Business Idea Pitch Competition

Press Release:

Every solid business venture starts with one thing - a pitch! Whether making a sale or convincing an investor, your business idea pitch has to be organized, well-thought out, powerful and convincing! GCC is here to help get you prepared!

If you have a passion you would like to turn into a business but you aren't sure if anyone else will think it's a good idea, consider participating in GCC's 5th Annual Business Idea Pitch Competition on Wednesday, April 26, 2023 from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in room T102 of the Conable Technology Building at Genesee Community College's Batavia Campus.

The competition is free and open to the public and prizes of $100 for first place and $75 for second place will be awarded to the most outstanding competitors in the "most likely to succeed" and "most creative" categories. Pitches will be judged by local business leaders.

According to Dr. Lina LaMattina, director of Business Programs at Genesee Community College, "A solid Business idea pitch is critical for any startup, and this competition will help participants learn how to organize, develop, and deliver a powerful and convincing pitch."

To participate in this event, please register for our Business Idea Pitch Competition by emailing Dr. Lina LaMattina, GCC director of Business Programs at lmlamattina@genesee.edu or Amy Conley, GCC Professor of Accounting at avconley@genesee.edu no later than Thursday, April 20, 2023.

For help developing your Pitch for this competition - SIGN UP for our FREE Workshop on campus to help you prepare: Tuesday, April 18th at 12:30 p.m.

RSVP to Dr. Lina LaMattina at lmlamattina@genesee.edu or Amy Conley at avconley@genesee.edu no later than Friday, April 14, 2023 - to ATTEND this Workshop.

Among the leading causes for startup failure is a lack of basic business experience. In lieu of losing thousands of investment dollars, today's entrepreneurs have found another way to gain that experience before launching their startup - education. Genesee Community College offers degree, certificate and micro-credential programs in Entrepreneurship to prepare emerging business owners and investors for success.

For more information, contact Vice President, Development and External Affairs Justin Johnston at (585) 345-6809, or via email: jmjohnston@genesee.edu.

Submitted photo and press release:

Ariana and Tom Sylvester (photo above) are the quintessential entrepreneurs: Creative; funny; hard working; authors; speakers; designers; open to change; jugglers of life encounters; self-employed; parents; husband and wife; college sweethearts; athletes; and maybe just a little crazy -- proudly so. They are also the perfect pair to kick off Genesee Community College's third annual Business Idea Pitch Competition.

They will make their presentation on Thursday, March 19, at 11 a.m. at the Batavia Campus in the Conable Technology Building room T102.

With a program entitled, "Becoming a Lifestyle Builder: Your Guide to Creating an Aligned and Amazing Life," Tom and Ariana will cover the first three sections of their successful book, "Life Builders, Build Your Business, Quit Your Job and Live Your Ideal Lifestyle."

In a one-hour program, they intend to cover the basics of their inspirational message, and give the flavor of chapter one -- "Planning with Purpose"; chapter two -- "Finding Your Freedom"; and chapter three -- "Concept to Cash."

Their program is free and open to the public. Limited seating is first-come, first-served and a book signing opportunity will follow their program.

The Sylvesters currently live in Gates and have two young children. They met at Oswego State College where they earned degrees in Computer Science and Zoology, respectively, and both played on the college's soccer teams.

They graduated in 2006, married in 2008, started their family in 2012, and have gone on to establish three different businesses all while still in their 30s.

Sylvester Enterprises is a residential and commercial real estate firm is based in Warsaw and Perry, and they owned a retail liquor store in Warsaw for approximately seven years.

Since 2015 however, they have been living their dream come true with Lifestyle Builders, a firm they founded to help others secure their dream careers by building upon individual passions while also balancing life's competing priorities. Their 285-page book also includes chapters on "Setup and Scale Your Systems," "Quit Your Cubicle" and "Stop Self Sabotage."

As self-described "family entrepreneurs," the couple has many speaking engagements, and a robust variety of podcasts available on their website, under seven different headings: Lifestyle; Start A Business; Grow A Business; Marketing; Sales; Operations; and Finance.

The diverse selection of podcast titles include: "Organic Marketing Before Paid Marketing"; "Automate Before You Delegate"; "The Hiccups with Hiring -- How to Build Your Team"; and the "FIRE Movement -- Financial Independence"; "Retire with Entrepreneurship:; and let's not overlook "The Danger of Mom-Guilt."

From their podcasts to their book, their website and their speaking engagements, Lifestyle Builders look beyond the financial details of starting a business by helping entrepreneurs consider and prepare their personal lives and goals as well.

"It rarely is a straight and narrow path," Ariana said. "And we wouldn't want it any other way."

Genesee Community College offers both degree and certificate programs in Entrepreneurship preparing emerging business owners and investors for success. The Sylvesters' presentation will help expand the learning opportunity and kick off GCC's third annual Business Idea Pitch Competition, which is cosponsored by Genesee County Economic Development Center (GCEDC).

The Business Idea Pitch Competition will be held Thursday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (check-in starting at 8:15 a.m.) in room T102 of the Conable Technology Building at the Genesee Community College's Batavia Campus.

To support participants' efforts and help prepare their first entrepreneurial steps, GCC is hosting the following preparation workshops all held in room T121:

• Tuesday, March 31, 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. -- "Starting a Business" presented by Sam Campanella
• Tuesday, April 14, 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. -- "Writing a Business Plan" presented by Sam Campanella
• Tuesday, April 21, 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. -- "Developing Your Pitch" presented by Lina LaMattina, Ph.D.

The workshops are free and open to anyone participating in the Business Idea Pitch Competition. To sign up for a workshop, please contact LaMattina at lmlamattina@genesee.edu.

Press release:

Every second, three new businesses "startup" in the United States. In the time it takes the average reader to finish this paragraph, nine new companies will be born, according to the 2018 GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) national report.

Conversely, the Small Business Administration tells us that 50 percent of those will fail during the first four to five years; but why is that? Do half of the entrepreneurs in the country have lousy ideas? Actually, among the leading causes for startup failure is a lack of basic business experience.

In lieu of losing thousands of investment dollars, today's entrepreneurs have found another way to gain that experience before launching their startup -- education.

"If you don't educate yourself, you'll never get out of the starting block because you'll spend all your money making foolish decisions," said Daymond John, investor on "Shark Tank," a reality television show on ABC in which contestants pitch their business ideas to a panel of potential investors in hopes of launching their retail dreams.

Genesee Community College offers both degree and certificate programs in Entrepreneurship to prepare emerging business owners and investors for success. To further open up learning opportunities to both students and the public, GCC teamed up with the GCEDC (Genesee County Economic Development Center) to sponsor the second annual Business Idea Pitch Competition.

The competition will be held Tuesday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in room T102 of the Conable Technology Building at the Genesee Community College's Batavia Campus.

The deadline for competitors to register to participate is April 5.

Registration requires the participant to submit an Executive Summary of their business idea, and attend at least one of the preparation workshops listed below. Participating high school students are not required to attend a workshop.

The competition is limited to 25 participants who will be selected based on their Executive Summary submissions and announced on April 5.

Executive Summary criteria and submission instructions are available by contacting Lina LaMattina, Ph.D., at lmlamattina@genesee.edu. 

The GCEDC's StartUp Genesee Networking Group has donated cash prizes which will be awarded at the Pitch Competition on April 30. Prizes of $100 for first place and $75 for second place will be awarded to the most outstanding competitors in the "most likely to succeed" and "most creative" categories. Pitches will be judged by local business leaders.

To help participants pursue their passions and take their first entrepreneurial steps, GCC will host three preparation workshops. 

• Starting a Business -- Tuesday, April 9, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in room T121
• Business Plan Basics -- Tuesday, April 23, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. in room T121
• Idea Pitch Practice -- Thursday, April 25, from 12:30 to 2 p.m. in room T122

These workshops are free and open to anyone participating in the Business Idea Pitch Competition. To sign up for a workshop, please contact Lina LaMattina , Ph.D., at lmlamattina@genesee.edu.