Whitman’s 11th Annual Orange Tank Pitch Competition Awards $35K to Further Student Entrepreneurship

Whittling 50 innovative business ideas down to just a few finalists was no easy task, but on Oct. 17, four student entrepreneurs took the stage in Lender Auditorium to pitch their ideas to a panel of guest judges at the 11th annual 2025 Orange Tank Competition, sponsored by the Entrepreneurship & Emerging Enterprises (EEE) Fund, the Scrub Daddy Inc., Entrepreneurship Fund and the Whitman Dean’s Fund.

Those selected were chosen based on market potential and sound execution strategy, as well as scalability and the ability to protect intellectual property. Finalists included Ronan Hussar ’26 with MacroFlow; Ava Lubkemann ’27 (ECS) with Revamped; Frank Marin ’24 (ECS), ’24 MBA, with Marhold Space Systems; and Jack Venerus ’27 (IST) with WingStat.

Professor of Entrepreneurial Practice John Torrens, deputy chair of the EEE department at Whitman, announced the winners.

First place and $25,000 went to Lubkemann for Revamped, a one-stop mobile thrift shop aimed at gathering clothing and textile byproducts on college campuses and turning them into assets for underserved communities.

Second place and $7,500 went to Venerus for WingStat, an online platform that provides sales data for brokers, buyers and sellers of private aircraft.

Third place and $2,500 went to Hussar for MacroFlow, which creates macros that that “turns hours into seconds,” making automating Excel simple, reliable and empowering.

“We’re not just a business; we’re a movement,” says Lubkemann of Revamped, noting that Syracuse University alone generates more than 1,000 pounds of textile waste annually. A long-time thrifter immersed in second-hand culture and upcycling, Lubkemann intends to use the prize money to purchase equipment to recycle fabric for re-use and invest in another school bus—the second in her fleet to “get to people who need us.”

Judges for the Orange Tank finals were:

Jeff Knauss, CEO and co-founder of Arcovo AI, a serial entrepreneur and angel investor.

Savneet Singh, president and CEO of PAR Technology Corp. and venture capitalist who was an early investor in Uber, Ripple and other leading businesses.

Stacey Tank ’02, CEO of Bespoke Beauty Brands, and a 20-plus year Fortune 500 veteran.

Former Orange Tank winner Jack Adler ’23, CEO of Out2Win Sports, emceed the event and, while judges deliberated, held a brief Q/A with Indaria Jones, program manager of Whitman’s Couri Hatchery student business incubator.

The idea for Out2Win Sports began while Adler was a student at Whitman, majoring in EEE. In 2023, he took first place in Orange Tank and was also named Student Entrepreneur of the Year at the Panasci Business Competition that same year. In 2025, he was awarded Whitman’s Young Alumni Excellence in Entrepreneurship award.

Since graduating from the Whitman School and winning Orange Tank, Adler has raised $1.3 million to further his business. Out2Win Sports has evolved into a company working with college athletic programs, including Syracuse University, to leverage the NCAA’s Name Image and Likeness (NIL) program.

“Coming back to Orange Tank is a full circle moment for me, and it’s surreal to be back on stage knowing what Out2Win has grown into since it began as an idea here on the Whitman campus,” says Adler. “Everything students are learning here is going to set them up for wherever they are going to go. I don’t know where I’d be without the support of the Whitman School.”

Following the competition, students and guest gathered in the Flaum Grand Hall to network and enjoy Syracuse Samplings, a taste of local eats and products from Whitman-related businesses.