NEWS RELEASE

NEWS
RELEASE
For Immediate Release
June 3, 2013
Junior Achievement of New York, 420, Lexington Avenue, Suite 205, New York, NY 10170 ● www.jany.org
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For More Information Contact:
Jacqueline Dolly, 212-907-0046 / [email protected]
Junior Achievement of New York Announces Top Three
Teams of the Sixth Annual Business Plan Competition
Teen Business Plan Contest Caps a Four Month High School Business Entrepreneurship BootCamp Curriculum
NEW YORK NY — Junior Achievement of New York held the final round of its sixth annual
Business Plan Competition on Friday May 31, at NASDAQ OMX Marketsite, Times
Square. Presented by the NASDAQ OMX Education Foundation, Friday’s contest was the culmination
of an intensive entrepreneurship education process that began last January with 182 student teams from
17 NYC and Long Island public high schools. Only six teams made it through the various stages of
judging to Friday’s final round of presentations. A panel of distinguished business leaders from the
corporate and entrepreneurial business world served as judges. At stake were cash prizes totaling
$24,000, trophies for the top three school teams, and a chance to be selected Junior Achievement’s top
teen business plan idea of 2013. Team Tutoroo from Bronx High School of Science received first prize.
Long Island Team VirtuREAL from W. T. Clarke High School placed second, and the High School of
Dual Language and Asian Studies from Manhattan placed third.
"It is thrilling to see the range of sophisticated ideas, business acumen and passion of the young people
competing in this annual program and competition," said Junior Achievement of New York President,
Joseph Peri. "The annual Business Plan Competition is an important part of our programming. Students
gain valuable exposure to the business world and develop critical business skills ranging from putting
together a team to creating an innovative plan for a new venture. The skills and experience they gain
impacts the vitality and economic stability of the NY business community and contribute to a welleducated future workforce.”
High School Senior Jackson Finio led the four-person team from Bronx High School of Science that
placed first. The team has worked together since ninth grade to develop innovative new business ideas.
For three consecutive years, they have advanced to the final round. In the past two years, their business
plan ideas narrowly placed second in the competition. This year they were on a mission to place first.
The team includes 12th grade students Mathew Bauxbaum, Graham Campbell and Joshua YellinFlaherty. “In our first year we landed in the finals not really knowing what to expect in each round. Our
second place finish was awesome and really boosted our confidence. We made up our minds to take
another shot. The following year we worked even harder and squeaked through to second place,” said
Jackson. “This year, we put everything we had into this idea, learning from the mistakes we made in
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previous years. We came ready to win first place.” Jackson and his teammates each received $3,000, a
trophy for their school and an opportunity to ring the NASDAQ Closing Bell later in June. Over the
last three years, they have won a total of $28,000.
The three-year success streak of Jackson and his teammates has sparked an entrepreneurial tidal wave
in their school. “The first year we competed, there were 6-8 teams participating in my school. When
we came back to compete for our second year, Bronx Science did not have enough room for all the
students that signed up for the competition. Student participation was high this year too. I think it has
to do with our success in the first year.”
Their business idea, Tutoroo.com, provides an online platform for enhancing and catering to the needs
of a 21st century student-tutor relationship. “This experience has been the most valuable of my
personal and educational development,” said Jackson. “The Business Plan Competition made me
realize my passion for entrepreneurship and it made me realize what I want to study for the next four
years. Finally, it has taught me valuable lessons in some of the most difficult skills, like public
speaking. It has been an enlightening experience competing these past few years, and I am excited to
take all that I have learned with me to college and beyond.”
Team VirtuReal from W.T. Clarke High School, located in Westbury Long Island placed second. Team
members Kristen Newman, Erin Deytiquez, Lauren McManus and Christopher Abanavas each received
$2000 and a trophy for their school. W.T. Clarke has the distinction of having a team place in the top
three teams for five consecutive years. For the first three years of their participation in the competition,
their school took first place. Their business plan idea promises to help people overcome their
communication fears to become superb public speakers with the help of VirtuREAL
software. Business volunteers from FedEx Express coached their team to success.
Team EZ Scholar from the High School of Dual Language and Asian Studies received the third place
award. Team members Ekene Aguolu, Ken Chen, CK Tran and Hoi Lam each received $1,000 and a
trophy for their school. Their business plan idea EZScholar.com simplifies the scholarship application
process, making it more efficient, organized, and less stressful for students. Business volunteers from
American Express coached their team to success.
The Competition’s judges represented a wide array of prominent corporate and entrepreneurial start-up
firms:
Bonnie Hemrajani, CEO, Mobileistic
Jalak, Jobanputra, Founding Partner, FuturePerfect Ventures
Nick Johnson, Senior Vice President, NBC Sports Digital Media, NBC Universal
Jeremy Johnson, Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer, 2U
Renwick Paige, Managing Partner, Energy Infrastructure Partners
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Since its inception, more than 5,000 high school students have entered the Junior Achievement of New
York Business Plan Competition education boot camp. The competition fosters teen interest in
entrepreneurship as a pathway to economic and social empowerment. Past participants have gone on to
create successful business enterprises of their own. Babson College senior Gary Jiang founded the
MuffinMilk clothing and lifestyle branding and marketing company while he was still in high school.
Gary’s team did not make it past the semi-final round five years ago, but his experience in the
competition was enough to fuel his passion for business and entrepreneurship. Gary is also involved
with a second business venture, SuperEgo Clothiers. Awad Sayeed and Kyle Wong were members of
the first place team during the pilot year of the program. During and after college they launched several
business enterprises including their latest, Pixlee.com, based in Silicon Valley, LA. Pixlee helps
companies market their goods and services with user-generated photos across multiple social media
platforms. “The Junior Achievement of New York Business Plan Competition was crucial in helping
me to develop as an entrepreneur and to eventually launch and run Pixlee,” said Awad Sayeed. “While
other students were getting ready for senior prom, we were preparing to pitch our business in front of a
panel of experienced business professionals. This early taste of the challenges (as well as the rewards)
of being an entrepreneur was both humbling and enamoring, and I knew I wanted more.” For more
information about the Junior Achievement of New York Business Plan Competition, visit:
www.jany.org/programs/business-plan-competition.shtml.
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For Team Tutoroo.com from Bronx High School of Science, it was third time's the charm when they
received the First Place Award in the 2013 Junior Achievement of New York Business Plan Competition,
presented by the NASDAQ OMX Education Foundation.
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Team VirtuReal from Westbury, Long Island's W.T. Clarke High School, received the Second Place
Award in the 2013 Junior Achievement of New York Business Plan Competition.
Team EZ Scholar from the High School for Dual Language and Asian Studies, received the Third Place Award
in the 2013 Junior Achievement of New York Business Plan Competition.
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On May 31, the six finalist teams from The High School of Dual Language and Asian Studies, Leadership and public Service High School. W. T.
Clarke High School, Bronx High School of Science, Brooklyn Technical High School and Commack High School, gathered at NASDAQ OMX
Marketsite, Times Square, to compete for the top 3 prize awards in the 2013 Junior Achievement of New York Business Plan Competition.
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