Ithaca College

Twelve teams made their final pitch for a chance to win $5,000 during the Second Annual Business Idea Competition. And for four of them, that became a reality.

Students of The KettleShell, Sales Hop, InsertHeels and Opt-Ez, all walked away with first place and $5,000 for their ideas. Chris Burch ’76, Michael Axelrod ’91, and Gregory J. Hartz, judged the competition that included student pitches and a Q&A session. They then awarded the winners in each track: Product, Services and Health.

Winner in the Product Track was Tim Reynolds ’14 of The KettleShell. The KettleShell transforms any dumbbell into a kettlebell, which is one of the biggest, yet expensive, trends in the fitness industry today. 

In the Services Track, Sales Hop won with an app designed to decrease the amount of food waste grocery stores produce. Jaclyn Cheri’s ’15 business works with grocery stores to move products by strategically marketing certain items and improve customers shopping experience.

The last track, Health, produced a tie between InsertHeels and Opt-Ez. Mia Thomas ’13 developed a shoe insert to help walking patters in autistic patients that toe walk. The insert contains three uniquely designed studs that target the clients’ need for stimulation in their heels.

Alex Comstock ’13 and Gianni Bersani ’13, of Opt-Ez (Optometry done Easy), created a service offering free, accurate and fast eye exams to everyone via eye exam kiosks located at grocery pharmacies across the country. The kiosks allow anyone to walk up and check their eyes at any time.

Each of the winning teams can secure an additional $5,000 for reaching milestones if they continue with their venture. Visit the Business Idea Competition website to view the winning teams presentation and to watch the video of all twelve finalists.