Clarkson University Student Ryan Ericson of Lanesboro, Mass., Wins Award in New York State Business Plan Competition

2013 Jun 5

Ryan Ericson, of Lanesboro, Mass., a Clarkson University senior majoring in electrical engineering , is part of a company, which won the People's Choice Award in the fourth annual New York State Business Plan Competition held at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering of the University at Albany.

Renoun Ski Company, Ericson won the "People's Choice" award along with a $1,000 prize. Renoun is designing a ski to adapt instantly to snow conditions using a patent-pending technology and principals of aircraft design.

Renoun will be putting their prize toward building its next round of prototypes.

Expanded to cover all 10 economic development regions of New York for the first time, in accordance with Governor Andrew Cuomo's Regional Development Councils roadmap, this year's event drew a record number of entries, further cementing its recognition as the largest competition of its kind in the nation. The final round featured a total of 88 student-led start-ups from 33 colleges and universities that presented business plans for innovations in the areas driving the 21st century economy, including nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and clean energy, among others.

More than 60 students from five North Country colleges and universities converged on Clarkson in March to pitch their businesses in the first North Country Regional Business Plan Competition, cohosted by Clarkson's Reh Center for Entrepreneurship and SUNY Plattsburgh's Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Eight teams from the North Country, seven of them from Clarkson, advanced to the finals in Albany.

The New York State Business Plan Competition was established in 2009 to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship throughout New York State's colleges and universities.

SEFCU and SUNY served as the event's Title Sponsors, with the competition jointly presented by College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering of the University at Albany on, University at Albany's School of Business, and Syracuse University. The winning teams were selected by a panel of national venture capitalists, angel investors, investment bankers, and seasoned entrepreneurs.

Clarkson University launches leaders into the global economy. One in five alumni already leads as a CEO, VP or equivalent senior executive of a company. Located just outside the Adirondack Park in Potsdam, N.Y., Clarkson is a nationally recognized research university for undergraduates with select graduate programs in signature areas of academic excellence directed toward the world's pressing issues. Through 50 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, arts, sciences and health sciences, the entire learning-living community spans boundaries across disciplines, nations and cultures to build powers of observation, challenge the status quo, and connect discovery and engineering innovation with enterprise.

Photo caption: Clarkson University student-run business Renoun Ski Company won the People's Choice Award in the fourth annual New York State Business Plan Competition. Left to right: Cameron Jones, Gregory Bright, Donald Lienau, Robert Pelletier, Ryan Ericson, and Cyrus Schenck of Renoun Ski.