The La Macchia New Venture Business Plan Competition at UWM’s Lubar School of Business returned to campus this spring with student entrepreneurs presenting their plans and responding to questions from a panel of expert judges. The competition is sponsored by long-time supporters Bill and Sharon La Macchia. Bill La Macchia is the founder of Mark Travel Corporation and Trisept Solutions, global leaders in travel services and travel technology (now part of Apple Leisure Group).
“We are incredibly grateful to Bill and Sharon for supporting this exciting competition and other entrepreneurship initiatives at the Lubar School,” says Dean Kaushal Chari.
This year’s top honors went to:
First Prize: Howarth Farms
The $10,000 first prize winner is Howarth Farms, owned by Dan Howarth (’22 MBA). Howarth Farms is an agricultural technology engineering company that will design, project manage, and build total turnkey vertical farms for food manufacturers. The advantages of vertical farming include resilience to weather, lack of pesticides, the ability to recycle water, nutrient control, and great yields, Howarth shares. “Our custom-built vertical farms will help companies meet their sustainability goals and mitigate the cost and supply chain volatility of today’s commodity markets,“ he says.
Second Prize: Stone, LLC
Stone, LLC, a line of fashion adornments for purses, belts, backpacks, and anything else that has a buckle, won the competition’s $5,000 second prize. Sam Keehan (’24 BBA-Supply Chain & Operations Management) says he conceived the idea for his products when his sister asked for his opinion on what she should wear to go out one evening.
Third Prize: Spoiler Alert
Sarah Krajewski (’22 BBA-HR Management and Marketing) and Grace Masanz (’22 BBA-Supply Chain & Operations Management and Marketing) won the $2,500 third prize with their idea for an app to help people keep track of expiration dates of the food they purchase. “Our goal is to help people eliminate food waste and live a healthy lifestyle,” says Masanz.
Two Honorable Mention awards ($500) went to:
Automate By Hand (Kai Kishpaugh, BS-Computer Science ’23)
Soapbox (Drake Fox, BBA-Accounting ’24)
About the Competition
The La Macchia New Venture Business Plan Competition was launched in 2008 to simulate the real-world process of entrepreneurs soliciting start-up funds from early-stage investors and venture capital firms. UWM students and recent graduates who enter the contest must demonstrate a market opportunity, unique benefits, competitive advantage, clear operational and marketing strategies, and financial viability, and are judged by a panel of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
The competition is directed by V. Kanti Prasad, Emeritus Dean and Emeritus Bostrom Professor of Entrepreneurship, and supported by several highly successful entrepreneurs and experts who served as judges, mentors, and workshop presenters.
The following served on the panel of judges for the competition:
Athena Agoudemos, Interim Director, UWM Small Business Development Center
Jim Hunter, Managing Member, James H. Hunter & Associates, and Adjunct Professor and Bostrom Entrepreneur-in-Residence, UWM Lubar School of Business
Alan Katz, President, Katz Consulting, and Founder of Katz Bagels
Brian Morello, Former Principal at Beloit Beverage Co., City Brewery, and Drink Beer LLC, and Director, Center for Entrepreneurship in Liberal Education at Beloit College
Paul Stewart, President, PS Capital Partners, and Entrepreneur-in-Residence at UWM Lubar School of Business
In the months preceding the competition, the following served as mentors to the venture teams, providing valuable guidance for formulation and presentation of their business plans:
Jude Anders, Consultant (Retired), Shoreline Concepts, LLC
Dave Hildreth, President, BOOST Associates; Vistage (TEC) Chairman, Vistage Worldwide
David Irwin, General Partner, Hiawatha, and President, Chapter Apps
George Satula, Vistage (TEC) Chairman, Vistage Worldwide
Mark Ship, Principal and Business Advisor, Sandler & Ship
At the outset of the process, the following individuals presented workshops on developing effective new venture business plans to interested students:
Athena Agoudemos, Interim Director, UWM Small Business Development Center
Jim Hunter, Managing Member, James H. Hunter & Associates, and Adjunct Professor and Bostrom Entrepreneur-in-Residence, UWM Lubar School of Business
Gregory Martin, Business Consultant, UWM Small Business Development Center