University at Buffalo School of Management

2 Buffalo Business Autumn 2018 A team of electrical engineering and MBA students took first place in UB's Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition (Panasci TEC) for a tech- nology that integrates digital sound effects directly into guitars. Ryan Jaquin and Shane Nolan, both dual electri- cal engineering and MBA students, and Alex Schwartz, a UB electrical engineering graduate, received $25,000 in startup capital, as well as in-kind services valued at $27,000, for their company, Bitcrusher. "The feedback process has been so valuable through- out the competition," said Nolan. "Everyone along the way has helped us to clarify our message, so whether you're a businessperson or a musician, you'll 'get' Bitcrusher." The second-place team, Tim Adowski, PhD student in aerospace engineering at UB, and Thomas Wilkie, a Daemen College graduate, collected $10,000 for their venture, Storillo, a management platform to streamline group work for teachers. Now in its 18th year, Panasci TEC was created by the UB School of Management and the UB Office of Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships and is funded with a $1 million endowment from the late Henry A. Panasci Jr. to facilitate and promote the commercialization of UB-generated technologies. Startups School of Management students take first in inaugural UB MBA Case Competition Facing off against students from around the country, a team of four School of Management MBAs successfully defended their home turf and took first place at the inaugural UB MBA Case Competition, hosted by the School of Management and sponsored by Dun & Bradstreet. Presenting teams were identified only by a number, so judges didn't know which college or university each team was from until aer their evaluations were com- plete. The winning team was made up of UB MBA stu- dents Briar Baker, Patrick Biver, Alex Lesins and Ronald Mendoza. Ten teams of finalists were selected based on the quality of their written case analysis of a real-world busi- ness problem and were invited to present their solution to a panel of executive judges. The UB team received $5,000, Drexel University LeBow College of Business took second and received $3,000, and the University of Illinois Gies College of Business took third place and received $2,000. In addition, Cecil Cheriyan of Baruch College Zicklin School of Business and Joe Dipre of Drexel each received $250 as the top two individual presenters. "The competitors in this event were exceptional, and our UB team and the other finalists should be proud of their accomplishments," said Paul Tesluk, dean of the School of Management. "I was particularly impressed by the innovative solutions proposed by the winning teams." x Aer Panasci, Bitcrusher went on to a slew of other successes, winning the New York Business Plan Competition, taking second in Bright Buffalo Niagara and successfully pitching to the School of Management Dean's Advisory Council, earning nearly $30,000 more in capital for their startup along the way. In addition to participating in the Panasci TEC, the Bitcrusher team took advantage of the burgeoning en- trepreneurship ecosystem at UB, through such innovative opportunities as the Cecil Cheriyan of Baruch College Zicklin School of Business was named one of two top individual presenters. Photo: Nancy J. Parisi Digital guitar tech shreds to victory in UB entrepreneurship competition

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