2024 BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition

Font Size: + -

Feedback Print

Mayor Kraham Announces Civic Alert Systems as Winner of 2024 Binghamton Business Plan Competition

Binghamton Mayor Jared M. Kraham congratulates 2024 Winners Jason Duda and Ryan Crist of Civic Alert Systems.

2024 Awards Ceremony (L to R): Patrick Doyle, BLDC President, Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce; Ellie Rivera, SUNY Broome Entrepreneurial Assistance Center; Jeremy Vitale, M&T Bank; Jason Duda, Civic Alert Systems; Binghamton Mayor Jared M. Kraham; Ryan Crist, Civic Alert Systems; Leighton Blackwood, 2nd Heaven; Alok Adholeya, Ph.D., UMAHARI; Eric Krohn, Koffman Southern Tier Incubator.

On 5/29/24, Binghamton Mayor Jared M. Kraham joined the Binghamton Local Development Corporation (BLDC) and SUNY Broome's Entrepreneurial Assistance Program (EAP) to announce Civic Alert Systems as the winner of the 2024 Binghamton Business Plan Competition.

Mayor Kraham said: "For nearly 15 years, the Binghamton Business Plan Competition has recognized some of our area's brightest innovators and provided a springboard to help entrepreneurs succeed. As this year's winner, Civic Alert Systems has already tapped into the well of resources our community has available for start-ups and will receive additional support to grow their business in the months ahead. The start-up aims to make it easier for local governments to communicate directly with residents—something I can appreciate as a mayor. Congratulations to all the finalists this year and thank you for your hard work."

Civic Alert Systems allows local governments and municipalities to provide information directly to residents through text messaging. Messages can be sent immediately to notify residents in real-time during unplanned events or emergencies, like water main breaks or weather events, or scheduled to send at later times for less-urgent information.

The start-up is owned and operated by Vestal natives Ryan Crist, now a Jamesville resident, and Jason Duda.

Civic Alert Systems owner Ryan Crist said: "The 2024 BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition was a door-opening opportunity for Civic Alert Systems to showcase its technology to the City of Binghamton and its representatives. The overall process was well defined and served as an architecture for us to better understand our business and the future direction of the company. We are very excited for the next steps of our business."

Civic Alert Systems plans to locate at the Koffmann Southern Tier Incubator.

The second-place winner of the 2024 Binghamton Business Plan Competition was UMAHARI, a start-up working to develop biologics-based plant fertilizer products that are cost-effective, environmentally friendly and sustainable alternatives to conventional synthetic fertilizers. Owned by Dr. Alok Adholeya, UMAHARI is exploring setting up a pilot manufacturing facility in the City of Binghamton. The company received a $2,000 second-place prize.

In third place, the bubble tea business 2^nd Heaven received a $500 prize. Owned by Leighton Blackwood, a Binghamton University alum, 2^nd Heaven is exploring a downtown Binghamton location after success operating on the Vestal college campus.

The BLDC-EAP Binghamton Business Plan Competition is the longest running of its kind in the Greater Binghamton area. The competition seeks to cultivate local business development, promote entrepreneurial spirit, and raise awareness about SUNY Broome's Entrepreneurial Assistance Program, BLDC financing and other community resources for small business growth.

Courtesy of the BLDC and M&T Bank, with additional support from Sall-Stearns and the Binghamton-Oneonta Building Trades Council, the competition awards $5,000 for 1^st place, $2,000 for 2^nd place and $500 for 3^rd place with gift certificates for the remaining finalists. It is anticipated that the awards will encourage high quality entries and provide useful assistance to the development of young businesses.

In addition to the $5,000 cash award, the 1^st place winner (only) received several additional awards generously donated by Binghamton businesses and organizations:

5 hours of accounting services courtesy of Davidson Fox & Co., Binghamton.
$500.00 of legal counsel courtesy of Coughlin & Gerhart, LLP.
One year membership in the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce.
$500.00 in sign creation services courtesy of 3i Graphics & Signs, Binghamton.
$500.00 in website services courtesy of Freshy, Binghamton.
$500.00 in branding services courtesy of Idea-Kraft, Binghamton.
3-months free co-working membership at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator courtesy of Binghamton University's Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships.
One year membership courtesy of the Triple Cities Makerspace.

Previous winners include several successful businesses such as:

2023 winner Stephen Gonya, Electric Light Apparel provides wearable illuminated graphics to display company logos, organization emblems, and municipal insignias; Second-place winner Vedova La Couverture operates a retail and online woman's boutique with clothing, accessories, beauty, and hair applications; and Third-place winner, Perfectly Poured is an online business focuses on candles, wax melts, body care, stationery, and books.
2022 winner Strategic Test Prep specializes in SAT and ACT test prep as well as math and science subject tutoring. Second-place winner Downtown Danny's operates a food cart specializing in hot dogs and sausages. Third-place winner USEFUZE created a mobile app to help trade and service workers build their own side businesses.
KLAW Industries has a proprietary process to extract recycled glass from the household waste stream, refine and market it as an additive to manufacturing concrete.
Parlor City Vegan specializes in vegan foods and cheeses at their new 81 Clinton Street eatery and takeout.
Freshy has over 35 team members, has completed over 2,500 projects and serves customers throughout the Northeast US.
Idea-Kraft is a graphics creation and internet advertising design firm. Founder, Ewelina Zajac-Holdrege was named a 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year selected by New York State's Entrepreneurial Assistance Centers.

Rules:

Applicants must plan to start a business or have an existing business that is no more than five years old.
Applicants must demonstrate the ability to finance and open the business in the City of Binghamton within four months of winning the competition and commit to keeping the business in the City for a minimum of three years.

Competition Format:

The steps of the competition are as follows:

Business Plan Development Workshops: the 2025 competition will offer a free online "Business Plan Development Workshop", a 3-day series of presentations which features local experts in banking, marketing, entrepreneurship, legal considerations, and advice from past competition winners. Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete business start-up or management training with the Entrepreneurship Assistance Center at SUNY Broome OR attend the online Business Development Workshop.
Application & Executive Summary: interested applicants will need to complete an application and provide a 1–2 page Executive Summary in early April. A team from BLDC and EAP will review and select the most viable business ideas to participate in the competition as finalists.
Finalists—Full Written Business Plan Submission: next, finalists are invited to submit full business plans which will be reviewed and graded (60% of total score) prior to oral presentations. Participants not submitting or providing incomplete plans will not be advanced in the competition.
Finalists—Oral Presentations: next, written business plans are reviewed by the judges in advance of the oral presentations (40% of score) which take place in person at the Koffman Incubator. Each participant has up to 15 minutes to present and 10 minutes for Q&A with the judges. We recommend augmenting presentations with PowerPoint, product samples, demonstrations, etc.
Winners: following the oral presentations, scores are totaled, and place winners are determined. The winners are announced by the Mayor, BLDC, SUNY-Broome, and Binghamton University officials at a scheduled press conference.

Interested in learning about the 2025 BLDC Business Plan Competition? Join our mailing list by clicking here.

Additional Resources & Reading

Resources for putting together your business plan courtesy of Merlin Joseph, KeyBank, merlin_joseph@keybank.com, (607) 770-4212:

Small Business Administration (SBA): https://www.sba.gov/

SBA Learning Center Dashboard: https://learn.sba.gov/dashboard

KeyBank online resources
https://www.key.com/small-business/index.html
Small Business Worksheets & Checklists
https://www.key.com/small-business/tools-resources/sheets-checklists/index.html
Small Business Calculators
https://www.key.com/small-business/tools-resources/calculators/index.html

Books recommended by Cheryl Fabrizi, Fab Idea, SUNY Broome, cherylfabrizi@gmail.com, (570) 499-9466:

"Storytelling: Branding in Practice"—Klaus Fog
"The Storyteller's Secret"—Carmine Gallo
"All Marketers Tell Stories"—Seth Godin
"Building a Story Brand"—Donald Miller

Books recommended by Ewelina Zajac-Holdrege, Idea-Kraft, eholdrege@idea-kraft.com, (607) 235-5855:

"Tools of Titans"—Tim Ferris
"Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You"—John Warrilow
"Writing That Works: How to Communicate Effectively in Business"—Kenneth Roman, Joel Raphaelson
"Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike"—Phil Knight

Previous Winners

2023

Electric Light Apparel—a start-up Binghamton company was the first-place winner of the 13th Annual BLDC-EAP Binghamton Business Plan Competition sponsored by the Binghamton Local Development Corporation (BLDC) with generous financial support from M&T Bank. Additional support came from the Entrepreneurial Assistance Center (EAC) based at SUNY Broome Community College with support from the Binghamton University Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator. Electric Light Apparel was selected as the first-place winner ($5,000) based on the strength of their written business plan, presentation, and final Q&A session with judges. Owned and operated by Stephen Gonya, Electric Light Apparel provides a unique apparel product integrating Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) with textiles to create wearable illuminated graphics. The product uses a thin-flexible micro-LED array combined with textiles to selectively illuminate different sections of a graphic design to create lighted patches that can display company logos, organization emblems, and municipal insignias. The business expects to generate direct sales; custom designs for companies, organizations, and teams for advertising purposes; and lighted insignia for municipal first responders who value safety and visibility in low-light conditions. Founder, Stephen Gonya draws experience from a career with Lockheed Martin and Ph.D. research at BU using FHE technology on military and industrial platforms.

Vedova La Couverture was the second-place winner ($2,000), operating an online woman's boutique that offers fashion clothing, accessories, shoes, bags, beauty, and hair applications from business casual to lingerie. Owned by Tatiana Williams, Vedova started online and opened its first store in May 2023 at 168 Clinton Street. The business targets women ages 28+, mothers, and plus size women who want to express beauty and growth through appearance. Vedova specializes in urban street wear, party attire, business casual, swimwear, and lingerie not found in department stores or area boutiques. Vedova also offers personal fashion consultation, beauty, and salon services with monthly mixers for beauty and networking. Tatiana Williams has worked in fashion retail and is a graduate of the Koffman Incubator's Support Black Business 607 Accelerator Program.

Perfectly Poured was our third-place winner with an online business focusing on self-care with aromatic products such as candles and wax melts, body care, stationery, and books. Launched in 2022 by Ashley Hall, Perfectly Poured's uniquely scented, humorously named candles are not found in local candle shops or big box stores. Perfectly Poured's niche is the intersection of humor and self-care, with a focus on young minority women in their 20s and 30s. Ashley Hall holds Business Administration degrees from SUNY-Broome and Binghamton University and was a graduate of the Koffman Incubator's Support Black Business 607 Accelerator Program.

2022

Strategic Test Prep, LLC—a start-up company located at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator was the winner of the 13^th Annual BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition sponsored by the Binghamton Local Development Corporation (BLDC) and the Entrepreneurial Assistance Center (EAC) based at SUNY Broome Community College with support from the Binghamton University Office of Innovation&Entrepreneurship at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator. Strategic Test Prep was selected as the first-place winner ($5,000) based on the strength of their written business plan, presentation, and final Q&A session. Owned and operated by Laura Whitmore, Strategic Test Prep specializes in SAT and ACT test prep as well as math and science subject tutoring and is looking to expand by offering college preparatory services. Whitmore believes demand for in-person tutoring is on the rise after parents and students experienced limitations of remote learning during COVID. Strategic Test Prep is focusing on hiring and training new tutors and marketing to expand the business. Laura Whitmore has 15 years of tutoring experience and is a certified teacher in NYS pursuing a master’s degree in Curriculum Development.

Downtown Danny’s LLC —was selected as second-place winner ($2,000), operating a food cart specializing in hot dogs and sausages. Owned by Daniel Carlin and Christina Andrews, Downtown Danny’s provides convenient, high-quality affordable meals to patrons and downtown workers. Daniel drew on experience managing a hot dog cart in Denver, CO outside Coors Field while attending Metropolitan State University for Business Management where he met Christina Andrews, an Economics major. Downtown Danny’s will use funds to build a second custom cart to serve the farmer’s market on Upper Front Street in Binghamton, festivals, and private events.

USEFUZE, Inc.—was our third-place winner ($500) with a mobile app created to help trade and service workers build their own side businesses. The app helps people doing part-time/weekend/gig work to create a digital business card to showcase their work portfolio, create estimates and invoices; provide a summary for customers to view of every job and review; and get paid for their work. Owner Rawley Filbin realized the opportunity from experience with his family’s painting business. USEFUZE will use funds from the competition for marketing.

2021

KLAW Industries—was the winner of the 12^th Annual BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition sponsored by the Binghamton Local Development Corporation (BLDC) and the Entrepreneurial Assistance Center (EAC) based at SUNY Broome Community College with support from the Binghamton University Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Koffman Incubator. This annual contest awards $5,000.00 cash on top of professional services to the best plan for developing a new business in the City of Binghamton.

Finalists in the competition included: Anna Warfield Art, LLC—art business focused on advancing women in art with studio and contract work; 2^nd Heaven—mobile kitchen with proprietary bubble tea, tea-based beverages; Downtown Danny's LLC—food cart specializing in hot dogs and sausages to locate downtown; Stellar Human LLC—fashion-forward thrift clothing, creative workspace located at 128 Robinson Street; LIU Logistics for You—freight brokerage business with focus on food distribution; and The Women's Butterfly Event Hall & Catering Service—event planning and catering service.

KLAW Industries is a start-up company located at the Binghamton University Koffman Incubator. Prior to entering the BLDC competition, KLAW had won a number of NYS and regional business plan competitions, and received a number of National Science Foundation I-Corps grants. The company has a proprietary process to extract recycled glass from the household waste stream, refine it and market it as an additive to manufacturing concrete. For more information about KLAW Industries, please contact Jacob Kumpon, jacob@klawindustries.com, (607) 222-2291, Koffman Incubator, 120 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901.

BLDC Binghamton Business Plan Competition Winners 2009—2023

Number	Year	Winner(s)	Place	Business Name	Business

1	2009	Kathryn Fletcher	1	H2Innovations	Action Atlas, BiziLife.com—map of local amenities; BiziLife.com is an internet guide for local events, networking, and customer trends.
2	2010	Natalia Williams	1	Integrated Office Services (IOS)	Provides professional office space and professional office and administrative services to small companies on an as needed basis.
3	2011	Heather Staley	1	HR Staley Agency	Independent insurance agency.
4	2012	James Orband, David Brosius, David Simel, Adam Sabol, Leighton Rogers	1	The CommuniKey	Member card with deals at over 100 Broome County businesses.
5	2013	Ben Giordano	1	FreshySites	Custom designed websites company.
6	2014	Ewelina Zajac-Holdrege	1	Idea Kraft	Full-service creative studio that specializing in branding, identity, packaging and website design.
N/A	2015	No Competition	N/A	N/A	N/A
7	2016	Stephen Musok, Erik Leonard	1	Next Wave Motors	Electric motorcycle conversion kit.
8	2017	Desiree DePersiis	1	Tesorina Boutique	Downtown Binghamton women's boutique.
9	2018	Sarah Liu	1	Parlor City Vegan	Restaurant, catering and plant-based foods company.
10	2019	Joe Rigoroso	1	Infinity Greens	Microgreen supplier for restaurants, wholesale, retail.
N/A	2020	No Competition	N/A	N/A	N/A
11	2021	Jacob Kumpon, Jack Lamuraglia, Tanner Wallis	1	KLAW Industries, Inc.	Innovative recycled glass additive for manufacturing concrete.
12	2022	Laura Whitmore	1	Strategic Test Prep, LLC	Scholastic subject tutoring and test preparation business (SAT, ACT).
		Daniel Carlin, Christina Andrews	2	Downtown Danny's, LLC	Downtown food cart operator, planning to add a second cart.
		Rawley Filbin	3	UseFuze	Mobile administration app to support gig workers with providing customer quotations, client management and billing.
13	2023	Stephen Gonya	1	Electric Light Apparel	Uses micro-LED array to create wearable illuminated graphics for first responders and consumer uses.
		Tatiana Williams	2	Vedova La Couverture	Local and online women's boutique that offers fashion clothing, accessories, shoes, bags, beauty and hair applications.
		Ashley Hall	3	Perfectly Poured	Self-care brand specializing in humorously labeled aromatic products such as candles and wax melts.