Eclectic Essentials presenting their business plan
On Tuesday January 14, 29 VEI Firms from Long Island gathered at Farmingdale State College for the 4th Annual Business Plan Competition and Regional Trade Show.
Business Plan Competition
For the Business Plan Competition, the student teams were allotted 10 minutes to present their plans to a panel of judges, followed by a brief Q&A session. The teams each presented two separate times, switching lecture halls and judge panels.
Judges commented how they focused on looking at a team’s presentation skills and professionalism, which includes students’ ability to deliver information about their business, maintain eye contact, and memorize lines.
Seven semi-finalists were selected. These teams will be moving on to the final round of Long Island’s Business Plan Competition, hosted by Long Island business partner American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc. at their offices (4250 Veterans Memorial Hwy, Suite 420E, Holbrook, NY 11741).
Good luck to the semi-finalists in pursuit of qualifying for the National Business Plan Competition. Special thanks to all participating teams for attending and to the judges and supporters who make essential events like this possible.
View Press Release of Event on LongIsland.com
[accordion] [spoiler title=”Business Plan Competition Semi-finalists” style=”blue”]
Helios at Trade Show
- Baja Backyard Accessories
- Cupcake Break
- FlashComm
- Future 1st Financial Services
- Helios
- Soltech
- VE Connected
Bellport HS
Savor the Flavor Specialty Foods, Inc.
Tim Hogan, Principal
Sheila Smith, Facilitator
Chris Daconto, Jonathan Hopper, Alyssa Kiernan, John Kochersberger, Jack Maclellan
Bridgehampton HS
OneOne932
Dr. Lois Favre, Principal
Carrie McDermott, Facilitator
Tatyana Dawson, India Hemby, Henry Kotz, Hayley Lund
Cold Spring Harbor HS
Cirst Enterprises
Jay Matuk, Principal
Patricia Connolly, Facilitator
Jaclyn Albers, Kai Galli, Alexander Goldman, Sienna Toscano, Jordan Walter, David Wicks
Connetquot HS
World Cup
Gregory Murtha, Principal
Brett Jeffares, Facilitator
Katie Baker, Matthew Buckshaw, Daniel Gatta, Kari Grunwald, Kathleen Hurley, Eddie Morris
Connetquot HS
iCandy
Gregory Murtha, Principal
Brett Jeffares, Facilitator
Elizabeth Frayler, Andrew Hustick, Ryan Kopp, Charles Mayer, John Simpson, Joseph Todesco
East Hampton HS
Sea-Shirts of the Hamptons
Adam Fine, Principal
Therese Bodenstein, Facilitator
Shana Devlin, Donte Donega, Morgan Gaugler, Max Lerner, Daley Pagano
East Islip HS
VE Connected
William J. Brennen, Principal
Nancy Kiernan, Facilitator
Frank Argenti, Dominick Barbato, Dennis DaSilva, Catherina Marku, Allison Pinz, David Stringer, Thea Tsolomitis
East Meadow HS
That Loud
Richard Howard, Principal
Bill O’Connor, Facilitator
Amanda Dominguez, Dilan Kalaria, Vidya Laljie, Pari Patel, Nicholas Suchocki
G.W. Hewlett HS
Future 1st Financial Services
Theodore Fulton, Principal
Barbara McNiff, Facilitator
Mollie Falk, Tyler Kenny, Michael Kornfeld, Michael Kreisman, Benjamin Lampert, Richard Lyons
G.W. Hewlett HS
FlashComm
Theodore Fulton, Principal
Ron Remick, Facilitator
Matthew Bickoff, Rachel Futterman, Daniel Jacob, Daryl Last, Alex Messados, David Perkins
Smithtown HS West
SolTech
John Coady, Principal
Philip Como, Facilitator
James Allen, Arman Aneja, Matthew Onoratto, Alessia Riccio, Lara Sarett, Michael Traina
W. C. Mepham HS
Business Casual Furnishings
Michael Harrington, Principal
Andrew Slattery, Facilitator
Ben Hoffman, Mark Kamelhar, Dan Marzella, Kevin Sinetar, James Virgona
W.T. Clarke HS
Justice Juice
Timothy Voels, Principal
Joseph Pavia, Facilitator
Dan Cakabrese, Maggie Cotter, Steve Hromin, Brianna Riggs
Westhampton Beach HS
Helios, Inc.
Chris Herr, Principal
Amy Demchak, Facilitator
Ashley Cunniff, Freesia Ferrantino, Justin Grieco, Tahsin Korur, Frank Leotta
West Hempstead HS
@ Your Service
Dan Rehman, Principal
Michael Silberman, Facilitator
Yeritssy Garcia, Alex Joy, Michael Mosca, Gerard Napolitano, Alexandra Schindler
William Floyd HS
Stix
Barbara Butler, Principal
Karen Poidomani, Facilitator
Lucas Gomez, Shawn Horning, Danielle Jaen, Crystal Lorenzo, Matthew Morgani, Michael Smith
William Floyd HS
CoverCell
Barbara Butler, Principal
Korin Cloghessy, Facilitator
Syed Ali, Kayla Heffernan, Tashanna Suomi Stephanie Torres, Brittany Trangucci, Alex Walden
William Floyd HS
Eclectic Essentials
Barbara Butler, Principal
Jacqueline Giacalone, Facilitator
Giovanna Daleo, Alicia Marie Dodenhoff, Melissa Fiore, Sydney Mackenzie, Tinamarie Rodriguez
William Floyd HS
Forever Fit
Barbara Butler, Principal
Gregory Plantier, Facilitator
Manny Brody-Marquez, Tyler Castello, Sarah Lacorte, Courtney Sulfaro
Jericho HS
aah…If I Had A Dollar
Joan Rosenberg, Principal
Doug Garfinkel, Facilitator
Jon Amodio, Vinny DePalo, David Greenbaum, Matt Jaffee, Brandon Rabinowitz
John F. Kennedy HS
Baja Backyard Accessories
Lorraine Poppe, Principal
Roseann Damato, Facilitator
James Dachille, Brett Fishman, Justin Ganca, Hallie Katz, Michaela Mazur, Samantha Tenenbaum
John F. Kennedy HS
Cupcake Break
Lorraine Poppe, Principal
Victoria Cardinale, Facilitator
Scott Azus, Ethan Beller, Nicholas Bouris, Rachel Calagna, Andrew Sheehan, Brandon Simon
Lawrence HS
A Twisted Cleaning Service
Dr. Jennifer Lagnado, Principal
Mark Albin and Mark Palladino, Facilitators
Chandanee Bansi, Joseph Capobianco, Rachel Golan, Rebecca Rothstein
Longwood HS
Vmotive
Dr. Maria Castro, Principal
Gina Bolen, Facilitator
Joseph Doyle, Anthony Iniquez, Lauren Kacherski, Mark Knudsen, Benjamin Sipppin, Annagh Swift
Lynbrook HS
Abeytu Apparel
Joseph Rainis, Principal
Thomas Santacapita, Facilitator
Liam Deegan, Austin Fabel, Jonathan Marcus, Amanda Santorufo
Patchogue-Medford HS
EVO Tech
Dr. Randy Rusielewicz, Principal
Rich Butzke, Facilitator
Emily Altschuler, Christian Crocker, Eric Deutsch, Paige Meyer, Maiquela Richards, Dan Zelya
Roosevelt HS
Urban Ink
Dr. Stephen Strachan
Melanie Akerberg, Facilitator
Henry Beckford, George Davis, Shaun Olden, Jefferson Peraza, Kelvin Rodriguez, Alex Tiburcio
Sanford H. Calhoun HS
Animal House
David Seinfeld, Principal
Peter Palazzo, Facilitator
Ryan Bank, Jen Chen, Tommy Holzmacher, Ryan O’Hara, Arielle Peretz, Katie Woo
Smithtown HS East
Fresh Designs
Edwin Thompson, Principal
Doreen Kelly, Facilitator
Devon Hennessy, Brian Phillips, Michael Tarquinio, Juliana Thompsen, Jake VonHolten
[/spoiler]
[spoiler title=”Judges” style=”blue”]
- Laila Bichara, Farmingdale State College
- Tammy Campagnola-Levinsky, LI STEM Hub
- Kisha Chandler, Molloy College
- Andrew Corrado, Capital One Bank
- Vincent Cunningham, North Shore- LIJ Health System
- Lisa DiBella, American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc
- Rose Elefante-Link, Tsunis Gasparis Lustig Ring & Kenney LLP
- Bill Fauth, Farmingdale State College
- Joseph Gabriel, Joseph Gabriel AIA Architects
- Joy Graceffo, Long Island Educational Software & Training
- Melissa Grappone, American Portfolios Financial Services, Inc
- Susan Gubing, CareerSmarts
- Marsha Iverson, Hofstra University, CTE TAC of NY
- Jonathan Jacobs, Digital Natives Group
- Michael Kohl, Farmingdale State College
- Frank Liselli, Farmingdale State College
- Marie Mccallion, Stony Brook University
- LuAnne Nappe, Mattituck-Cutchogue Union Free Schools District
- Lauren Pearson, North Shore- LIJ Health System
- Lisa Phillips, Dowling College
- Nancy Rasmussen, Expert Events
- Jennifer Riano-Goez, Molloy College
- Carrie Rubenfeld, Ncourage College & Career Coaching
- Michael Russo, Molloy College
- Christopher Salute, Mercy College
- Benjamin Sargent, Hunzinger Accounting & Financial Solutions
- Lisa Scott, League of Women Voters of Suffolk County
- Thomas Smyth, Farmingdale State College
- Carolyn Spencer, Dowling College
- Brad Szollose, Liquid Leadership
- Craig Vandergoot, Worklife Resources
- Hillary Waxman, Henry Schein
- Mahmoud Wazihullah, Mercy College
Trade Show
After sitting in on a few presentations, I got the chance to walk around the Trade Show in Roosevelt Hall with a coveted set of VEI checks. Students introduced themselves and their firms, wooed me, and ultimately won me over with their salesmanship and unique offerings.
I ensured health and financial protection by buying a package from Future 1st Financial Services. I enabled my lounging habits by purchasing a recliner and projector screen from Business Casual Furnishing. I snagged a robot butler from A Twisted Cleaning Service to do my housework as I relax in my new recliner. I rented a Porsche from Vmotive for when I finally need to leave the recliner and keep up professional appearances.
I negotiated an unlisted bulk deal for Power Lines from Helios. I even bought superpowers from Justice Juice. Now that I think about it, I should’ve bought the superpowers first and used superspeed to visit more booths, then fly to a Hawaiian beach after a busy day of trading.
Intuition and gut feelings are valuable in face-to-face business deals and sales, but how about spidey senses… pic.twitter.com/QV9GuGIEjt
— VE International (@VEInternational) January 14, 2014
But I don’t know if Spider-Man would allow that kind of exploit.
By: Tyler Fugazzie
[accordion] [spoiler title=”Trade Show Teams” style=”fancy”] [table “” not found /][/spoiler] [spoiler title=”Trade Show Photos” style=”fancy”] [/spoiler] [/accordion]
Special Thanks
- Francine Federman, Ph.D., Farmingdale State College, Assistant Dean, College/High School Programs for once again sponsoring this event and for her ongoing support and partnership in helping LI VE students succeed.
- Farmingdale State College faculty and staff who helped to coordinate the events.
- Gene Silverman, Executive Director, Regional Schools and Instructional Programs, Nassau BOCES, for spearheading the VEI initiative on Long Island.
- Andrew Corrado, Senior Vice President, Capital One Bank for his continued support of the Long Island VE program.
- VEI National Office Staff for their collaboration and assistance.