Rutgers Business Plan competition awards $50,000 in funding to teams of student and alumni entrepreneurs

Brothers who started out Cyndrom get leading prize, plan to use winnings to grow action sports apparel organization

NEWARK, N.J., May 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Brothers Andrew and Joe Strafaci, partners guiding the Cyndrom manufacturer of relaxed put on, won the $20,000 top prize in the annual small business program opposition at Rutgers Enterprise University.

Participants in the 2022 Business Plan Competition at Rutgers Business School included Rutgers alumni as well as current Rutgers undergraduates and MBA students. — Members in the 2022 Company Program Competitors at Rutgers Enterprise School bundled Rutgers alumni as effectively as existing Rutgers undergraduates and MBA learners.

Andrew Strafaci, who done a twin MBA and legislation degree at Rutgers in 2020, developed the Cyndrom name and brand though he was an undergrad researching civil engineering at Higher education of New Jersey. The enterprise now generates about $20,000 in once-a-year income, fueled by gross sales of its “Ride On” line of hats, hoodies, and beanies well-liked amid skateboarders, snowboarders, and cyclists across the country.

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The brothers were being just one of five teams that competed at Rutgers Business Faculty on April 22 for some of the $50,000 prize cash presented by the Gross sales Govt Club of Northern New Jersey Foundation.

Citing the near competitiveness, the choose opted to spread the prize money amid all the members, awarding a $15,000 2nd prize to MBA college students Jason Miller and Matthew McQueeny, co-founders of Major League Pillows and $10,000 to a workforce of Rutgers undergraduates, together with Anna Zhang and Iris Zhorov, who are constructing the Good MS3 device to assist patients strengthen the usefulness of their actual physical treatment.

The judges awarded $2,500 to Rutgers MBA university student Kathryn Ruhno, whose early-phase start-up Uncooked Paw Existence sells pet food stuff and treats and a different $2,500 to Andrew Zambrowski, an alumnus of the Rutgers Business College undergraduate program who pitched for Monkey Organization. The business offers smaller businesses an app to help them compete much more properly from founded models.

Just about every of the teams manufactured short pitches, describing their nascent corporations, highlights of their system and the company’s general performance, and projections for foreseeable future growth.

The Gross sales Government Club of Northern New Jersey Basis sponsors the company program competitors yearly as a way of encouraging the entrepreneurial ambitions of Rutgers Enterprise School learners and alumni. The opposition is also one particular of the sides of a wide ecosystem at Rutgers that fuels its toughness in entrepreneurship.

In excess of the previous 20 a long time, Richard Romano, president of the foundation and a member of Rutgers Company School’s board of advisors, has assisted make much more than $1 million in funding offered to pupil and alumni founders.

“The enterprise strategy level of competition is considerable in a few of means,” stated Professor Doug Brownstone, who organizes the competitiveness. “University student entrepreneurs are in a position to acquire cash to get their firms accelerated and the leading five teams also get mentoring.”

“These are entire-time college students or alumni who have careers, and they are also doing the job on starting up businesses so it really is incredibly precious,” he claimed.

The level of competition has awarded funding to these types of Rutgers scholar-commenced organizations as Playa Bowls, Emma’s Quality Companies, Bibi Beverages, the Turf, Surf and Earth restaurant, Fantastic Daily life Diet and the Zwiren Title Company.

Like past winners, Andrew Strafaci intends to use the prize funds to grow his organization.

Strafaci, who grew up skateboarding alongside the Jersey Shore, mentioned the funding from the competitors will allow him and his brother to develop Cyndrom from a relaxed garments line to an energetic have on manufacturer that presents far more complex sports activities equipment like rash guards for surfers and gloves for snowboarders.

“The funds will be a catalyst for rising Cyndrom,” Strafaci mentioned. “The dollars also claims Rutgers believes in me. Acquiring that help is significant because it’s these a great faculty.”

Cyndrom currently sells its merchandise in a Belmar surf shop and a Redbank skate store, and it also will make profits from its web-site and pop-up stores at the Jersey Shore. In addition to escalating its choice of apparel, Stafaci explained he options to use the prize income to improve internet marketing. His objective is to increase revenue to $1 million by 2025.

In addition to Romano, the judges for the 2022 level of competition included John Wilson, who also represents the Sales Govt Club of Northern New Jersey Basis Sharon Lydon, Rutgers Business School’s affiliate dean of alumni and corporate engagement and Carolyn Lange, main economic officer of the Local community Basis of New Jersey.

Mayuresh Pandit, a Rutgers MBA alumnus and senior product supervisor at Amazon, assisted Professor Brownstone in mentoring the college students. He also helped to judge the groups.