2026 BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition

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General Information About the Upcoming 2026 BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition

Coming March 2026, the Binghamton Local Development Corporation (BLDC) and the SUNY Broome Entrepreneurial Assistance Center (EAC) based at SUNY Broome expect to announce the annual BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition presented by M&T Bank and the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, which will award $10,000 in prizes to the best business plans for developing a business in the City of Binghamton. The competition is held online and in person with technical support provided by Binghamton University's Koffman Southern Tier Incubator.

The competition, which is the longest running in the Greater Binghamton area, seeks to cultivate local business development and promote the entrepreneurial spirit and raise awareness about EAP training, BLDC financing and other community resources for small business growth.

Courtesy of the BLDC, M&T Bank and the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, the competition prize list totals $10,000 with $7,000 for 1^st place, $2,000 for 2^nd place and $1,000 for 3^rd place with gift certificates for the remaining finalists. It is anticipated that the awards will encourage high quality entries and provide useful assistance to the development of young businesses.

In addition to the $7,000 cash award, the 1^st place winner (only) will receive several additional awards generously donated by Binghamton businesses and organizations:

5 hours of accounting services courtesy of Davidson Fox & Co., Binghamton.
$500.00 of legal counsel courtesy of Coughlin & Gerhart, LLP.
One year membership in the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce.
$500.00 in sign creation services courtesy of 3i Graphics & Signs, Binghamton.
$500.00 in website services courtesy of FreshySites, Binghamton.
$500.00 in branding services courtesy of Idea-Kraft, Binghamton.
3-months free co-working membership at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator courtesy of Binghamton University's Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships.
One year membership courtesy of the Triple Cities Makerspace.

Previous winners include several successful businesses such as:

2025 Awards Ceremony (L to R): Patrick Doyle, BLDC President, Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce; 1^st Place Winner, Ayissi Nyemba, Emkao Foods; Binghamton Mayor Jared M. Kraham.

2025 winner Emkao Foods will manufacture premium organic cocoa products for institutional markets; sourcing beans directly from farmers in Cameroon that ensures sustainability, traceability and ethical practices. Second place winner, BUZZHIVE manufactures innovative "smart beehive" solutions that combine IoT hardware with a mobile app to provide real-time hive monitoring, guidance, and proactive alerts to beekeepers. The company offers scalable solutions from an app with sensors to turnkey smart beehives. Third place winner, SAVOR Meals will provide affordable and personalized meals for college students powered by a custom GPT assistant and designed for campus pickup.
2024 winner Civic Alert Systems enables municipalities/counties to communicate with residents via mass or select text messaging products. Second place winner, UmaHari is developing a family of biologics-based, cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and sustainable options to conventional chemical fertilizers. Third place winner, 2^nd Heaven — Chroma Café & Bakery added a second off BU-campus location for their bubble tea business in downtown Binghamton with an expanded menu of coffee, pastries and sandwiches
2023 winner Stephen Gonya, Electric Light Apparel provides wearable illuminated graphics to display company logos, organization emblems, and municipal insignias; Second-place winner Vedova La Couverture operates a retail and online woman's boutique with clothing, accessories, beauty, and hair applications; and Third-place winner, Perfectly Poured is an online business focuses on candles, wax melts, body care, stationery, and books.
2022 winner Strategic Test Prep specializes in SAT and ACT test preparation as well as math and science subject tutoring. Second-place winner Downtown Danny's operates a food cart specializing in hot dogs and sausages. Third-place winner USEFUZE created a mobile app to help trade and service workers build their own side businesses.
KLAW Industries has a proprietary process to extract recycled glass from the household waste stream, refine and market it as an additive to manufacturing concrete.
Parlor City Vegan specializes in vegan foods and cheeses at their new 81 Clinton Street eatery and takeout.
Freshy has over 35 team members, has completed over 2,500 projects and serves customers throughout the Northeast US.
Idea-Kraft is a graphics creation and internet advertising design firm. Founder, Ewelina Zajac-Holdrege was named 2021 Entrepreneur of the Year selected by New York State's Entrepreneurial Assistance Centers.

Rules:

Applicants must plan to start a business or have an existing business that is no more than five years old.
Applicants must demonstrate the ability to finance and open the business in the City of Binghamton within four months of winning the competition and commit to keeping the business in the City for a minimum of three years.

Competition Format:

the steps of the competition are as follows:

Business Plan Development Workshop: the annual competition offers a free online "Business Plan Development Workshop", a 3-day series of presentations which features local experts in banking, marketing, entrepreneurship, legal considerations, and advice from past competition winners. Applicants are strongly encouraged to complete business start-up or management training with the Entrepreneurship Assistance Center at SUNY Broome OR attend the online Business Development Workshop.
Application & Executive Summary: interested applicants will need to complete an application and provide a 1–2 page Executive Summary by early April. A team from BLDC and EAP will review and select the most viable business ideas to participate in the competition as finalists.
Finalists—Full Written Business Plan Submission: next, finalists are invited to submit full business plans which will be reviewed and graded (60% of total score) prior to oral presentations. Participants not submitting or providing incomplete plans will not be advanced in the competition.
Finalists—Oral Presentations: next, written business plans are reviewed by the judges in advance of the oral presentations (40% of score) which take place in person at the Koffman Incubator. Each participant has up to 15 minutes to present and 10 minutes for Q&A with the judges. We recommend augmenting presentations with PowerPoint, product samples, demonstrations, etc.
Winners: following the oral presentations, scores are totaled, and place winners are determined. The winners are announced by the Mayor, BLDC, SUNY-Broome, and Binghamton University officials at a scheduled press conference.

Interested in learning about the 2026 BLDC Business Plan Competition? Join our mailing list by clicking here.

Additional Resources & Reading

Resources for putting together your business plan courtesy of Merlin Joseph, KeyBank, merlin_joseph@keybank.com, (607) 770-4212:

Small Business Administration (SBA): https://www.sba.gov/

SBA Learning Center Dashboard: https://learn.sba.gov/dashboard

KeyBank online resources
https://www.key.com/small-business/index.html
Small Business Worksheets & Checklists
https://www.key.com/small-business/tools-resources/sheets-checklists/index.html
Small Business Calculators
https://www.key.com/small-business/tools-resources/calculators/index.html

Books recommended by Cheryl Fabrizi, Fab Idea, SUNY Broome, cherylfabrizi@gmail.com, (570) 499-9466:

"Storytelling: Branding in Practice"—Klaus Fog
"The Storyteller's Secret"—Carmine Gallo
"All Marketers Tell Stories"—Seth Godin
"Building a Story Brand"—Donald Miller

Books recommended by Ewelina Zajac-Holdrege, Idea-Kraft, eholdrege@idea-kraft.com, (607) 235-5855:

"Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike"—Phil Knight
"Authentic: A Memoir by the Founder of Vans"—Paul Van Doren
"Tools of Titans"—Tim Ferris
"Built to Sell: Creating a Business That Can Thrive Without You"—John Warrilow
"It’s How We Play the Game"—Ed Stack, Chairman/CEO, Dick’s Sporting Goods

Previous Winners

2024

Civic Alert Systems, was the 1^st place winner ($5,000) of the 14^th annual BLDC-EAP Binghamton Business Plan Competition. Owned and operated by Ryan Crist and Jason Duda, Civic Alert Systems plans to locate at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator. CAS provides a modern web application that closes the gap between local government and its citizens by leveraging the simple convenience of text messaging (i.e., SMS, MMS, etc.). This offers an effective means of communication without the complication and overhead of requiring users to install a separate mobile application. To use Civic Alert, an administrator selects a group of recipients by name, geographic location, or other customizable attributes. Then, the administrator drafts the message for sending, including optional attachments such as images or website links. Once ready the message can be sent immediately to all recipients or optionally scheduled for later. Examples of uses are travel bans, road construction, water main breaks, civic reminders, etc. Texting technology is a cheaper, greener, faster and more effective communication method than mail, email or phone contact. Civic Alert Systems intends to target cities, villages and towns across the US. Owner, Ryan Crist, has over a decade of experience as a software engineer working across multiple industries including defense, aerospace, mobile applications, and video technology.

UMAHARI, was the second-place winner ($2,000), a start-up company based at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator. Owned and operated by Dr. Alok Adholeya, UMAHARI is developing biologics-based plant fertilizer products positioned to be cost-effective, environmentally friendly, and sustainable alternatives to conventional synthetic fertilizers. NutriShield is a cost competitive product that includes ecosystem friendly inter-compatible biologics with robust shelf life, biologically derived molecules, and bio-nano nutrients from a "true-to-type" manufacturing process. UMAHARI states that the product ensures better performance to synthetic chemicals currently in use for crop productivity and disease control, improves plant immunity to pathogens as well as mitigates climate change impacts. Dr. Adholeya has 38+ years' experience in technology development, translation and commercialization in biologics for agriculture and use of biologics to solve industrial overburdening. He has 10 patents and transferred 20+ technologies to companies globally including North America. The company is exploring setting up a pilot manufacturing facility in the City of Binghamton.

2^nd Heaven/Chroma Café & Bakery was our third-place winner ($500), which operates a popular bubble tea business on the Binghamton University campus and the Broome Regional Farmers' Market and has been exploring a downtown Binghamton location to serve the BU campus market. Owner Leighton Blackwood has acquired an existing downtown café/bakery. It intends to expand its existing fun and refreshing non-alcoholic drink options with salads, sandwiches and pastries. Leighton Blackwood holds a BS In Business Management from Binghamton University's School of Management and is a graduate of NYC's Stuyvesant High School.

2023

Electric Light Apparel—a start-up Binghamton company was the first-place winner of the 13th Annual BLDC-EAP Binghamton Business Plan Competition sponsored by the Binghamton Local Development Corporation (BLDC) with generous financial support from M&T Bank. Additional support came from the Entrepreneurial Assistance Center (EAC) based at SUNY Broome Community College with support from the Binghamton University Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator. Electric Light Apparel was selected as the first-place winner ($5,000) based on the strength of their written business plan, presentation, and final Q&A session with judges. Owned and operated by Stephen Gonya, Electric Light Apparel provides a unique apparel product integrating Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) with textiles to create wearable illuminated graphics. The product uses a thin-flexible micro-LED array combined with textiles to selectively illuminate different sections of a graphic design to create lighted patches that can display company logos, organization emblems, and municipal insignias. The business expects to generate direct sales; custom designs for companies, organizations, and teams for advertising purposes; and lighted insignia for municipal first responders who value safety and visibility in low-light conditions. Founder, Stephen Gonya draws experience from a career with Lockheed Martin and Ph.D. research at BU using FHE technology on military and industrial platforms.

Vedova La Couverture was the second-place winner ($2,000), operating an online woman's boutique that offers fashion clothing, accessories, shoes, bags, beauty, and hair applications from business casual to lingerie. Owned by Tatiana Williams, Vedova started online and opened its first store in May 2023 at 168 Clinton Street. The business targets women ages 28+, mothers, and plus size women who want to express beauty and growth through appearance. Vedova specializes in urban street wear, party attire, business casual, swimwear, and lingerie not found in department stores or area boutiques. Vedova also offers personal fashion consultation, beauty, and salon services with monthly mixers for beauty and networking. Tatiana Williams has worked in fashion retail and is a graduate of the Koffman Incubator's Support Black Business 607 Accelerator Program.

Perfectly Poured was our third-place winner with an online business focusing on self-care with aromatic products such as candles and wax melts, body care, stationery, and books. Launched in 2022 by Ashley Hall, Perfectly Poured's uniquely scented, humorously named candles are not found in local candle shops or big box stores. Perfectly Poured's niche is the intersection of humor and self-care, with a focus on young minority women in their 20s and 30s. Ashley Hall holds Business Administration degrees from SUNY-Broome and Binghamton University and was a graduate of the Koffman Incubator's Support Black Business 607 Accelerator Program.

2022

Strategic Test Prep, LLC—a start-up company located at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator was the winner of the 13^th Annual BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition sponsored by the Binghamton Local Development Corporation (BLDC) and the Entrepreneurial Assistance Center (EAC) based at SUNY Broome Community College with support from the Binghamton University Office of Innovation&Entrepreneurship at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator. Strategic Test Prep was selected as the first-place winner ($5,000) based on the strength of their written business plan, presentation, and final Q&A session. Owned and operated by Laura Whitmore, Strategic Test Prep specializes in SAT and ACT test prep as well as math and science subject tutoring and is looking to expand by offering college preparatory services. Whitmore believes demand for in-person tutoring is on the rise after parents and students experienced limitations of remote learning during COVID. Strategic Test Prep is focusing on hiring and training new tutors and marketing to expand the business. Laura Whitmore has 15 years of tutoring experience and is a certified teacher in NYS pursuing a master’s degree in Curriculum Development.

Downtown Danny’s LLC —was selected as second-place winner ($2,000), operating a food cart specializing in hot dogs and sausages. Owned by Daniel Carlin and Christina Andrews, Downtown Danny’s provides convenient, high-quality affordable meals to patrons and downtown workers. Daniel drew on experience managing a hot dog cart in Denver, CO outside Coors Field while attending Metropolitan State University for Business Management where he met Christina Andrews, an Economics major. Downtown Danny’s will use funds to build a second custom cart to serve the farmer’s market on Upper Front Street in Binghamton, festivals, and private events.

USEFUZE, Inc.—was our third-place winner ($500) with a mobile app created to help trade and service workers build their own side businesses. The app helps people doing part-time/weekend/gig work to create a digital business card to showcase their work portfolio, create estimates and invoices; provide a summary for customers to view of every job and review; and get paid for their work. Owner Rawley Filbin realized the opportunity from experience with his family’s painting business. USEFUZE will use funds from the competition for marketing.

2021

KLAW Industries—was the winner of the 12^th Annual BLDC-EAP Business Plan Competition sponsored by the Binghamton Local Development Corporation (BLDC) and the Entrepreneurial Assistance Center (EAC) based at SUNY Broome Community College with support from the Binghamton University Office of Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Koffman Incubator. This annual contest awards $5,000.00 cash on top of professional services to the best plan for developing a new business in the City of Binghamton.

Finalists in the competition included: Anna Warfield Art, LLC—art business focused on advancing women in art with studio and contract work; 2^nd Heaven—mobile kitchen with proprietary bubble tea, tea-based beverages; Downtown Danny's LLC—food cart specializing in hot dogs and sausages to locate downtown; Stellar Human LLC—fashion-forward thrift clothing, creative workspace located at 128 Robinson Street; LIU Logistics for You—freight brokerage business with focus on food distribution; and The Women's Butterfly Event Hall & Catering Service—event planning and catering service.

KLAW Industries is a start-up company located at the Binghamton University Koffman Incubator. Prior to entering the BLDC competition, KLAW had won a number of NYS and regional business plan competitions, and received a number of National Science Foundation I-Corps grants. The company has a proprietary process to extract recycled glass from the household waste stream, refine it and market it as an additive to manufacturing concrete. For more information about KLAW Industries, please contact Jacob Kumpon, jacob@klawindustries.com, (607) 222-2291, Koffman Incubator, 120 Hawley Street, Binghamton, NY 13901.

BLDC Binghamton Business Plan Competition Winners 2009–2025

Number	Year	Winner(s)	Place	Business Name	Business

1	2009	Kathryn Fletcher	1	H2Innovations	Action Atlas, BiziLife.com—map of local amenities; BiziLife.com is an internet guide for local events, networking, and customer trends.
2	2010	Natalia Williams	1	Integrated Office Services (IOS)	Provides professional office space and professional office and administrative services to small companies on an as needed basis.
3	2011	Heather Staley	1	HR Staley Agency	Independent insurance agency.
4	2012	James Orband, David Brosius, David Simel, Adam Sabol, Leighton Rogers	1	The CommuniKey	Member card with deals at over 100 Broome County businesses.
5	2013	Ben Giordano	1	FreshySites	Custom designed websites company.
6	2014	Ewelina Zajac-Holdrege	1	Idea Kraft	Full-service creative studio that specializing in branding, identity, packaging and website design.
N/A	2015	No Competition	N/A	N/A	N/A
7	2016	Stephen Musok, Erik Leonard	1	Next Wave Motors	Electric motorcycle conversion kit.
8	2017	Desiree DePersiis	1	Tesorina Boutique	Downtown Binghamton women's boutique.
9	2018	Sarah Liu	1	Parlor City Vegan	Restaurant, catering and plant-based foods company.
10	2019	Joe Rigoroso	1	Infinity Greens	Microgreen supplier for restaurants, wholesale, retail.
N/A	2020	No Competition	N/A	N/A	N/A
11	2021	Jacob Kumpon, Jack Lamuraglia, Tanner Wallis	1	KLAW Industries, Inc.	Innovative recycled glass additive for manufacturing concrete.
12	2022	Laura Whitmore	1	Strategic Test Prep, LLC	Scholastic subject tutoring and test preparation business (SAT, ACT).
		Daniel Carlin, Christina Andrews	2	Downtown Danny's, LLC	Downtown food cart operator, planning to add a second cart.
		Rawley Filbin	3	UseFuze	Mobile administration app to support gig workers with providing customer quotations, client management and billing.
13	2023	Stephen Gonya	1	Electric Light Apparel	Uses micro-LED array to create wearable illuminated graphics for first responders and consumer uses.
		Tatiana Williams	2	Vedova La Couverture	Local and online women's boutique that offers fashion clothing, accessories, shoes, bags, beauty and hair applications.
		Ashley Hall	3	Perfectly Poured	Self-care brand specializing in humorously labeled aromatic products such as candles and wax melts.
14	2024	Ryan Crist Jason Duda	1	Civic Alert Systems	Enables municipalities/counties to communicate with residents via mass or select text messaging.
		Dr. Alok Adholeya	2	UMAHARI	Developing family of biologics-based, cost-effective, environmental friendly, and sustainable options to conventional chemical fertilizers.
		Leighton Blackwood	3	2^nd Heaven	Adding second off BU-campus location for bubble tea business in downtown Binghamton with expanded menu of coffee, pastries and sandwiches.
15	2025	Ayissi Nyemba	1	Emkao Foods	Manufacturer of premium organic cocoa products for institutional markets; sources beans directly from farmers in Cameroon; ensures sustainability, traceability and ethical practices.
		Mike Bronikowski	2	BUZZHIVE	Manufactures innovative smart beehive solutions that combine IoT hardware with mobile app to provide real-time hive monitoring, guidance, and proactive alerts to beekeepers.
		Kai Chen Jason Moeller	3	SAVOR Meals	Offers affordable and personalized meals for students powered by custom GPT assistant and designed for campus pickup.