Published: April 07, 2006 12:02 am         

St. Francis athletes sport winning plan in KIZ contest

LORETTO — Necessity is said to be the mother of innovation, and that was the case for the winners of this year’s first Greater Johnstown Keystone Innovation Zone Business Plan Contest.

Whitney Schnarr and Victor Stukat-Gren, St. Francis University student-athletes, drew on their sports backgrounds to come up with their winning idea. Without giving away their idea, the pair of juniors explained the product as a piece of sports equipment that provides added convenience to athletes.

For their efforts, Schnarr and Stukat-Gren were awarded $7,500 Thursday at St. Francis University’s John F. Kennedy Student Center. They plan to use the money to get their company, SSG Sports Innovations, up and running.

“We’ve been going back and forth on whether this was something we wanted to seriously pursue,” said Schnarr, a native of Ontario, Canada. “This contest experience has really pushed us to pursue it further.”

The Business Plan Contest was not easy. First, students had to submit a product summary. Then, they went through an educational process that included classes and workshops and submitted their complete business plan. The three finalists provided a live presentation Thursday.

Schnarr and Stukat-Gren suggested that more students should become involved in the contest.

“I think it’s a very good program for pushing students to act on their ideas,” said Stukat-Gren, who hails from Gothenburg, Sweden. “A lot of students have very good ideas, but have no idea what’s involved in actually starting a business.”

Organizers of the Business Plan Contest were satisfied with how well the event went in its first year. More than 10 initial product summaries were submitted during the contest’s first stage in December.

“This was a great first step,” said Christopher Mingyar, chairman of the department of business administration at Mount Aloysius College and a contest mentor.

“The awareness of the contest is out there now. I truly believe next year we will have more than 100 people at this event instead of 25 or 30.”

Another aspect of the contest that struck organizers was the quality of the six business plans submitted for judging.

Randy Frye, chairman of the business department at St. Francis, said the participating students took the contest seriously, which was evident in the quality of the plans and presentations.

“We’re very pleased with the caliber of the entrants,” Frye said. “We want to foster an environment where students think more about entrepreneurial opportunities instead of just employment so they can create a job not only for themselves, but for others.”

It also was announced Thursday that it had qualified for a second round of state funding through the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority. The $187,500 in operational funding received will help GJKIZ create or retain at least 85 jobs, assist about 35 companies and fund at least 10 internships within the zone.

“This second round of funding is critical to the program,” said Bob Shark, GJKIZ coordinator. “It’s the only way we can keep the program alive and continue the progress made in year one until the program becomes self-sustaining.”



Shawn Piatek can be reached at 532-5060 or spiatek@tribdem.com.

     

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