New York Business Plan Competition Finals

Registration Opens
Networking & light refreshments

Round Two Pitching + Judging – First Floor Classrooms

Lunch & Networking
Cafe

Main Program Begins
Welcome to Golisano Institute – Ian Mortimer, President, Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship

Ian Mortimer

President, Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship

Ian Mortimer is widely regarded as a collaborative and innovative higher education leader who has worked with institutions to shape key initiatives over the past 30 years. He is the President of Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship. Prior to Golisano Institute, Ian was the Vice President for Enrollment Management & Associate Provost at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT.) In addition to serving RIT, Ian held senior-level leadership positions at Nazareth College and Champlain College in Burlington, VT. He is a double-graduate of St. Bonaventure University with a BA in English and MSEd in Counseling Psychology, has a MBA from the Saunders College of Business at RIT, and a doctorate in business from Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business.

Upstate Capital Welcome

Shelby Schneider, President and CEO, Upstate Capital Association of New York

Shelby Schneider

President and CEO, Upstate Capital Association of New York

Shelby Schneider is the President & CEO of the Upstate Capital Association of New York, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to private equity and venture capital across Upstate New York. Appointed in March 2025, Shelby brings more than two decades of experience in economic development and innovation ecosystems. She previously served as Deputy Director of the New York State Economic Development Council and as President & CEO of the Saratoga Prosperity Partnership, where she led transformational projects such as attracting Advanced Micro Devices (the predecessor to GlobalFoundries) to Luther Forest. A native of Upstate New York and a Skidmore College graduate, Shelby oversees Upstate Capital’s work connecting investors with promising ventures and leads the Capital Foundation of New York, which runs the New York State Business Plan Competition that engages colleges and hundreds of student teams statewide.

NYBPC Finalists Announced

What’s Next? Opportunities for Founders Across New York

You’ve built your idea—now where can it go? Across New York State, incredible competitions and accelerator programs exist to help founders turn ideas into real companies. Join leaders from FuzeHub, Grow-NY, Luminate, and the Griffiss Institute’s HUSTLE program as they break down what they do, the kinds of startups they’re looking for, and how you can get involved. Whether you’re looking for funding, mentorship, or your next big opportunity, this panel will show you what’s possible after the competition.

• Seth Mulligan, Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration, Griffiss Institute
• Patty Rechberger, Innovation Fund Manager, Fuze Hub
• Amanda Reilly Pitman, Program Manager, Dairy Innovation, Center for Regional Economic Advancement, Cornell University
• Sujatha Ramanujan, PhD, Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer Luminate Accelerator

Seth Mulligan

Interim Vice President for Finance and Administration, Griffiss Institute

Seth Mulligan specializes in developing innovation, growth and management disciplines and developing business systems, to grow organizations. In his career, Seth has been a partner to innovators as a startup incubator director, an agribusiness business development consultant, and technology transfer seed-fund operator. ​

Additionally, Mulligan has been an adjunct professor of Entrepreneurship and a professional trainer of entrepreneurship for transitioning US Military service women and men. When not being supporting partner dav for innovators and entrepreneurs, Seth has been an executive in two venture-capital backed startups: TCGplayer.com and StorySlab, Inc. contributing to overall corporate strategy and launching customer success, business development, and e-commerce services. ​​

Seth’s education background is focused on public systems where he has two Masters degrees in Administration and a Bachelor degree in Political Science and Philosophy. Seth enjoys live music, travel, and following professional sports. When not at work, Seth spends time with his family and hails from Syracuse, NY.

Patty Rechberger

Innovation Fund Manager, Fuze Hub

Patty Rechberger is the Innovation Fund Manager at FuzeHub. Patty coordinates and administers activities under the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund, from inquiries and initial submissions to reporting on metrics and program successes after project completion. She supports the advancement and growth of the Fund through the development of presentations and events and the identification of business development opportunities.

Patty has over fourteen years of experience in business administration, during which she supported growth and the identification and development of efficiencies in the private industry organizations that she worked for.

Patty holds a Master of Business Administration degree from the University at Albany and a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Empire State College.

Amanda Reilly Pitman

Program Manager, Dairy Innovation, Center for Regional Economic Advancement, Cornell University

Amanda Pitman is a program manager at Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA) where she oversees initiatives at the intersection of food production, entrepreneurship, and regional economic development. Since joining CREA in 2023, she has launched Dairy Runway, an entrepreneurship program supporting early-stage dairy innovators through customer discovery and prototyping training, and the Northeastern Dairy Product Innovation Competition, an inaugural accelerator supporting food entrepreneurs ready to scale value-added dairy products. She also collaborates on programming for the Grow-NY Summit, shaping content that connects entrepreneurs, researchers, and regional food system leaders.

Prior to CREA, Amanda built a career spanning the nonprofit and public sectors. She served as a managing director at Trinity Church Wall Street Philanthropies, where she helped scale annual grantmaking to over $40 million, and earlier worked in a variety of positions at Rockefeller University, Columbia University, and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development. Amanda holds a graduate degree in urban planning with a focus on economic development from New York University.

Sujatha Ramanujan, PhD

Managing Director, Chief Investment Officer Luminate Accelerator

Sujatha Ramanujan is Chief Investment Officer at NextCorps and Managing Director of Luminate, the world’s largest accelerator for optics, photonics, and imaging. A seasoned C-suite executive and entrepreneur with a PhD in Electrical Engineering, she has launched FDA-regulated medical devices globally, holds over 50 patents, and has led international teams with $50M+ EBITDA. Sujatha has invested in 65+ startups, with several successful exits. She is known for her strategic leadership in deep tech, particularly in R&D, semiconductors, and medical devices. Her commitment to innovation and mentorship continues to shape the future of high-tech entrepreneurship worldwide.

NYBPC Overview & Judges Introduction

• Jennifer Tegan, Managing Director, NY Ventures
• Vikram Agrawal, President, CEO, & Co-Founder of Levrx 
• David Brown, Managing Director, Impellent Ventures
• Marnie LaVigne PhD, President and CEO, Launch NY

Jennifer Tegan

Managing Director, NY Ventures

Jennifer Tegan serves as Managing Director of Empire State Development’s New York Ventures. In this role, she oversees more than $320 million in direct and indirect investment programs, including the NYS Innovation Venture Capital Fund, the Pre-Seed and Seed Fund and over $150M in fund of funds for emerging managers and accelerator partners. Through all of its programs, New York Ventures invests in diverse entrepreneurs and high-growth companies, with the goal of building and sustaining a robust startup ecosystem across New York State.

Vikram Agrawal

President, CEO, & Co-Founder of Levrx 

Vikram Agrawal serves as President, CEO, & Co-Founder of Levrx. In his role, Vikram is responsible for the vision, product strategy, and business development. Vikram’s previous experience in business and information technology fields are critical to the success of Levrx.

Prior to Levrx, Vikram served as President and CEO of Etransmedia, a software company that provided solutions for electronic health records, patient engagement, practice management, and revenue cycles. Previous to Etransmedia, Vikram worked as Program Manager at Indian Telephone Industries and Groupe Bull, India. He served as Director of Business Development for R.K. Enterprises in Cochin, India.

Vikram earned his Master’s degree in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) and he holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from the University of Bangalore in India.

David Brown

Managing Director, Impellent Ventures

David Brown is the Founding Managing Partner of Impellent Ventures, a preseed / seed stage venture capital firm based in UNY that invests nationally. In addition to capital, the firm focuses on connecting startups with the nation’s best founders, mentors, and downstream capital resources.

Mr. Brown has been a community builder, startup investor and operator, and mentor for over a decade. He has supported hundreds of companies, held events for over 14,000 tech leaders per annum, and has applied venture principles to both for profit and nonprofit entities. Mr. Brown’s work has been affiliated with programs such as Techstars, MassChallenge, Harvard iLab, and Babson College and has been covered in many national publications.

Mr. Brown is a boomerang to Rochester from Boston, where he held roles as the Vice President of Innovation Leadership for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce, Director of Partnerships at ZappRx, a healthcare IT startup that has raised $42M before sale, and as the Executive Director of Technology Underwriting Greater Good (TUGG), the philanthropic arm of Boston’s technology startup ecosystem. He is also a Venture Partner and Limited Partner in several prominent national venture funds, and the co-founder of the Finger Lakes Summit.

Mr. Brown graduated with a BA in psychology and leadership studies, from Williams College. He also holds an MBA in entrepreneurship, summa cum laude, from Babson College.

In his spare time, aside from chasing around his two young boys, he sits on numerous nonprofit boards and economic development counsels and is an avid skier and golfer.

Marnie LaVigne PhD

President and CEO, Launch NY

Dr. Marnie LaVigne has spent more than 30 years in both the private and public sectors creating new products and start-up businesses, driving innovation and economic growth in high-tech industries, such as life sciences, informatics, and advanced manufacturing. Her passion for working with start-ups took root from her experience launching health informatics businesses with colleagues in the 1990’s as she finished her doctoral work at the University of Rochester, which resulted in growing two health informatics companies with more than 100 employees and two initial public offerings (IPOs).

In July 2014, she became the President and CEO of Launch NY, a 36-county venture development organization that she co-founded with other Buffalo boosters and whose mission is to identify, support and invest in high-growth, high-impact companies and catalyze the entrepreneurial culture of Upstate New York. Previously, she led economic development efforts involving work with hundreds of businesses at UB as Associate Vice President for Economic Development from 2012 to 2014 and Director of Business Development from 2005 until 2012 at the NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences and the UB Center for Advanced Biomedical and Bioengineering Technology yielding economic impact with more than a 60:1 return-oninvestment. In addition to her for prfit start-up experience prior to UB, Dr. LaVigne also spearheaded product development initiatives for larger corporations in managed care (e.g., Aetna), pharmaceuticals (Bristol-Myers Squibb), medical devices (Welch Allyn), and medical informatics (Medscape/MedicaLogic, now GE and WebMD). Dr. LaVigne has a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and a doctorate in clinical psychology, both from the University of Rochester. She is chair of the New York State Economic Development Council (NYSEDC) and a member of the Board of Directors for Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI), Western New York Venture Association, and numerous advisory boards. As lifelong residents of Buffalo, Marnie and her husband, Rob Fohl, are avid downhill skiers and sailors who are blessed with two adult children, a son-in-law, and six grandchildren.

Industry Track Presentations
3:30 PM – Software & Services
3:45 PM – Products & Hardware
4:00 PM – Food & AgTech
4:15 PM – Safety, Power & Mobility
4:30 PM – Live, Work & Learn
4:45 PM – Health & Wellbeing

Keynote Address, Ed Mitzen, Co-Founder, Business for Good Foundation

Ed Mitzen

Co-Founder, Business for Good Foundation

Ed Mitzen, Co-Founder of the Business for Good Foundation, is a visionary entrepreneur and the architect behind many successful businesses. A passionate advocate for transformative social responsibility, he has been recognized on the Worthy 100 list of global visionaries and the Albany Business Review’s Power 50. Ed is also the author of More Than a Number and Wealthy and White, leveraging his platform to address economic inequity and ethical leadership. Along with his wife, Lisa, he was honored with the Capital Region Chamber’s “ChangeMakers Award” for his commitment to community development.

Winners Announcement
Category winners recognized:

• Health & Wellbeing
• Food & AgTech
• Safety, Power & Mobility
• Live, Work & Learn
• Software & Services
• Products & Hardware

Grand Prize Winner Announced & Remarks

Closing Remarks

Networking Reception