JaiCe Stinton '18
Siena College’s David ’73 and Christine Spicer ’75 Stack Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship sponsored its semi-annual Spark Tank event, encouraging students to put their imagination to the test and compete for the grand prize. This event, based off the reality television show Shark Tank, offers Siena students the chance to promote their business ideas and products in front of a panel of successful entrepreneurs.
Spark Tank is an opportunity for student entrepreneurs to identify problems that they find important and create a solution. The spring 2017 event attracted 14 teams, consisting of 22 students, to showcase products that varied from clothing with a social mission to applications for car insurance purposes to developing furniture. Each group presented in front of four Siena alumni, Peter Dean ’92, CEO of Rendertribe, Gil Chase ’85, Co-Founder and Executive Vice President of Empire Financial Advisors, Inc., Donald DeVito ’83, CEO of Auxilia, and Mike Tanski ’12, Co-Founder and CTO of Dumbstruck.
Each group had to delve into marketing strategies, the target audience, the financial aspect and a plan for the future. After each presentation, the judges were able to ask questions and provide feedback.
Although there was tough competition, one group rose above and clinched first place. This year Ryan Kelley, Monica Sweeney, Matthew Falvey, Matthew Nooney and Nicholas Grammatica presented Afterlife Construction earning the grand prize. These Siena students wanted to “create furniture that was different in every aspect, but could still challenge cheap and high quality furniture on pricing and longevity.” This business focuses on refurbishing old wooden pallets into customized pieces of furniture for customers at a reasonable price.
“We have developed our idea for several months now and it truly feels like each time we get together to talk about our startup, we change it for the better. Going into [Spark Tank], we had no clue we were even in contention to win. But, after we gave our presentation, we felt confident; but still had no idea that we would win!”
Garrison Grant and Bryce Fraser came in second place with their idea, “LetsChatAboutIt.” These students provide a non-profit platform for people who experience substance abuse to comfortably talk about their success stories and experiences without any social backlash.
Grant and Fraser have used this win as a jumpstart to move their idea along. “We are hoping to get a grant from the government, which will allow us to get this product up and running. The funding from Spark Tank will be extremely helpful in helping us with things such as buying the domain for our website.”
