Winning Teams
Congratulations to the 2018 winning teams!
- First place ($25,000): YNot Bike
- Second place ($7,500): Fitz
- Third place ($5,000): Rewardzzz
Hospitality Business Plan Competition
The Cornell Hospitality Business Plan Competition is an annual entrepreneurship event that begins at the start of the academic year when students form teams and develop executive summaries for their business plans. The competition ends in early spring during Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC), when the student teams submit their final business plans and semi-finalist teams make their presentations to a judging panel that selects the top three concepts as winners.
Prizes for the top three finishers total over $35,000 (All prizes subject to tax withholdings as required by IRS regulations). The Business Plan Competition is a meaningful learning experience for students who are interested in pursuing an entrepreneurial venture and whose ideas serve as new independent ventures in the seed, start-up, or early growth stages.
Congratulations!
First place for $25,000 to team Outer Space
Team Members: Alex Barr ’24, Nadeem Gangat ’25, Samuel Nichols ’24, Jude Rizzo ’25, Bill Tong ’24
Cornell Chronicle (May 2, 2022): App connecting driveways with beachgoers win hospitality business contest
For full competition details refer to the 2021-2022 dropdown below.
Business Plan Competition Results by Academic Year
2022 Business Plan Competition
Congratulations!
First place ($25,000) to team Outer Space
Team Members: Alex Barr ’24, Nadeem Gangat ’25 (Dyson), Samuel Nichols ’24 (ILR), Jude Rizzo ’25 (A&S), Bill Tong ’24 (Dyson)
A service that enables property owners to rent out their driveway or parking spaces on an hourly basis.
Second place ($7,500): High Life Cannabis
Members: Raul Gamble, MMH ’22, Cody Perez, MBA ’22, MPS-RE ’22
Enables our customers to create unforgettable memories through a combination of top-quality products, events, and experiential spaces.
Third place ($5,000): Quay Side Farm and Table
Members: Kenisha Paliwal ’22 (ILR), Vishwajit Sharma ’23 (Dyson), Ariel Staffin ’22
A farm-to-table styled restaurant atop a barge deck docked in waterfront cities.
Honorable Mention: VINE
Members: Tony Ling, MMH ’22, Takamichi Matsuhisa, MMH ’22, Zihan Sun, MEng ’22, Alexander Vias, MMH ’22
Links the interests of the hospitality industry with financial investors’ and end-consumers’ to revolutionize how premium beverages can be more efficiently managed and converted into both immediate cashflows and high growth alternative investments.
Honorable Mention: MiFood Tech
Members: Yingtong Li ’23, Jack Ma, MMH ’23, Mokhtar Rajai ’22 (Eng), Elizabeth Vicarte ’22 (Eng), Mi Yan MS ’22 (CALS)
A kitchen robot startup that aims to provide automated solutions for restaurants and kitchens and to reduce labor costs while maintaining a high quality of cuisine.
Watch the 2022 competition here
News
- Cornell Chronicle (May 2, 2022): App connecting driveways with beachgoers win hospitality business contest
A special thank you to our sponsors and judges:
Title sponsor
- Sandy Solmon, P ’15, Sweet Street Desserts
Platinum sponsor
- Stanley Sun ’00
Silver sponsors
- Elizabeth Shingleton Glomsrud ’00
- Barbara Foote Shingleton ’75
Finals Judges
- Chris Hemmeter ’86 (A&S), P ’22, Managing Director, Thayer Ventures
- Meli James ’00, Co-founder, Mana Up and President, Hawaii Venture Capital Association
- Yaniv Blumenfeld ’95, Founder and Managing Partner, Glacier Global Partners, LLC
Semi-final Judges
- Kenny Blatt ’81, CPG Real Estate
- Yaniv Blumenfeld ’95, Glacier Global Partners
- Monica Digilio, Compass Advisors, LLC
- Susan Guerin ’83, World Finer Foods
- Steven Hurowitz, P ’19 & ’21, HB Capital Group
- Warren Leeds ’84, P ’14 & ’19, Dartcor Food Services
- Ondrea Levitt-Schiciano ’92, Levitt-Fuirst Insurance
- Jess Petitt ’05, Hilton
- Fred Singer, Singer Equipment
- Stanley Sun ’00, MBA ’05, China-Hongkong Photo Products Holdings Limited
- Jacob Wright, MBA ’22, Skyward Hospitality
2021 Business Plan Competition
Congratulations to the winner and other finalist teams!
First place ($25,000): Team Life After Life
Members: Shaily Patil MPS-RE ’21 (Baker), Jacob Tannenbaum MPS-RE ’21 (Baker)
Solves the problem of unaffordable and unsustainable funeral practices in America through conservation cemetery parks, experience enhancing technology, and community development.
Second place ($7,500): Adaptive Reuse Capital
Members: Noah Davis MMH ’21, Jack Levin MMH ’21, Jake Lynch MMH ’21, Janesh Patel MMH ’21
Aims to repurpose underutilized or distressed hotel assets into affordable, nurturing, and flexible independent senior living communities.
Third place ($5,000): Priya Hospitality
Members: Fareez Dossani MMH ’21, Jordan Korn MMH ’21, Chandan Sharma MMH ’21, Zachary Zaremba MPS-RE ’21 (Baker)
Aims to disrupt Indian cuisine in America through causal restaurant concepts across the country, a portfolio of consumer-packaged goods, and a media production company.
Honorable mention: Team Crave
Members: Boonyakorn Chandhanayingyong MPS RE ’21 (Baker), Sanjeet Dutta MEng ’21, Isa Goldberg MBA ’22, Pete Vejanurug MBA ’22, Kevin Wang MBA ’22
Develops a monetization platform designed to connect eaters to restaurants through influencers’ content, creating demand for all merchants within the F&B industry.
Honorable mention: Team RunDeVu
Members: Minwei Cao MBA ’22, Angad Jaspal ’21, Max Li ’23 (Eng), Gleb Margolin MBA ’22, Peter Nguyen MBA ’22
Looks to disrupt the vacation planning industry with an algorithm-based trip-planning concierge that helps busy and adventurous millennials find the unexpected path less travelled, in the most fun, painless way.
Watch the 2021 competition here!
News
- Cornell Chronicle (May 4, 2021): Green cemetery wins hospitality business pitch contest
A special thank you to our sponsors:
Title Sponsor
- Sandy Solmon, P ’15, Sweet Street Desserts
Platinum Sponsor
- Stanley Sun ’00, MBA ’05
Silver Sponsors
- Elizabeth Shingleton Glomsrud ’00
- Barbara Foote Shingleton ’75
2020 Business Plan Competition
The 10th Annual, and first ever virtual, Hospitality Business Plan Competition was held on April 17, 2020. The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship would like to thank all of our participating teams for their hard work and flexibility as we navigated this new format.
Winning Teams
Congratulations to the 2020 winning teams!
- First place ($25,000): Matte Black Lounges
- Second place ($7,500): farmVal
- Third place ($5,000): PediCure
Finalists
Team Matte Black Lounges is focused on bringing modern airport lounges to currently underserved, mid-market, domestic airports.
Members: Shucen Ding MMH ’20, Yi Xuan Huang ’20, Lyon Li ’23, and Gabe Trumbo MBA ’21
Watch Team Matte Black Lounges
Team farmVal makes the process of growing wine smarter, more efficient, and more reliable through a combination of Cornell PhD patented research, machine learning, and industry expertise.
Members: Ashley Bacalso MILR ’20, Shiang-Wan Chin MEng ’19, PhD ’22, Tamara Sato ’22
Team PediCure is a toenail trimmer that empowers elderly adults to reclaim independence in their grooming experience. Our device is to be sold to caretakers.
Members: Jordan Gorelick MEng ’20, Bryan Hyland ’21, Jialin Ke ’20 (HumEc), Jessica Tao ’20 (CALS), Joshua Zhu ’20 (CALS)
Team Dream Haüs is a platform that ncorporates homebuyers’ tastes and preferences through a visual search to save realtors and home-buyers time and money.
Members: Chris Gartrell ’20, Oren Michaely ’20 (Eng)
Team LayOP aims to leverage analytics tools and big data to help hospitality property managers and employees make informed decisions to optimize their service and increase revenue.
Members: Armaan Goyal ’22, Aditya Narayanan ’21 (A&S), Ananth Palaniappan ’21 (Eng), Abhinav Prasad ’21 (A&S)
News
- Cornell Chronicle: Airport lounge idea wins hospitality business plan competition (April 23, 2020)
Thank you to our Sponsors:
Title Sponsor
- Sandy Solmon, P ’15, Sweet Street Desserts
Platinum Sponsors
- Stanley Sun ’00 (SHA), MBA ’05
- Bob Alter Family
Silver Sponsors
- Elizabeth Shingleton Glomsrud ’00
- Barbara Foote Shingleton ’75
2019 Business Plan Competition
Winning Teams
Congratulations to the 2019 winning teams!
- First place ($25,000): Speak2 Systems
- Second place ($7,500): BoutiquePlus+
- Third place ($5,000): MYSE Center
Finalists
Team BoutiquePlus+ is a hospitality digital marketing management company that helps Chinese boutique and lifestyle hotels manage social media, build a substantial online presence, foster customer relationship management, and evaluate social media related revenue management solutions at an affordable price. Members: Xiaokun Qin ’19 (SHA), Yennie Handika MMH ’19, Mengmeng Wang MMH ’19 and Yibing Sun ’19 (SHA)
View presentation
Team Entroterra proposes a lodging business in the Hudson Valley that would provide farm and culinary programming both on site and through partnerships with local farms. Members: Gemma Richardson MMH ’19, Nicole Cusenza MMH ’19, Anushae Feerasta MMH ’19
View presentation
Team MYSE Center is a coworking and accommodation space designed for fast moving young entrepreneurs and community driven travelers. Members: Ghali Jorio ’21 (SHA), Michael Zhang MBA ’20
View presentation
Team Speak2 Systems is focused on improving the well-being and quality of life of intubated patients within intensive care units worldwide. Members: Ori Belson MEng ’19, Timothy Buttigieg ’19 (SHA)
View presentation
Team Wandr Yondr introduces a platform that allows tourists to book amazing, safe experiences with locals on their Caribbean vacations. Members: Hugh Bullen ’19 (Eng), Gizem Kilic PhD ’21 (SHA), Mardochee Reveil ’18 (Eng)
View presentation
The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship would like to thank all of our participating teams for their hard work.
Watch the 2019 competition here!
News
- Cornell Chronicle: Student hospitality startups win $37.5K at competition (March 27, 2019)
Title Sponsor
- Sandy Solmon, P ’15
Sweet Street Desserts
Platinum Sponsors
- Stanley Sun ’00
- Bob Alter Family
Silver Sponsors
- Elizabeth Shingleton Glomsrud ’00 and Barbara Foote Shingleton ’75
- Charles DesLauriers MPS ’78
2018 Business Plan Competition
Finalists
Team Campagna proposes an upscale casual farm-to-table restaurant concept featuring local and seasonal menu offerings. Members: Aida Scarpati, MMH ’18, Tamar Paikowsky, MMH ’18, Tiange Xiao, MMH ’18.
View presentation
Team Fitz aims to create a mobile application providing hotel guests access to an array of personal trainers and use of hotel fitness facilities. Members: Frank Baptista, MMH ’18, Samantha Cohn, MMH ’18, Sage Patel, MMH ’18, Margaux Verbeeck, MMH ’18, Richelle King, MMH ’18.
View presentation
Team Rewardzzz is developing the first universal rewards-exchange program through their app, acting as a digital wallet for rewards points. Members: Hunter Friedland ’19, Spencer Goldsmith, ’20 (A&S), Lorenzo Masias ’20.
View presentation
Team Synwell Consulting strives to provide senior living facilities with foodservice consulting to enhance personalized nutrition. Members: Hongwei Wang ’18 (Hum Ec), Yibing Sun ’19.
View presentation
Team YNot Bike introduces a revolutionary mode of transportation that allows users to call a bike using their phone and the bike will roll to them. Members: Will Murphy ’18 (Eng), Stephanie Forester ’19, Davis Bruch ’20, Sam Barnum ’19 (ILR).
Presentation coming soon.
Platinum Sponsors
- Greg Dollarhyde ’80, MBA ’81
- Diana Dobin, Valley Forge Fabrics
- Warren Leeds ’84, Dartcor Food Services
- Sandy Solmon, P ’15, Sweet Street Desserts
- The Sun Family: Stanley ’00 and his parents, Dennis and Betty
Silver Sponsors
- Elizabeth Shingleton Glomsrud ’00
- Barbara Foote Shingleton ’75
2017 Business Plan Competition
Winning Teams
Congratulations to the 2017 winning teams!
- First place: ($25,000) Natural Cuts
- Second place: ($7,500) Bill’s
- Third place: ($5,000) Doña Nata
Finalists
- Bill’s (Team Bill’s offers a rotating selection of flavor-forward beer designed and driven by the customer): Will Mangan, MMH ’17 and Lydia Xu, MMH ’17. View Bill’s presentation.
- CHOMP (Team CHOMP is a full service sandwich restaurant tailored for university cities): Ben Guzick, MMH ’17, Varun Vesuvala, MMH ’17, and Alex Szwyd, MMH ’17. View CHOMP’s presentation.
- Doña Nata (Team Doña Nata is a food hall management service that offers an immersive experience in Mexican cuisine and spirits): Angela Lindsay ’17, Antonio Miceli, MMH ’17, and Natalia Ruiz, MMH ’17. View Doña’s presentation.
- Latitude (Team Latitude will develop a geolocation-based mobile application that allows tourists to discover the hidden gems of a city as well as connecting with other tourists): Gauri Khanna ’17 and Sonali Tolani ’17 (Dyson). View Latitude’s presentation.
- Natural Cuts (Team Natural Cuts will provide shelf-stable, fresh-cut produce to the foodservice sector): Vipul Prakash Saran, MPS ’17 (CALS) and Harrison Willis, MPS-RE ’17. View Natural Cuts’ presentation.
Watch the 2017 competition here!
News
- Hotel News Resource: Cornell Hospitality Business Plan Competition Highlights Student Entrepreneurs (March 28, 2017)
- Cornell Chronicle: Food preservation team wins hospitality business contest (March 22, 2017)
Platinum Sponsors
- Greg Dollarhyde ’80, MBA ’81
- Sandy Solmon, P ’15
Sponsors
- Elizabeth Shingleton Glomsrud ’00
- Barbara Foote Shingleton ’75
- The Sun Family: Stanley ’00 and his parents Dennis and Betty
Supporter
- Karim Abouelnaga ’13
2016 Business Plan Competition
Winning Teams
Congratulations to the 2016 winning teams!
- First place: ($25,000) Last Second Beach
- First place: ($25,000) Maidbot
- Third place: ($5,000) Chill
Finalists
- Chill (Team Chill proposes to sell freshly made Italian Ice in a self-serve model with personal customization of flavors, mixes, and toppings): Hannah Basra SHA ’17, Joseph Bell SHA ’17, W. Spenser Cardenas SHA ’17, and David Luo SHA ’17. View presentation.
- IthaCave (Team IthaCave will create an urban wine destination that allows customers to walk among the tanks and barrels with the winemakers): Ruben Abramov MMH ’16 and Patrick Commane CALS ’17. View presentation.
- Last Second Beach (Team Last Second Beach is a mobile-first aggregation platform. Designed for value-driven consumers seeking to book short beach vacations like all-inclusive resorts and cruises, it also offers distributors a new, targeted, lower cost distribution channel): Owen Buehler ENG ’16, Zach Demuth MMH ’16, Harrison Goldstein ENG ’18, and Khalid Ladha MMH ’16. View presentation.
- Maidbot (Team Maidbot will offer hotels a robotic cleaner to assist room attendants in cleaning rooms and public spaces, saving money and improving safety and health of room attendants): Micah Green. View presentation.
- OVO (Team OVO will develop a luxurious, all-inclusive postnatal care center where mothers and their spouses can stay for up to three weeks to promote recovery and ease the transition to motherhood): Jaemo Chang MHA ’16, Grant Jardine SHA ’16, and Anderson Koh SHA ’17. View presentation.
Watch the 2016 competition here!
News
- Cornell Chronicle: Two student teams tie in business plan competition (April 6, 2016)
Title Sponsor
- Stephen Thomson ’82
Sponsors
- Greg Dollarhyde ’80, MBA ’81
- Elizabeth Shingleton Glomsrud ’00 and Barbara Foote Shingleton ’75
- The Sun Family: Stanley ’00 and his parents Dennis and Betty
2015 Business Plan Competition
Winning Teams
Congratulations to the 2015 winning teams!
- First place ($15,000): Modern Market
- Second place ($5,000): BrewMe
- Third place ($2,500): RedHead Wine
Finalists
- A Kneaded Hand (a non-profit training restaurant that will hire, train, and assist in job placement for young victims of food insecurity and unemployment): Dana Beninati, MMH ’15; Niharika Thakwani, MMH ’15. View presentation.
- BrewMe (social network- and location-based mobile app for buying someone a drink, either an existing friend or a potential new acquaintance): Tucker Iida ’16; Aigul Jumabayeva ’16; Lily Gao, MPS ’16. View presentation.
- Modern Market (network of direct-to-consumer commissaries offering a subscription service that delivers fresh prepared gourmet meal components): Christina Elliott, MMH ’15. View presentation.
- Oh Momma! Center (membership-based fitness, wellness, and community-space with services addressing both the needs and the schedules of working mothers): Maggie Lo, MMH ’15; Regine Desroches, MMH ’15; Ashton Liu, MMH ’15; Hirman Ahmad, MMH ’15. View presentation.
- RedHead Wine (red wine with non-traditional production methods resulting in reduced seasonal supply limitations): Zach Berle ’15; Gavin Hilder ’17; Marisa Sergi, CALS ’15; Elizabeth Shvidky, AEM ’16. View presentation.
Watch the 2015 competition here!
News
- Cornell Chronicle: Business plan competition raises top prize to $25,000 (October 8, 2015)
- Cornell Chronicle: Students’ hospitality business plans honored (March 26, 2015)
Title Sponsor
- Stephen Thomson ’82
Platinum Sponsors
- The Sun Family: Stanley ’00 and his parents Dennis and Betty
Gold Sponsors
Silver Sponsor
- Elizabeth Shingleton Glomsrud ’00 and Barbara Foote Shingleton ’75
2014 Business Plan Competition
Winning Teams
Congratulations to the 2014 teams!
- First place ($15,000): Saira – Harsha Chanrai MMH ’14 & Felix Tabary ’14. View presentation.
- Second place ($5,000): Hummus Holdings – Chris Kirby ’15 & Salim Bure ’15. View presentation.
- Third place ($2,500): Triplanner – Jiha Jung MMH ’14, Ha Lim Lee ’14, Darren Oh MMH ’14 & Oliver Yuan MMH ’14. View presentation.
Honorable Mention
- ONcierge – Elsie Namnath MMH ’14 & Clowie Tan MMH ’14. View presentation.
- myHealth – Anthony Brown MHA ’14, Julia Kosineski ’14, Yanlin Pei MMH ’14 & Murat Uralkan MHA ’14. View presentation.
News
Sponsors
- The Sun Family & Stanley ’00 and his parents Dennis and Betty
- The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship
Platinum Sponsors
- Steve Thomson ’82
Gold Sponsors
2013 Business Plan Competition
Winning Teams
Congratulations to the 2013 teams!
- First place: Agora Hellenic Grill, Martin Andonov ’13. View presentation.
- Second place: Voilà Mobile Crêperie, Michael Perlman ’13, Ethan Joseph ’13, and Tareq Ali ’13. View presentation.
- Third place: Solace, Spencer Stein ’13. View presentation.
Winner of the Stein Family Prize
- Cairn Tented Resorts, Robert Frisch (MBA ’13) and Tara Lobo ’15. View presentation.
Honorable Mention
- SakuraTerra Hospitality, Blake Golom, Zhuodan Huang, Satoko Nagahara, and Christopher O’Donnell. View presentation.
News
Sponsors
- The Sun Family & Stanley ’00 and his parents Dennis and Betty
- The Leland C. and Mary M. Pillsbury Institute for Hospitality Entrepreneurship
Platinum Sponsor
Gold Sponsor
Are you a current student wondering how you can get involved?
Are you seeking information about how you or your company can become a sponsor?
Contact Michelle Ciaschi at mlc296@cornell.edu.