Natasha Burao (left) and David Panassi (Photographed by Amelia Beamish)
From delicious new food products to cloud management solutions to innovative digital platforms that connect local food producers and consumers, this year’s Panassi Business Plan Competition showcases excellence from the most innovative and business-minded students across Syracuse University. ideas were presented. A campus-wide business plan event hosted annually by the Whitman School of Management’s School of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises (EEE), this year’s competition will be held on April 5 and will be presented by David Panassi ’80, president of DHP Consulting. and 1st, 2nd and 3rd place prize sponsors. Scott Friedberg ’14, founder and CEO of Gilded Social and sponsor of the Gilded Social Rising Entrepreneur Award. and Nick Monzi ’11, CEO and co-founder of Learn Fresh, sponsor of this year’s new Learn Fresh Award for Social Entrepreneurship.
“The annual Panassi competition is always an exciting day on campus, and this year’s event was no exception, with twice as many students participating this year as in 2023. Students from across the university come together to innovate. “and compete for prizes that will help advance their business plans,” says Cristiano Belavitis, assistant professor of entrepreneurship, who managed this year’s event. “Everyone who competed received valuable feedback from a diverse group of judges. This year’s winners are undoubtedly on the fast track to making their entrepreneurial goals a reality.”
The 2024 Panassi Competition awarded a total of $40,000 in prizes to the winning teams that showed the best potential for growth and attracting external funding. In the semi-finals, all contestants submitted written business plans, and the top teams met in the finals. Regardless of whether they were selected as a winner or not, all finalists received specific and valuable feedback from industry experts involved in the event.
First place and the Gilded Rising Social Entrepreneur Award went to Natasha Brao ’22, G’23, G’24, founder of Shooka. She won her $20,000 as the first place prize and an additional $5,000 as her Gold Plated Rising Social Entrepreneur Award. Her Shooka at Brao is a spicy tomato sauce based on the traditional Mediterranean dish shakshuka, which she first tasted on a trip abroad in 2019. Always a lover of “mixing and fusion of cultures to promote creative cuisine,” she developed her Shooka and formalized her business. Sales began in 2023 and product sales began in March 2024.
“The Panassi Business Plan Competition at Whitman is one of the most important competitions to me. I look forward to it all year long and it’s great to compete alongside dear friends and talented entrepreneurs. That was the case,” Burao says. “The prize money will support production, transportation and inventory holding costs, allowing us to focus on increasing sales in the coming months. This further validates my product and myself as a founder, so I couldn’t be more excited to move forward.”
Second place went to Waqar Hussain G’25, Fulbright Scholar and founder of Iconnic.cloud, who won $7,500. Iconnic.cloud is a powerful cloud management solution designed for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) looking to scale and grow. The platform simplifies the migration of business and web solutions to the cloud, making it easy to deploy and scale digital products using the cloud provider of your choice. Iconnic.cloud eliminates the need for costly system administrators and IT managers, making cloud technology accessible and cost-effective. The solution not only reduces operational costs, but also increases efficiency and provides small and medium-sized businesses with the tools to innovate and grow in a digital-first economy. Iconnic.cloud is a product of his IconProSolutions, his Web Wizarding team of designers and developers who “create the magic that powers your online business.”
The third place winner of $2,500 and the $5,000 Learn Fresh Award for Social Entrepreneurship went to Aggregate, co-founder and CEO of Aggregate, a digital platform aimed at bridging the gap between producers and consumers in local communities. Presented to a certain Brielle Young ’27. Through its application, Aggregate allows producers to share their products and tell the story behind their products, whether it’s artisan crafts or fresh produce. Additionally, consumers can find affordable and accessible local products with just a few clicks. Its mission is to foster a vibrant community through local commerce while providing local businesses with tools for growth and sustainability. Ezra James, an environmental engineering student at Cornell University, is Aggregate’s co-founder and chief operating officer. The Learn Fresh Award for Social Entrepreneurship recognizes innovations that demonstrate the greatest commitment to achieving social impact by addressing persistent inequalities and large-scale social challenges. Learn Fresh is a nonprofit organization that delivers STEM learning to empower educators and inspire students.
This year’s Panasci Business Plan Competition judges include Jack Adler ’23, Out2Win Sports; Eric Alderman L’75, adjunct professor at the Whitman School. Nasim Jose Alemany ’09, Solver. Haotian Bai, Patriot Conceptions. Logan Bonney G’17, West Gen LLC, Stout Beard Brewing. Bill Broad, All Times Publishing. Blake Brossman ’98, PetCareRX. Salvatore (Tory) D’Amelio ’08, President of Selflock Screw Products. Alexander Deyhim, Invent@SU Director, iSchool Faculty. Cody Disch ’10, Founder of Arias Advisors. Dustin Doucette, Director of Operations, Upstate Venture Connect. David Eilers ’80, Center for Innovation Law, Syracuse University School of Law. Jessica Falcone, Jessica Elizabeth Skincare, Inc. James Farrell G’19, East of Nowhere. Ben Ford ’23, Fundworks. Megan Frokowski, WISE Women’s Business Center. Scott Friedberg ’14, Founder and CEO of Gilded Social. Linda Dickerson Hartsock, founder of Syracuse Blackstone Launchpad; Rekia Hill, Rekia Tech LLC; Sam Hollander ’21, Share Club Co-Founder and CEO. Peter King ’08, Cayuga Economic Development Authority. David S. Klein ’92, owner and president of Greenwood Industries. Jeff Linowes ’77, Chief Branding Officer, HALO Branded Solutions. Kelo Makelele, Founder, RedTrace Technologies, Inc. F. Jasper Massey, Commercial Loan Officer, Empower Federal Credit Union. George Mazevski ’99, G’00, President and CEO of Govsphere Inc. Nick Monzi ’11, Founder and CEO of Learn Fresh. Emad Rahim, Surge Entrepreneurship Manager, Syracuse Surge Accelerator/CenterState CEO. Joe Knoll Jr. ’05, President of National Electronic Transit. Micah Shippee G’16, Samsung Electronics America. Don R. Stanton ’03, Tanglewood Gardens. and Vivek Sureddi ’15, owner president of VivCon LLC.
For more information about the Panasci Business Competition, visit Whitman’s website.
