Tosin Alabi G’25 (DiabeTech) (Grand Prize Winner)

DiabeTech is a healthcare startup developing an innovative mobile solution for managing diabetic foot ulcers. By combining electronic tattoo sensors and AI analytics, DiabeTech will provide real-time monitoring and personalized care recommendations. This technology-driven, patient-centric approach improves health outcomes for diabetic patients while reducing healthcare costs through better preventative care and self-management. 

WATCH HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT DIABETECH

Angelo Niforatos G’20 (ECS), G’25 (Niffy Drone) (Second Place Winner)

Niffy Drone Solutions LLC. specializes in integrating Large Language Model (LLM) technology into drone systems, allowing for natural language control, and enhanced autonomous decision making. Our drones can process voice or text commands in real-time while providing offline functionality in environments with limited internet connectivity. This AI-driven approach simplifies drone operation and reduces the need for specialized training, making our solutions ideal for critical missions in military, defense, and infrastructure sectors where reliability and ease of use are paramount. 

WATCH HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT NIFFY DRONE

Natasha Brao ’22 (VPA), ’23 M.S., ’24 MBA (Shooka) (Third Place Winner)

Shooka is inspired by the classic Mediterranean and Middle Eastern one-pan dish, Shakshuka, which consists of a chunky tomato and pepper sauce with poached eggs, typically enjoyed for brunch. Shooka is just the sauce, so customers can just add eggs or other substitutes for a quick Mediterranean meal. This founder-led, women-owned, small business is centered around creative cultural cooking and is focused on reframing the conversation around exploring cultural foods. We celebrate the mixing and melding of cultures to create new recipes, flavors, and experiences. 

WATCH HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SHOOKA

Waqar Hussain G’25 (Iconnic.cloud)

Iconnic.cloud offers small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) an intuitive, fully managed cloud server management platform that simplifies the deployment and scaling of web applications. 

WATCH HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ICONNIC.CLOUD

Emeka Ossai G’25 (CampusLabs)

CampusLabs is a social enterprise with a 15-year track record of delivering hackathons, bootcamps, and mentorship programs in universities, equipping students with employability and entrepreneurial skills. Currently, we are focused on planting 100 innovation spaces in universities across developing economies, connecting international investors to promising young founders and helping them build scalable businesses. 

WATCH HERE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT CAMPUSLABS

Buddy Valastro P’27 

Buddy Valastro P’27 is a celebrity baker and business owner who has been a pioneer of the custom cake movement and has accomplished an insurmountable amount of influence through his work with long standing family business Carlo’s Bakery and hit TLC series Cake Boss. Buddy has penned four New York Times best-selling books, starred in four hit television shows, and has a following of over 20 million fans on various social media platforms. 

Stacey Tank '02

Stacey Tank '02 is a 20+ year Fortune 500 veteran and current CEO for Bespoke Beauty Brands. Formerly, she was the Chief Transformation Officer at Heineken and also led two multi-billion-dollar business units for The Home Depot. In addition to her corporate success, Tank is the founder of Our Happy Place, a 501(c)3 non-profit serving children, educators and families navigating childhood mental wellness.

Vinny Lobdell, Jr. P’28

Vinny Lobdell, Jr. P’28 is an established entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist who has made a mark on the Central New York communities and business world with a portfolio of more than 15 partners and investments ranging from restaurants to theaters, global wellness, real estate, and other lifestyle brands and products.

Derrell Smith ’10, G'13 (Emcee) 

Derrell Smith ’10, G’13, former Syracuse Orange and NFL player, is now the creator and CEO of 99EATS, LLC – a virtual culinary brand with a mission to connect people through food, content and experiences. Smith has shared his food innovations on The Today Show, E! and CNBC in addition to hosting food festivals and catering Fortune 500 corporate events.

Aaron Kraus ’92 (Scrub Daddy)
Adam Fazackerley ’96 (Lay-n-Go) 
Adam Gold ’06 (Funk 'N Waffles)
Alyza Bohbot James ’08 (City Girl Coffee)
Bert Aufsesser ’00 (Scholars & Champs)
Kim Snyder ’02 (Human Truth)
Kora-Lynah Abelard ’15 (Orijin)
Margaret Gay ’13 (27 Teas)
Melissa Ben-Ishay ’06 (Baked by Melissa)

Mike Gursha ’10 (Dream Water)
Natasha Brao ’22, G’23, G’24 (Shooka)
Nate Cotanch ‘12 (Zia Hatch Chilli) 
Olivia Bowser ’16 (Liberate)
Ryan Benz ’11 M.S. (Oh My Darling)
Ryan Novak ’11 (Chocolate Pizza Company)
Stephanie Berlin ’10 (Wandel)
Vicki Vasil ’92, G’10, G’21 (Vees)