering and is also a Faculty Professor at School of Visual Arts where he teaches Web Programming I and II. Darius loves bridging the creative and technical disciplines to deliver engaging user experiences for clients. He has a deep knowledge of trusted web and mobile technologies and is proficient at leading and mentoring small teams of developers to create great work in a fun, encouraging atmosphere. Darius graduated with a BA from Washington University in St. Louis and is a cryptocurrency enthusiast.

 


Jessica Walker, President and CEO, Manhattan Chamber of Commerce

Jessica Walker is president and CEO of the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce. She is a public policy expert who has advocated on behalf of New York City residents, neighborhoods and businesses for more than 15 years -- with successes in every role taken on. Her work has made an indelible imprint on the city that she loves. In 2016 she was included on City & State's "Manhattan Power 50" list, which ranks the most powerful community leaders who live and work in the borough.

Jessica was raised on the Navajo Indian reservation in New Mexico, attended Princeton University and is now a proud resident of Harlem.

 


Sarah Leshner Carvalho, Head, LatAm Credit Research, Barclays Capital

Sarah Leshner Carvalho is the head of Latin American Corporate Credit Research at Barclays. As such, she and her team produce investment ideas in Mexico, Central and South America across industries, including corporates and financial services. Ms Leshner Carvalho has particular expertise in oil & gas, petrochemicals, and industrials.

Prior to joining Barclays in 2015, Ms Leshner Carvalho held the same position at HSBC. She has also worked in emerging markets at the impact investment company BlueOrchard Finance, and Bear Stearns. Earlier in her career, Ms Leshner Carvalho taught in the finance department at NYU, and worked at the microfinance network, Women's World Banking.

Ms Leshner Carvalho has two master’s degrees from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. She was also a contestant on the 13th Season of the Emmy Award-winning reality competition The Amazing Race. She speaks fluent Spanish and Portuguese.

 


Atmosphere VR

Executive Summary

Atmosphere is a VR mobile application that will be used to improve the health and care of the elderly. According to npr.org, the key paradigms for the hospital admission of geriatrics include dehydration, malnutrition, and electrolyte imbalances. Most of these older people have psychiatric problems including depression which has resulted in a lack of self-care management. On such health conditions, the Pace University VR Team has found the need for the implementation of VR mobile application. This VR mobile app is one of the most practical approaches to augment treatment plan and improve mental health status at home or in any health care facility.

Research proves that VR mobile application is among the most effective treatment approaches to address any scenery distraction in geriatrics. The use of this VR Mobile will serve as a means to minimize hospitalization rates. Also, its implementation in the Geriatric environment will have a significant role in addressing perceived stigma related to medical adherence and treatment engagement for an improved health condition in a multicultural population of older people.

The VR application is also useful for depressed seniors at home. The research has evidently demonstrated the relevance of VR mobile application in rehabilitating the elderly with depressive symptoms such as anxiety and dementia. The research conducted by a team of experts at Burke Rehabilitation Center found that VR is a perfect approach for depression. VR mobile application can be an antidote to minimize depressive symptoms among the depressed seniors. Therefore, the intentions towards introducing this VR mobile application is also to aid the older people with depressive symptoms to engage in empowering practices for better mental health care. This VR approach is designed with multi-player over WI-FI, which would help the depressed seniors achieve improved socialization from their homes. This will be essential in minimizing depression in the elderly. The deployment of VR mobile application will promote the adoption of Gaze Input Hands-Free and Audio functionalities. These functions allow an ease of use for geriatrics to improve major health issues. This will be critical in helping the geriatric community to adopt the new change initiative and acquire new experiences.

Biographies

Arton Mirakaj is a full-time student at Pace University at the Westchester campus. He is enrolled in the Seidenberg School of Computer Science obtaining a B.A. in Computer Science and also pursuing a minor in Information Technology Services in 2017. Arton also works part-time in I.T. (Client Support Office). Arton is pursuing Software Development after graduation where he plans to work in the fields of System, Web, and Application development.

 

George Samuels II is a full time student at Pace University on the Westchester campus. He is also currently enrolled in Seidenberg School of Computer Science and will obtain a BS in Computer Science in 2017. George is currently working for the Pace University Tutoring Center for Computer Science. George plans to become a software engineer, where his focus will be on the Development of Video game software. Idea/Concept development has always been a passion for George. It is the ability to create something that George views as, “a gift that keeps on giving”. This notion is the drive that forces George to pursue a bright and successful future in software development.

 


Fitness Dynasty

Executive Summary

Problem: There are nearly 35,000 health clubs and gyms in the United States with more than 55 million gym memberships. However, college students and busy adults should not be restricted to just one gym. There are several other workouts besides the traditional cardio and weights that can contribute to the ultimate fitness experience. Most gym goers go to the gym with friends as well, so if someone is going to the gym and their friend does not have that gym membership they are forced to go somewhere else, paying their original gym fee plus an additional fee to take another fitness class elsewhere. The average price per these unique classes range from around $30-$50, totaling more than $120 per 4-week span (average month). Overall maintaining a healthy lifestyle is becoming expensive and the workouts are getting boring.

Solution: Fitness Dynasty is a subscription based fitness club that services its customers by allowing them to attend four different gyms and experience different workouts from each one. Fitness dynasty will be partnering with private owned gyms that each specialize in a specific workout such as, boxing, CrossFit, rock climbing, cycling and etc. Each customer will be able to attend a new gym once a week to maximize their fitness experience. The membership application can be found online and activated for a flat monthly rate of $100. Once activated the customer will receive a questionnaire allowing them to answer questions about their lifestyle, fitness aspirations and schedule. From there, fitness courses that they may like will appear based on their answers and they have the option to choose up to four to attend throughout the month. The purpose of Fitness Dynasty is to give active people more options for working out besides the traditional gym routine consisting of cardio and weights. There are currently no other fitness clubs like this one anywhere in the New York Metropolitan area.The keys to success for Fitness Dynasty is their ability to market effectively and create a welcoming and supporting environment. The fitness industry is booming and last year alone the market was valued at $27 billion. Currently, New York City is ranked number 3 in the United States for cities whose gym members spend the most money. With that being said, Fitness Dynasty is projecting a strong net profit in its first year of operation with this number increasing, significantly by the end of year three.

Growth Opportunity: Depending on the success, Fitness Dynasty can create more customized pricing packages to meet the physical needs for all their clients and partner with franchised gyms, changing the fitness industry forever.

Biographies

Destiny Wagner is a Junior at Pace University majoring in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. She was born in Punta Gorda, Belize and currently resides in Brooklyn. She is an active member in Sigma Delta Tau and she enjoys writing, working out and traveling. She is currently working on publishing her unique writings and this is her first year participating in the Pitch Contest. After graduation she wishes to start her own business in either the health and wellness field or high end retail markets.

 

 

 

Ivan Cody is a Junior at Pace University majoring in Economics and Political Science. He was born in Passaic, New Jersey and attended Passaic County Technical Institute. At PCTI he competed on a national level for ProStart, pitching restaurant Ideas and concepts to restaurant owners. He is currently the President of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity at Pace and has been involved in the Law Society as well as the Mock Trial team. This is his first year participating in the Pitch Contest and upon graduation he wishes to attend Law school and focus on constitutional law with his lifelong goal of becoming a federal judge.


GuideU

Executive Summary

Intro: Academic tutoring in United States has become very expensive, with professional tutoring websites charging customers $60 an hour and up. Although professional tutors have a broad knowledge of the subject they teach, they lack the specific details of a certain course curriculum, which is essential in helping a student with their homework/exam preparation. Besides that, finding the right tutor can be time-consuming and stressful, especially if the student is looking for immediate help. This is why an idea for an on-demand tutoring platform, GuideU, was created.

Mission: The Mission is to improve the students’ grades by providing high quality on demand tutoring right at their university. GuideU is a website that serves as an on-demand platform that connects students within the same university for tutoring purposes. Students have the choice to sign up and apply to become "student tutors", or students can just sign up as customers. This service should help students who need immediate help for a class and who want to keep their grades up, and who want to save money. The average tutoring session will cost $15-25 an hour. Student-tutors will also benefit by being able to have a job that offers them a flexible schedule to tutor at their convenience. This is a win-win situation for both parties.

Details: Finding the right tutor can be hard/costly – therefore by connecting students within the same college, GuideU can assure that the quality will always remain very high because the student-tutor will have had previous success in taking that very same course and curriculum. GuideU will only accept tutors who have received at least an A- grade in the course. By providing an on-demand platform only for students within the same university, students will be able to find available tutors immediately, thus creating the on-demand environment. Not only GuideU is providing the best prices for student learners, but is also creating job opportunities for student-tutors who can manage their own flexible schedules with a higher pay than the average internship. They will learn how to own and manage their own book of business.

Biographies

Andrew Morales was born in Washington DC, but has lived most of his life abroad in London as well as Rome, Italy. In August 2013, he arrived in New York to study at Pace University as a full time undergraduate student at the Lubin School Of Business. Andrew graduated in 2016 with a degree in Marketing and a concentration in Advertising and Communications. During his stay at Pace, Andrew has been involved with extracurricular activities such as Pace Advertising Club and the Kappa Sigma Fraternity. Andrew now works full time at one of the largest market research organizations called GfK and works in the Research Development (sales) department. Out of the office, Andrew enjoys staying healthy/active, playing soccer, travelling, and most importantly-working on GuideU.

 

Nikita Ptchelka originally comes from Belarus, where he finished his undergraduate degree in Economics in May 2014. In September 2014 he arrived in New York to study at Pace University for his full-time MBA in Financial Management. He is graduating in May 2017. Throughout his studies at Pace University Nikita has been actively involved in extracurricular activities, representing Global Pathways program at Pace and serving as the Vice President of the Graduate Finance Club. Graduating in the top 10% of his class, he has been invited to join the Beta Gamma Sigma international business honor society. He also had several internships in the real estate sector in companies like Douglas Elliman and Tishman Speyer. In his free time he enjoys hiking, travelling, swimming, watching basketball and coding in R.

 


LookAt U

Executive Summary

Studies show that women spend six months of their working life deciding what to wear. The lucky ones may find the last perfect outfits before leaving home, but a typical scenario is that one can’t decide what to wear, grab something randomly from wardrobe and fall into this time-consuming cycle next morning.

LookAt U can save you time and serve as a personal stylist, fashion consultant, digital fitting room and shopping assistant, all at the same time! By inputting certain figures and uploading the photos of users, LookAt U will generate a digitized three-dimensional image ready to be dressed. The app can digitize the wardrobe by using the same technology and categorize them based on users’ convenience and preferences. From now on, users can enjoy coffee in the morning, while trying on different outfits by a few clicks on this app. What makes LookAt U unique is the digitized image, which is a lifelike version based on users’ body figures and gives the actual look of wearing different outfits. LookAt U is also multi-functional. By collecting and processing data from users' choices, it will provide daily outfit suggestions whether users are going to work, school, party or banquet. By extending LookAt U with other fashion APPs and google images, users can import pictures of the clothes they like or new trendy pieces from famous brands and try them on, to see how they look on our users instead of models. If users find themselves fabulous wearing these clothes, LookAt U will take users to their websites for online shopping.

LookAt U targets women and men who care about their daily outfit or have various dress codes in different occasions. By using big data and cloud computing, we will collect fashion photos from blogs, magazines, and shopping apps, analyze their color match and style trends, and create our database. We will start marketing among female college students during the early promotion. After establishing our first user database, we will further promote this app to both urban women and men of different ages and backgrounds.

Users can only get latest fashion updates and match suggestion during free trial. They will pay download fee to enjoy personalized digital figure and wardrobe with the life-like images of fee-paid users. If they keep log-in on a daily basis and forward to other friends, we will send them rewards accordingly which can exchange for coupons from our garment partners.

Our will work with local fashion brands at first. On the one hand, we can provide them with our fashion advisories based on our early big data analysis and users’ preferences. On the other hand, we will help promote their design and styles to our users and attract more people to their brands. Both forms of partnership will be charged a certain amount of fees.

In order to protect user’s privacy, the app will come with sensitive functionalities disabled by default such as the possibility of taking screenshots of user’s pictures and the ability to share content through social networks. Such functionalities must be allowed by the user and only after the user log into the app.

In case the user loses its device or account, he will be capable of erase or retrieve all content related to his/her account. The app will count with excellent security features that will keep user’s personal information safe.

We believe LookAt U has more potential and functions to be developed and extended in the foreseeable future, when it comes to clothing, fashion, styles, shopping, etc. LookAt U will make the user’s life easier, more convenient and more fun.

Biographies

Fang Shen is a graduate student from Lubin School of Business, double-majoring in MBA Financial Management and Information Systems. With years of working experience in Shanghai, Fang is a dedicated professional in Financial Analysis and Marketing Operations. Fang’s MBA background will greatly integrate and strengthen her skill package and contribute to the projects of Israel Entrepreneurship Initiative. Fang is a challenge taker and a pragmatic doer at work. Never settled with her comfort zone, Fang is always eager to learn more and achieve more. In her spare time, Fang loves watching movies & plays and working out.

 

 

 

 

Victor Vargas is an graduate Computer Science major at Pace University pursuing a graduate's degree in Computer Science. Victor is a Graduate Assistant at the Lubin School. When he started his undergraduate studies in Computer Science in Venezuela, Victor first began participating in several programing marathons and local competitions, where his team was recognized as one of the top three in his university. As Victor moved to Pace University, he took an interest in mobile app development and began to participate at Mobile App Design Contest as well as working on independent projects. In addition to his mobile app development, Victor is also an enthusiast piano player. Victor has experience with Java, C, JavaScript, AngularJS, and Python.

 


Minute Mantra

Executive Summary

Minute mantra is the health and wellness brand that helps enable mindfulness because Minute Mantra provides a full suite of experiences to expand, clarify and inspire people to become their best selves. Minute Mantra is a new concept in the sense that it is an app that will be totally personalized for the user; it accomplishes providing therapy to a user without the user feeling like they are in therapy. We want Minute Mantra to be everyone’s personal safe space, where they can go whenever/ where ever they please to feel calm or simply get away from the craziness around them.

The product will be like no other ‘meditation or mental health’ app. Minute Mantra is a place where one can vent or get way; the first personalized mental sanctuary app. The main idea of the app is to provide all users with the mental health help they need through guiding them to figure out what is best for them. We will achieve this by never using the words “stress, anxiety, mental health, depression” or any other word that may trigger a negative response.

The goal is to reach as many people in need of guidance as possible. Realistically, the target market will be millennials; primarily 25-35 year olds and secondary 18-24 year olds, tertiary would be 36-45 year olds. According to Pew Research Center, 75.4 million Millennials live in the United States as of the last census. Out of these millennials we want to reach the hard working city dwellers who are stressing over “adulting” and having their first real job or the ones who cannot understand how to be a parent yet. The individuals who need a minute but don’t think they have one are the users we want to capture.

We have several strategies on how to generate income. First, the app will be subscription based. After the free download, users will have a 20-day trial period where they can experience everything provided on the app. After the trail period ends users will be blocked out of certain features and interrupted with advertisements. They will then have the option of subscribing to a $2.99 monthly membership, $7.99 yearly membership or for a one-time subscription fee of $95.99, a lifetime membership.

Biographies

Danielle Ran is a full-time undergraduate junior working towards her BBA in Marketing and a minor is Psychology at Pace University’s Lubin School of Business. She has a passion for meeting and helping new people from around the world which motivated her to start Minute Mantra. During her time at Pace, Danielle has traveled to Finland, India, Thailand, and Israel; each time meeting new people who inspired her even more to make a change. Since she has struggled with anxiety and stress from a young age, Danielle taught herself how to meditate and how to control her mind to help herself through tense moments. This is the valuable knowledge she wants to share with anyone experiencing stress and anxiety.

 

Rachel González is a full-time 4th year Seidenberg student at Pace University. She will be graduating in May of 2017 with a Bachelors of Science in Information Systems. Fascinated by travel, she believes that it forces her to erase any limits that she has ever set for herself and allows her to submerge herself in culture and education. Traveling has allowed her to meet so many interesting people with amazing stories; this type of experience is what inspired the idea behind Minute Mantra. What we can learn from other people and their culture can change the way you view life entirely, and that is what she really wants to share with the world with this application. The vast education at Seidenberg was what sparked her enthusiasm to design and develop this mobile application. From back-end system design and database management to front-end UX/UI design and coding, so much of what she has learned here at Pace has gone into this innovative idea.


TouchDonation

Executive Summary

Problem: Imagine yourself as an adult in the late 20s who has a stable income and would love to give back to the community. However, the issue is that we don’t have the time to research and donate to charity in a traditional way. Also, you have the mentality of “my donation is too small to make a difference”.

Solution: But what if I tell you that we came up with an app that targets all of those problems and make donating to charity is a simple procedure. TouchDonation is a donation app where you can search up many different organizations and donate to them with a touch of a button. This app takes away the time consuming process of donating in the traditional way and because of our cloud banking system, you do not have to worry about “Your donation not making an impact” as all the donation toward a specific charity or foundation will be saved up in one account and at the end of the month all the money will be send to the charity or foundation. With this process every single dollar will make a difference. With this app Donating to the charity or foundation of your choice will be as simple as a touch of a button.

We will promote ourselves through social media platform. We also use word of mouth. As an organization, we will do a lot of volunteer work to promote ourselves to show support to charity.

In the beginning we will go local with less known charities within the New York area. In the future we will be including more charities and bring in the big names within the charity world.

Biographies

My name is Syman Li, I am currently studying Hospitality and tourism management, here at pace university. I come from a beautiful little island called Aruba. I have been exposed to the business world since I was young. As my family had their own business I have been helping out and learning in the store since I was 12 years old. Within my families store I wasn’t just doing one job, instead I did almost everything that was available. Working in every department gives me the chance to learn and acquire and learn many different skills. All the things that I have learned while working for my family’s store has helped me and shaped me into the person that I am today. A highly motivated person who is skilled in communication, sales, relationship development, team management and coming up with innovative ideas. All of these skills represents me as a person.

 

 

Phuc Pham ’19 comes from Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam and graduated from Saint Anthony High School as an honor scholar with high academic achievement. At Saint Anthony, Phuc participated in the National Honors Society, and Student Government. At Pace, Phuc plans to pursue a major in Information Technology with a minor in Quantitative Business Analysis in Seidenberg School of CSIS. He is a member of the Computer Society Club and the International Student Club. Phuc has been on Dean’s List for two years consecutively and was recently the winner of the mobile app design competition of 2017 at Pace University. After graduation, Phuc plans to pursue a career in business information technology with a mindset for happiness and success.

Thanh Do is an international student from Vietnam. He is a Finance major in his second semester at Pace University – Lubin School of Business. Prior to Pace, Thanh started two businesses in which he imported goods from the United States and China for resale in Vietnam. After the businesses, he moved on to complete a marketing and research and development internship in a technology-oriented startup in Vietnam during the summer of 2015. For the last two years, Thanh has focused himself on academic fields such as economics and financial banking but still believes entrepreneurship is his ideal life. What passionate him about starting a business is the risks involved for enjoyment and eventually making a difference in the world.

 


VAICAM Pi

Executive Summary

VAICAM Pi is bundled as an Android mobile app, a Google Cardboard Virtual Reality (VR) headset, and a Raspberry Pi 3 equipped with a 360 camera and Artificial Intelligence to function as an elderly person’s own artificially intelligent security camera. The security system records the entrance of the person’s home, live streams it privately so only the person with the app can view the stream. The app uses an artificially intelligent API that recognizes individuals that walk up the front door, matches them with a database of images of people that the person trusts, and displays matches. As a result, VAICAM Pi fits perfectly in the surveillance camera industry.

The target market for VAICAM Pi is the elderly population. VAICAM Pi fulfils the need of giving seniors a peace of mind when living alone and helping them have more caution to know who is visiting their home. Seniors need fast emergency response times so authorities and family can help them. They also have difficulty moving about their home so having the VR feature with the camera is ideal especially for bedridden seniors. The security system keeps seniors well-informed at anytime during deployment, because they may not realize what is going on in their home due to loss of hearing. Seniors will be more independent and safe.

The plan is to reach the target population with various marketing strategies. The primary way the mobile app will be marketed will be through the app’s official website and on the Google Play Store. Additional marketing strategies include: live demo presentations at events, a YouTube Channel, and providing brochures. VAICAM Pi’s financial projections can be achieved with investments. Detailed below is the year one and year two sale projections between 2017 and 2019 and the break even point.

Looking to raise: $500,000 for 5% Equity; $550,000 in Sales; $15,000 Sales / Marketing + $125,000 Inventory; Shipping Partner; Private Brand (Cost); App $2.49 on Google Play; Camera Sales Price: $150.00; Amazon Online: Google Cardboard $15.00; Pi 3 $38.31; Pi 3 Webcam $13.99; Kogeto Dot 360-degree accessory $14.99; 13.99+38.31+15.00+14.99= 82.29 + 2.49 (app) = $84.78. Variable costs: $50.00. Break even point: $140,000/ ($150 - $50) = $1,400.00. According to MarketWatch, the “Video Surveillance Market Worth will be 71.28 Billion USD by 2022.” Therefore, there will be continued growth for the security camera to serve its market.

Biographies

Andrew Ku is a first year undergrad student at Pace University Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems, completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems. He spends his weekends either commuting to other universities on the east coast in order to attend 24-36 hour hackathons, or attending the weekly cybersecurity team meeting up at the Pleasantville campus. He loves python scripting, writing web frameworks in Django, and speculating on volatile companies.

 

Rohana Sosa is a full-time undergraduate sophomore at the Pace University Westchester Campus. Her major is in Computer Science with a minor in Computing Information Technology and she plans to graduate with a Bachelors of Science in May 2019. Last summer, as a Pace GenCyber student intern, she collaborated with a team to research and install Linux Raspbian Operating Systems and write boot-scripts for Windows and Mac. Rohana and the team ensured devices were ready for Cybersecurity workshops. Previously, she worked as a Graphic Designer at the Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems and participated as an Android Developer and Graphic Designer with a fellow Computer Science colleague in Pace's Mobile App Development Contest 2016. Currently, Rohana works at the Pace ITS Help Desk as a Technician. She loves to volunteer and her most recent volunteer experience was helping those experiencing poverty in Dominican Republic. This charity project is for graduating from the Pace Setters Leadership Program in May 2017. Some of Rohana’s favorite hobbies she enjoys are: crocheting, kickboxing, playing piano, and drawing. Since Rohana is completely fascinated and eager to explore new technologies, she develops ways of connecting her passion for crochet fashion with programming.

 


VR Discover

Executive Summary

VR Discover, an app for IOS and Android, utilizes virtual reality to stimulate cognitive function, provide entertainment, and relieve restlessness stemming from sundowning for patients with Alzheimer’s and Dementia. VR Discover allows the user to immerse themselves in a choice of three different interactive worlds containing characters who need help looking for their favorite food. The characters have special sounds and phrases that are triggered by simple gaze controls that only require the user to look at the character in virtual reality. These simple controls allow the app to be intuitively used and navigated. VR Discover is freely available for patients, caregivers, and geriatric facilities. Even if the user does not own a virtual reality headset, VR mode can be turned on and off which allows the user to just hold the screen out in front of them and still have full access to the functions of the game.

Although enjoyable by people of all ages, VR Discover is developed with Alzheimer's and Dementia patients in mind. According to the Alzheimer's Association, one in three seniors will die with Alzheimer's or dementia. Research shows that dementia friendly activity increases positive feelings therefore improving quality of life. Also, activities that keep patients busy discourage daytime naps and help switch the body to an end of day focus to avoid sundowning

VR Discover is under development by Pace University Seidenberg School of Computer Science students Ricky Harris, Daniel Citardi, and Mackenzie Dolishny using Unity 3D. When completed, the app will be available for free on the Apple App store and Google Play store.

Biography

Ricky Harris is an undergraduate Computer Science major at Pace University pursuing a bachelor's degree in Computer Science. Ricky is one of the main developers of VR Discover. When he was a senior in high school, Ricky first began developing apps through the Verizon Innovative App Challenge, where his team from Harrison High School was recognized as Best In Nation for creating an app concept to help feed the homeless. As Ricky moved on to Pace University, he took an interest in mobile app development and virtual reality programming, and began to develop VR Discover. In addition to his mobile app development, Ricky is also a student-athlete on the Pace University cross-country team and a member of the Pforzheimer Honors College. Ricky has experience with Java, C#, Unity 3D, and has a interest in using technology to develop solutions to help our community.

 

Keynote Speaker

Stan Spiegelman, Vice President, GFI Development

Stan Spiegelman, Vice President of GFI Development Company, is responsible for the development and construction of multiple mixed-use, hotel and residential projects in New York and other US markets. This role includes deal structuring, design development, interfacing with project management and construction teams, sales and marketing teams, as well as capital partners, operating partners, and lenders. Specific to The Beekman project, located downtown at 5 Beekman Street, Mr. Spiegelman played key roles in the acquisition, equity and debt structuring, historic tax credit structuring and execution of the project business plan. The project required successfully coordinating dozens of design consultants and navigating multiple city, state and federal agencies to breath life back into a 130 year landmark building, which was left vacant for almost 20 years.

 

EMCEE

Bruce Bachenheimer, Executive Director, Entrepreneurship Lab

Bruce Bachenheimer is a Clinical Professor of Management and Executive Director of the Entrepreneurship Lab at Pace University. He is an Emeritus Board Member and past Chair of the New York City Chapter of the MIT Enterprise Forum and served on the organization’s Global Board. He has been widely quoted in a variety of domestic and international publications, interviewed on radio and television and has spoken on entrepreneurship at numerous organizations, including the Youth Assembly at the United Nations and the U.S. Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

Mr. Bachenheimer began his career in investment banking and has worked for global corporations and new ventures. He has conducted business in over two dozen countries and was the founder of Annapolis Maritime Corp. and the Co-Founder of StockCentral Australia. He holds a BBA, Summa Cum Laude, from Pace University and received the McKinsey & Company Leadership Scholarship to pursue an MBA degree, which he earned from the Australian Graduate School of Management.

 

About the Contest

The Pace Pitch Contest is based on the Elevator Pitch concept, popular in the venture capital community. It is an extremely concise presentation of an entrepreneur's idea, business model, marketing strategy, competitive analysis, and financial plan, which is delivered to potential investors. The premise is that it could be made in a few minutes, should the entrepreneur spot a potential investor on an elevator and have the opportunity to pitch their idea during the brief ride.

Each Finalist will have exactly three minutes to pitch their new venture idea to a distinguished panel of judges and an enthusiastic audience. In addition to broad participation at Pace, we have been pleased to welcome student competitors from a number of other universities, including Columbia, Harvard, MIT, NYU, Princeton, and Stanford.

Each individual/team will have 3 minutes to make a pitch and may use up to 5 PowerPoint® slides. The pitch must be an original concept, created by the presenter(s).

Here's How to Enter

1. At least one member of your team should meet one of the following two criteria:

  • Full or part-time student currently enrolled in Pace University
  • Recent Pace University graduate (graduated within the past 18 months)

AND if you have already launched the venture, it must have been in business for less than 2 years and received less than $100,000 in funding.

2.Register online. Each member of the team must complete the Registration Form through the online competition management system.

Deadline - 5:00 p.m. EST on Monday March 20, 2017

 

3.Submit a biography. Each biography (if competing as a team, each member must submit a biography) MUST be a minimum of 100 words and a maximum of 200 words. Please be sure to indicate your status as a student (college/university and school, degree, major, full or part-time status, and expected year of graduation) or as a recent graduate (college/university and school, degree, major, and date of graduation).*

Deadline: 5:00 p.m. EST on Monday March 20, 2017

 

4. Submit an Executive Summary. You should prepare a ONE PAGE Executive Summary to be used on the Pace Pitch Web site and in the printed program.*

Deadline: 5:00 p.m. EST on Monday March 20, 2017

 

5.Pre-selection Announcement. The names of the pre-selected students will be announced on Thursday March 23, 2017

 

6.Pitch Clinic. If pre-selected, you must schedule an appointment with Professor Bruce Bachenheimer, Executive Director bbachenheimer@pace.edu between the dates Monday March 27, 2017 to Friday April 7, 2017. Based on the outcome of the pitch clinic the finalists/alternates will be announced.

 

7.Finalist Announcement. The names of the finalists will be announced on Monday April 10, 2017

 

8.Submit a photo. If selected as a Finalist or alternate, you must submit a digital photograph (approximately 100 KB - 1 MB in JPEG format) to be used on the Pace Pitch Web site and in the printed program.*

Deadline: 5:00 p.m. EST on Monday April 17, 2017

 

9.Submit a PowerPoint® presentation.If selected as a Finalist or alternate, you may submit up to 5 PowerPoint® slides to be used with your pitch (the 5 slide maximum includes a title slide and none of the slides may include external hyperlinks, embedded video, or transitions that 'effectively create' more than 5 distinct slide images). PowerPoint slides are not required and may not be used if not received by the deadline. Presentations in other formats will not be accepted.*

Deadline: 5:00 p.m. EST on Monday April 17, 2017

 

10. Make Your Pitch! The finalist/alternate contestant must arrive at the One Pace Plaza, Bianco Room (formerly Multipurpose Room), New York, NY. 10038 by 5:00 pm EST on Thursday April 20, 2017

 

* All documents must be submitted online through the online competition management system

Click here to watch the video guide to the Competition Management System

Here's How the Pace Pitch Contest Works:

On Thursday, April 20, 2017, finalists will make their pitches to a panel of judges in front of an enthusiastic audience. There is a strict time limit of three minutes for all pitches. Contestants will present in alphabetical order. After each pitch, the judges may ask a number of questions. All answers must be kept to less than one minute. Immediately after the pitches have been made, the judging panel will decide on one winner from each category based on the Guidelines and Judging Criteria. The Pace Pitch Contest has proven to be an exciting, educational, and fun event. We hope you will enjoy the event and find it valuable.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Professor Bruce Bachenheimer, Executive Director, Entrepreneurship Lab, at bbachenheimer@pace.edu or Nikhil Kalyankar, Associate Director, The Entrepreneurship Lab at nkalyankar@pace.edu

Good luck!
The deadline to enter the Pace Pitch Contest is 5:00 p.m. on Monday, March 20, 2017

 

New Business Concepts Pitch Guidelines | Social Ventures Pitch Guidelines | Ten Questions That You Should Try To Answer

New Business Concepts Pitch Guidelines

 

New Business Concepts will be evaluated on the following judging criteria.

  • 1. Business Description: Details of the venture and what it does.
    • How well was the concept explained?
    • How reasonable, sustainable, and scalable is the new concept?
  • 2. Market Analysis: Characteristics of the market and description of its customers.
    • Is there a genuine need for the product or service?
    • How well was the target market defined?
    • What is the size and growth of the market?
    • What is the consumers' willingness to pay for the product/service?
  • 3. Product or Service Analysis: The specifics of the product or service.
    • Is the description clear?
    • Is the product feasible?
    • How easily it can be duplicated?
    • Is there a presence of potential substitutes for the product?
  • 4. Competition: Identify current and potential competitors.
    • Have the current and potential competitors, competitive response, and analysis of strengths and weaknesses been adequately defined?
  • 5. Marketing Strategy: How sales will be achieved.
    • How realistically defined is the marketing plan?
    • Does the plan adequately address price, product, place, and promotion?
    • Are resources sufficiently allocated for marketing?
  • 6. Operations: How the product or service will be produced and delivered.
    • What is the likelihood of securing resources required for production?
    • Is there an ability to operate competitively and grow?
  • 7. Management: An assessment of the entrepreneur(s) and team.
    • Does the team exhibit the experience and skills required for operation?
    • What is the depth and breadth of the team's capabilities?
    • Does the team demonstrate the ability to grow with the organization and attract new talent?
  • 8. Finances: An overview of the required resources and economics of the venture.
    • How compelling is the business model?
    • Have the resources required for the venture been addressed?
    • Has the team clearly and adequately presented a breakeven analysis?
    • How reasonable are the financial projections?
    • Are there prospects for long-term profitability?
  • 9. Investment Proposal: The terms and conditions offered to investors.
    • Did the entrepreneurial team explain funding?
    • Were offerings to investors and anticipated returns clearly explained?
    • Did the team calculate a realistic valuation?
    • How feasible is the exit strategy?
  • 10. Presentation: Overall effectiveness of the actual presentation.
    • Did the presenter(s) engage the audience and hold their attention?
    • Did the presenter(s) appear to speak with confidence authority?
    • Were visual aids (i.e. PowerPoint® slides) clear and valuable?
    • Was the pitch exciting and compelling?
    • How efficiently did the team allot their time?

 

Social Venture Pitch Guidelines

 

Social Ventures will be evaluated on the following judging criteria.

  • 1. Assessing the Need: An analysis of the social issue and its affected population.
    • Does the proposed venture address a significant and critical social problem?
  • 2. Well-defined Target: Characteristics of the market and targeted population.
    • Does the proposed venture adequately describe the problem it hopes to address and have defined parameters within which it plans to operate?
  • 3. Management: An assessment of the entrepreneur(s) and team.
    • Does the entrepreneurial team possess the skills and experience required to translate the plan into action?
    • Can they demonstrated the passion, commitment, and perseverance required to overcome inevitable obstacles?
    • Is the team comprised of individuals committed to ethical standards?
  • 4. Creativity: A demonstration that the proposed solution displays a unique approach.
    • Does the proposal approach the social problem in an innovative, exciting, and dynamic way?
  • 5. Feasibility: A demonstration that the venture can be successfully implemented.
    • Does the initiative aspire towards clear, realistic and achievable goals, while thinking big?
    • Can it be implemented effectively?
  • 6. Planning: A clear and well-defined strategy to achieve objectives and goals.
    • Are there clear and coherent schedules, milestones, objectives, and financial plans?
  • 7. Operations: How the product or service will be physically produced and distributed.
    • Has adequate attention been given to the way in which the product or service is to be produced and/or delivered?
    • Do they have, or can likely secure, the resources required for production?
    • Will they be able to operate competitively and grow?
  • 8. Sustainability: Long-term prospects for viability and success.
    • Does the proposed venture include adequate strategies for fundraising and income generation?
    • Does it consider the different dimensions of financial and social sustainability in a conscientious manner?
  • 9. Social Impact: The value that the new venture will bring to society.
    • How will the implementation of this social venture benefit the community and the multiple stakeholders involved?
    • Is there the potential for significant social impact and engagement of the broader community?
  • 10. Presentation: Overall effectiveness of the actual presentation.
    • Did the presenter(s) engage the audience and hold their attention?
    • Did the presenter(s) appear to speak with confidence authority?
    • Were visual aids (i.e. PowerPoint® slides) clear and valuable?
    • Was the pitch exciting and compelling?
    • How efficiently did the team allot their time?

* While there is some debate regarding the precise definition of a social venture, and what exactly differentiates it from a traditional for profit business, the Selection Committee and Judging Panel will use the following criteria:

  • PRIMARY MISSION - is the organization's primary purpose to serve its owners (New Business Concept) or society (Social Venture)
  • PRIMARY MEASURE OF SUCCESS - does the organization measure its success primarily by profitability (New Business Concept) or positive social change (Social Venture)

 

Ten Questions That You Should Try To Answer

 

Whether pitching a New Business Concept or a Social Venture, try to address the following ten big questions as completely as possible. Remember, you should not simply talk about a general idea (those are "a dime a dozen"), rather, try to present a concise concept with a cleareconomic model, convincing everyone that you can actually make it happen.

  • 1. What's the PROBLEM?
  • 2. What's your SOLUTION?
  • 3. How large is the MARKET?
  • 4. Who is the COMPETITION?
  • 5. What makes you so SPECIAL?
  • 6. What's your ECONOMIC MODEL?
  • 7. How exactly will you achieve SALES?
  • 8. Have you assembled a qualified TEAM?
  • 9. How will you secure required RESOURCES?
  • 10. What are you proposing for an INVESTMENT?

Suggested reading: The Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki (Penguin 2004), especially Chapter 3, "The Art of Pitching"

First Prize

A $1,000 cash prize will be awarded to the winner.

Second Prize

A $500 cash prize will be awarded to the second place.

Third Prize

A $250 cash prize will be awarded to the third place.

Pace University reserves the right to disqualify, at its sole discretion, any individual or team from the competition at any time (before or after the Pitch Contest or the award of any prize) for any reason. Reasons for disqualification may include, but are not limited to, misrepresentations in the application process, plagiarism, infringement of the intellectual property of others, and any failure to comply with the rules of the competition. Disqualified individuals or teams shall forfeit any and all prizes awarded to them.


 

 


Previous Pitch Contests

Twelfth Annual Pace Pitch Contest (April 14th, 2016)
Eleventh Annual Pace Pitch Contest (April 16th, 2015)
Tenth Annual Pace Pitch Contest (April 17th, 2014)
Ninth Annual Pace Pitch Contest (April 18th, 2013)
Eighth Annual Pace Pitch Contest (April 19th, 2012).
Seventh Annual Pace Pitch Contest (April 11th, 2011).
Sixth Annual Pace Pitch Contest (December 3rd, 2009).
Fifth Annual Pace Pitch Contest (December 4th, 2008).
Fourth Annual Pace Pitch Contest (December 6th, 2007).
Third Annual Pace Pitch Contest (November 17th, 2006).
Second Annual Pace Pitch Contest (December 9th, 2005).
Inaugural Pace Pitch Contest (December 3rd, 2004).

 

[Pitch Contest Brochure]
Click to download the full Official Program for the Twelfth Annual Pace Pitch Contest (PDF).

 

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For additional information, please contact:

Bruce Bachenheimer,
Clinical Professor of Management and Director, The Entrepreneurship Lab
Tel: (212) 618-6663
Fax: (212) 618-6664
E-mail: bbachenheimer@pace.edu
Web: webpage.pace.edu/bbachenheimer
Address: Pace University
Lubin School of Business
Department of Management, Room 342
163 William Street
New York, NY 10038

Elizabeth Jovanoska,
Associate Director, The Entrepreneurship Lab
Tel: (212) 618-6667
E-mail: ejovanoska@pace.edu
Address: Pace University
The Entrepreneurship Lab
163 William Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10038

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