Elmira College Students Win Big in Collegiate Pitch Competition

Elmira College students swept the top three prizes during the second annual 607 Soaring Southern Tier Startup Collegiate Competition. Styled after the popular show Shark Tank, four EC teams and one SUNY Corning Community College (CCC) team pitched business ideas to a panel of judges, hoping to win prize money.

IncubatorWorks organized the event held on April 27 at CCC and two area companies, Siemens and Hilliard Corporation, donated the prize money.

The three winning EC teams were:

• First place ($5,000) - Russell

• Second place ($2,500) - UniUnified

• Third place ($1,000) - Southern Tier Trails

View a video of the pitch competition here.

EC President Dr. Charles Lindsay (center) with Russell team members Stephen McDonald ’27 (left) and Alessandro Lancia '26 (right).

First-place winners Alessandro Lancia '26 and Stephen McDonald ’27 pitched an online business that connects students in Italy with the tools needed to attend college in the United States. The business, called Russell, provides consultation and educational materials. The idea is based on Lancia’s personal experiences finding, applying to, and attending EC.

For the team, winning first place felt like an affirmation of their hard work.

“We spent countless hours developing, troubleshooting, and refining our idea with the help of our exceptional mentors, Mark Abdalla and Brad Treat,” said McDonald.

Lancia, who participated in last year’s competition attributed the team’s success to their decision to keep the team small. Last year Lancia was one of six members in The 6 Hats, which earned Viewer’s Choice.

“I think a small team has a much better workflow and it's easier to get things done,” he shared. ”I think it is also positive because everybody feels equally important, something that rarely happens in a big team.”

For McDonald, having a shared sense of purpose was also a big factor.

“As I spoke to Alessandro, I learned we share a lot in common regarding our interests and desire to help others,” explained McDonald. “This allowed us to be strong collaborators and remain on the same page throughout all stages of the start-up process.”

The pair intends to keep working together and will invest their winnings to “do some market research and then to produce our content according to the customers' needs,” said Lancia. “We will also invest in AI Tools to smooth our operations and develop our website and branding. We will also spend some money on advertising and marketing “

UniUnified team members Mitchell Haight '24, Olivia Volino '24, and Morgan Vrabel '27.

Second-place winner, Mitchell Haight '24, a Business Administration major, also valued the experience he and his teammates received by participating in the competition. He’s excited to use those skills in the workforce soon.

“This competition was extremely valuable for directly applying the concepts we have learned in the classroom into a fun, real-world application,” he shared.

Haight added that he and his teammates are grateful for the feedback and support they received from their mentors, the judges, IncubatorWorks, and peers in the competition.

“As each of our group members begins to take different paths in the near future, we will use the ideas and experiences we have learned as we begin our careers,” he said.

The Competition Judges included, from left to right, Jerome Emanuel, Community Development Director, Alternatives Federal Credit Union; Carol Miller, Executive Director at Alliance for Manufacturing & Technology, AMT; and John Kennedy, Chief Financial Officer, Inspire Semiconductor, Inc.

According to IncubatorWorks, that’s the goal of the competition.

“We want to see our local college students persist to graduation and use what they have learned throughout their undergraduate experience to explore entrepreneurship,” shared Ashleigh Madison, Executive Director of IncubatorWorks. “The 607 Soaring Collegiate Competition is a great way for them to do that.”

Full list of Elmira College teams:

Russell (First Place)

Pitch: Grow the team’s small, online service connecting students in Italy who are interested in finance with colleges in the United States. The consultation and education business will help students navigate the process of applying to college and managing customs regulations.

Advisor: Mark Abdalla, Assistant Professor of Finance, Elmira College

Mentor: Brad Treat, Cornell University

Team:

• Allessandro Lancia '26
• Stephan McDonald ’27

UniUnified (Second Place)

Pitch: Create a college-centered social media platform to connect students across their campus to help them connect, make friends, and access support. The site’s main features include personality-based matching, a centralized hub for accessing campus services, and a celebration of student achievements.

Advisor: Larry Parker II, Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Title IX Coordinator at Elmira College

Mentor: Dave Lewis, Corning Incorporated

Team:

• Olivia Volino '24
• Mitchell Haight '24
• Morgan Vrabel '27

Southern Tier Trails (Third Place)

Pitch - Create a non-profit organization to advertise existing nature groups and attractions and provide accessible and healthy activities for the community. Provide advertising and operational support to area outdoor organizations and fund sustainable projects. Membership model for revenue.

Advisor: Dr. Jeffrey Alves, EC Professor of Management

Mentor: Michael Park, Nuage IT

Team:

• Lutho Mlunguza '23
• Pietro Gallina '26
• Faith Ingber '26
• Kerfalla Toure '26
• Martin Harguindey '26
• Alexandra Stilo '26

Vitalwear

Pitch: Develop a biowearable product that provides health and fitness tracking with a professional look that is wearable both on and off the field.

Advisor: Dr. Susan McDaniel Hohenhaus, Associate Professor of Business Administration

Mentor: Pat Shreckengast, AceUp

Team:

• Miranda Waterman '25
• Shira Wein '27
• Alivia Micknich '27
• Adison Grusendorf '27