Ithaca College

Twelve teams made their final pitch for a chance to win $1,000 during the Third Annual Business Idea Competition. And for three of them, that became a reality.

Students of Drain Flower, SnoBall, and Eterna, all walked away with first place in their respective track and $1,000 for their ideas. The three tracks in the competition were: Lifestyle, Health & Safety, and Services. 

Winner in the Lifestyle Track was Zach Briggs ’15 of Drain Flower.  Drain Flower is the “clean hands drain cleaner,” that features an attachment to drain catchers to make clean-up quick and easy.

In the Health & Safety track, James Newton ’14 and Antoine Connors ’14 of SnoBall won with their compact, multifunctional and adaptable ice massager to decrease pain and inflammation that can be refreeze and reused.

Luca Pandolfi ’14 of Eterna, walked away with the top price in the Services track.  Eterna is a self-sustainable mass-production farm capable of running in previously non-arable parts of the world.

The Business Idea Competition is a way to get student entrepreneurs excited about thinking up new business ideas.  The competition also provides an opportunity for them to learn about brainstorming and idea qualification, practice pitching ideas on a tight timeline in a business format and connect with distinguished alumni and community members.

“We had twelve great business ideas for our finals and the judges had a difficult time selecting the winners in each track. All of the students had great passion for their ideas and we wish them well as they continue on. This competition really shows off our students entrepreneurial skills.”  said School of Business Dean, Mary Ellen Zuckerman.

All teams participating in the finals were awarded cash prizes.  If you missed the Business Idea Competition Finals, you can watch all twelve presentations on LiveStream.