New York Business Plan Competition: Capital Region

The 15th Annual New York Business Plan Competition for the Capital Region will be hosted at Hudson Valley Community College on Friday, April 4, 2025.

Additional details will be posted as they become available.

About the Competition

The 2025 New York Business Plan Competition will feature regional competitions in New York’s ten geographic zones – Capital Region, Central New York, North Country, Mohawk Valley, Finger Lakes, Western New York, Southern Tier, Mid-Hudson, New York City and Long Island - followed by a final, statewide competition with three rounds, leading to the Finals on April 24, 2025.

The regional semifinals are hosted by local partner colleges and universities in March and April. The top teams from each of the ten regions advance to the final round of the statewide competition. The winners will be selected by esteemed judges, including venture capitalists, angel investors, investment bankers, experienced entrepreneurs and leaders from the business community.

Sponsorship Opportunities

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General Timeline

December 2024

Student and judge applications open Dec. 1

March 2025

Student applications close March 1
Final track definitions and special prizes announced (date TBA)
Student submission are due March 21

April 2025

Regional competition at HVCC on April 4
Regional winners shared with state finals organizers (beginning of April)
Final prizes and prize money awards announced (beginning of April)
Round One for NYBPC Finals held online. Refer to NYBPC website for specific submission deadlines (mid-April)
Round two and Grand Prize Finals held in-person on April 24
Grand prize awarded to top track winner on April 24

Competition Philosophy and Mission

Philosophy

Entrepreneurship is vital to support a thriving economy.
Entrepreneurial skills are invaluable - including problem-solving, communication, economics, creativity, resilience, and accountability, regardless of students’ career paths.
The intercollegiate competition platform is an important experiential anchor for students from all backgrounds and ventures of all types

Mission

The NYBPC’s mission has three parts:

develop entrepreneurial mindsets and skills through experiential learning
facilitate building personal networks between participants and the broader business community
launch new ventures

Competition Structure

The NYBPC consists of two levels of competition. Regional competitions are generally held in March/April in all ten regions across New York. The winners of these competitions move on to the statewide finals. All regional competitions follow this rulebook and scoring rubric, but format and timing of the regional competitions vary.

Students are assigned to one regional competition based on the location of their school. If the team has members in different regions, the first student listed is considered primary and the team will compete in the associated region.

All students fill out the NYBPC central application to begin. The application opens in January and can be found through the New York Business Plan Competition website. Check the website for the deadlines specific to each regional competition.

The teams finishing in first and second places within each track at regional competitions are invited to compete in the statewide final competition, provided the regional judges deem the teams prepared for statewide competition. All student competitors are invited to attend the finals to build their networks and knowledge of entrepreneurship. Finalists submit their pitch videos and slide decks approximately two weeks prior to the first round of the finals competition.

The NYBPC Final Competition has three parts:

First Round: The first round of finals is held online in mid-April. Up to twenty teams in each of six tracks are judged asynchronously online over the course of several days, by business and industry professionals. The top teams advance to the next round.
Track Winners: For the second round, the top teams in each track are invited to pitch live to a panel of judges, with live Q&A on April 24, 2025 in the Capital Region. The track winners are announced the same day.
Grand Prize Finals: First place track winners are invited to compete for the NYBPC Grand Prize, live and in-person on April 24, 2025. Timing and location details will be published on https://nybpc.org/.

All students are invited to the NYBPC Finals event to cheer for their teammates, meet mentors, attend workshops and gain exposure to entrepreneurial resources from across New York. The in-person NYBPC Grand Prize pitch will be limited in attendance, but will be streamed online.

Each region is invited to send two teams per track. No alternate teams are invited to compete. Regional coordinators must email a list of winners and team contact information within 48 hours of the completion of their competition. Once those lists are received, eligible teams will receive instructions for submitting their final presentations.

Resources

Example Presentations

RHM Innovations: Courtney Burris (University at Buffalo) + Brandon Davis Burris (University of Rochester), (2023 Grand Prize Winner, pitching at the NYBPC Finals)
Photonect: Juniyali Nauriyal and Sushant Kumar, University of Rochester (2022 Grand Prize)
Step2,3 LLC: Shannon Sincere Dawson, SUNY at Purchase College (2022 GRYT Health Award)

We would like to thank the following for sponsoring this initiative:
NOTE: listing will be updated as sponsors come in.

Jodi Mather

Danielle Blesi

New York Business Plan Competition: Capital Region

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NYBPC Sponsors

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