Rutgers Business Plan competition awards $50,000 in funding to teams of student and alumni entrepreneurs

Released: Might. 2, 2022 at 3:32 AM HST|Updated: 13 hrs ago

Brothers who started off Cyndrom get leading prize, strategy to use winnings to improve action athletics apparel organization

NEWARK, N.J., Could 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Brothers Andrew and Joe Strafaci, companions behind the Cyndrom model of everyday wear, won the $20,000 leading prize in the annual business enterprise program levels of competition at Rutgers Business enterprise University.

Andrew Strafaci, who accomplished a dual MBA and regulation degree at Rutgers in 2020, developed the Cyndrom identify and emblem whilst he was an undergrad finding out civil engineering at College or university of New Jersey. The business now generates about $20,000 in yearly revenue, fueled by sales of its “Journey On” line of hats, hoodies, and beanies common among skateboarders, snowboarders, and cyclists across the nation.

The brothers had been just one of five groups that competed at Rutgers Enterprise College on April 22 for some of the $50,000 prize money offered by the Sales Govt Club of Northern New Jersey Basis.

Citing the shut competition, the choose opted to spread the prize dollars amongst all the participants, awarding a $15,000 2nd prize to MBA pupils Jason Miller and Matthew McQueeny, co-founders of Significant League Pillows and $10,000 to a crew of Rutgers undergraduates, like Anna Zhang and Iris Zhorov, who are developing the Intelligent MS3 product to support sufferers improve the usefulness of their physical remedy.

The judges awarded $2,500 to Rutgers MBA university student Kathryn Ruhno, whose early-phase get started-up Raw Paw Lifestyle sells canine meals and treats and a further $2,500 to Andrew Zambrowski, an alumnus of the Rutgers Organization University undergraduate application who pitched for Monkey Organization. The organization offers compact corporations an application to assist them compete a lot more properly versus recognized models.

Each individual of the teams manufactured shorter pitches, describing their nascent providers, highlights of their method and the firm’s effectiveness, and projections for long run advancement.

The Income Executive Club of Northern New Jersey Basis sponsors the business system competition per year as a way of encouraging the entrepreneurial ambitions of Rutgers Business enterprise School college students and alumni. The competitors is also one of the sides of a wide ecosystem at Rutgers that fuels its toughness in entrepreneurship.

More than the past 20 years, Richard Romano, president of the foundation and a member of Rutgers Organization School’s board of advisors, has aided make additional than $1 million in funding accessible to pupil and alumni founders.

“The business program levels of competition is sizeable in a pair of ways,” said Professor Doug Brownstone, who organizes the competitors. “Student business owners are capable to win revenue to get their organizations accelerated and the top 5 teams also get mentoring.”

“These are entire-time college students or alumni who have work opportunities, and they are also operating on starting up companies so it can be particularly precious,” he explained.

The competition has awarded funding to these kinds of Rutgers scholar-commenced businesses as Playa Bowls, Emma’s Top quality Services, Bibi Beverages, the Turf, Surf and Earth cafe, Ideal Life Nourishment and the Zwiren Title Agency.

Like previous winners, Andrew Strafaci intends to use the prize cash to develop his corporation.

Strafaci, who grew up skateboarding alongside the Jersey Shore, explained the funding from the levels of competition will permit him and his brother to grow Cyndrom from a informal clothes line to an lively dress in manufacturer that provides extra technical sporting activities gear like rash guards for surfers and gloves for snowboarders.

“The funds will be a catalyst for expanding Cyndrom,” Strafaci said. “The cash also suggests Rutgers believes in me. Getting that assistance is essential for the reason that it’s such a good school.”

Cyndrom currently sells its items in a Belmar surf store and a Redbank skate shop, and it also can make profits from its website and pop-up merchants at the Jersey Shore. In addition to raising its collection of attire, Stafaci explained he programs to use the prize cash to enhance promoting. His objective is to raise sales to $1 million by 2025.

In addition to Romano, the judges for the 2022 level of competition incorporated John Wilson, who also represents the Income Government Club of Northern New Jersey Basis Sharon Lydon, Rutgers Company School’s associate dean of alumni and company engagement and Carolyn Lange, main economic officer of the Neighborhood Basis of New Jersey.

Mayuresh Pandit, a Rutgers MBA alumnus and senior product or service supervisor at Amazon, assisted Professor Brownstone in mentoring the students. He also assisted to choose the teams.

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Supply Rutgers Business enterprise Faculty-Newark and New Brunswick

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