BUFFALO, NY – Canisius student and Orchard Park resident Timothy E. Wysocki took home a first place win at the annual WNY Student 2 Biz Challenge, held on April 20. Organized by The Western New York Consortium of Higher Education, the Student 2 Biz Challenge encourages students from the consortium’s 21 colleges and universities to submit business plans around student-born innovations designed for currently unmet needs. Students then pitch their ventures to an external panel of judges. They compete in six categories: information technology/software; social entrepreneurship/non-profit; clean technology; advanced technology; products; and services.
Eight Canisius students participated in the 2018 Student 2 Biz Challenge. Timothy Wysocki, an entrepreneurship and management major from the Canisius Class of 2018, won first place in the service category for his pitch entitled “Lake Effect Mobile Detailing.” He now advances to the New York Business Plan Competition in Albany on April 27.
“This competition is critical to developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem that Western New York seeks to build with its 43 North competition and numerous entrepreneurial events, competitions and technology incubators,” explains Ji-Hee Kim, PhD. An associate professor of management and director of the entrepreneurship major, Kim served as faculty advisor to the Canisius students. “I’m very proud of all our students who competed, as this provided an amazing opportunity for them to pitch their entrepreneurial ventures and gain valuable insight from those directly involved with the venture capital and entrepreneurial business sectors.
In addition to Wysocki’s first place win, the following Canisius students pitched their business plans:
- Patrick Galvin ’19, an entrepreneurship major, pitched “Gavin”
- Ellen Hamlett ’18, an entrepreneurship and political science major, pitched “Sage Entrepreneurship”
- Stanley Pawlow ’18, an entrepreneurship major, pitched “GEARS Electronic Recycling”
- Joseph Philipps ’18, an entrepreneurship and finance major, pitched “Grow”
- Jean Rios ’18, an entrepreneurship major, pitched “CTC”
- Karanjit Singh ’18, an entrepreneurship and management major, pitched “MyPie”
- Grant Woodworth ’18, an entrepreneurship major, pitched “FineR”
The WNY Consortium of Higher Education is committed to strengthening collaboration among its network of colleges and institutions, as well as forging partnerships with regional private and public sectors. Its efforts seek to enhance the experience of students and improve local communities by contributing significantly to the knowledge economy of the Buffalo region.
The Department of Management at Canisius is housed in the Richard J. Wehle School of Business, which ranks 7th out of 45 institutions on U.S. News & World Report’s 2018 list of Best Undergraduate Business Programs.
Canisius University is one of 28 Jesuit universities in the nation and the premier private university in Western New York.
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