Communication students win award at the 2013 New York State business competition

A group of fourstudents from the Schoolof Communication and theArts, as well one student fromthe School of Management competed and won the People's Choice Award at the 2013 New York State Business Plan Competition, which was held at SUNY Albany College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering on April 26. The students' business plan focused on offering small businesses in the Mid-Hudson area options for social media campaigns that are tailored to their brand. The student team, dubbed Engage, competed in the Social/Non-Profit category.

Presenters had 10 minutes to pitch their ideas to the judges followed by a five-minute question and answer session. Engage was among over 100 other teams from 25 colleges and universities across New York State. The judging panel included over 30 venture capitalists, angel investors, investment bankers, and seasoned entrepreneurs. Prizes included over $150,000 and in-kind prizes.

The winning Marist students developed a non-profit called Engage, a social media agency for small businesses in the Mid-Hudson Valley. The students performed primary and secondary research in order to develop several components for their presentation, including financial projections, a pricing strategy, as well as a case study they executed on Facebook with Rossi's Deli in Poughkeepsie.

The team was composed of Kelly Tranfaglia, '13, and Casey Fisk, '14, Jackie Mucilli, '14, Sam Baines, '14, and Chris Lorenz, '15. Tranfaglia, Fisk, and Lorenz are Advertising majors within the School of Communication and the Arts. Mucilli is a double public relations and advertising major, and Baines is a marketing major in the School of Management. School of Communication and the Arts faculty members Kathy Boyle and LoriBeth Greenan served as faculty advisors for the team.