UB Panasci startups keep coming back to competition

More startups founded by University at Buffalo students are seeing the value in coming back to compete in the Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition.

RHM Innovations, founded by the husband-and-wife team of Brandon and Courtney (C.J.) Burris, won last year’s Panasci competition at UB, a year after taking runner-up. The company participated in the competition for three years.

And, this year, Exergi, which is developing renewable energy technology with a compact alternative to residential solar panels, finished as the runner-up, winning a $10,000 prize, for a second straight competition. It was also the third year that founders Daniel Chan and Dominic LaVigne competed.

Panasci startups are being encouraged to build on what they learned through the initial experience to compete again the next year and, potentially, have an even better result.

UB officials see that opportunity for growth as a critical component for creating products and companies that are ready to launch into more advanced pre-seed and seed funding rounds.

“We encourage students to take advantage of programming offered throughout the year to evolve their ideas and their confidence in preparation for Panasci, our biggest competition of the year,” said Hadar Borden, director of UB’s Startup & Innovation Collaboratory powered by Blackstone LaunchPad.

“We are also seeing students who are developing their ideas and seeking to start their own companies earlier in their college careers,” she added. “Over half of our finalist team members were undergraduate students this year, so it does enable them to enter the competition multiple years, further refining their venture concepts each time.”

It also makes the first-place finish by Empasta in the latest Panasci competition on Thursday an even more impressive feat.

This was the first time that founder Matthew Mullens and his partner in the competition, Neharika Koradi, had pitched together.

Mullens also for the first time was able to raise significant money for the company that makes a plant-based cheese sauce alternative that is free from irritants such as nuts, gluten, soy and dairy. The Panasci competition’s first-place finisher receives $65,000 in startup funding and in-kind business services.

Empasta, founded in 2019, was one of three finalist teams in the competition featuring products or concepts that would contribute to sustainability goals.

The two MBA students met in a class, and Mullens was impressed by Koradi’s creative vision and artistic skills, so he asked her to pitch with him at the competition.

Mullens saw the competition as his first legitimate opportunity to jump start the business, that, to this point, has sold around 500 jars of the cheese sauce, but needs money to help scale and improve the product.

“There’s a feeling of relief, and also excitement – all the happy emotions that you would feel, but there’s a thousand things going through my head now about what’s next,” Mullens said Thursday after the competition.

Empasta did have one advantage in the competition. They were able to show the judges their product and allow them to try it. Being able to taste what the startup was pitching brought a different perspective for judges, who ultimately thought that, out of the six finalists, Empasta presented the best version of the feasibility and marketability of their venture, the potential demand for their product or service and potential sources of capital.

Koradi said she has learned a lot about presenting an idea. It was the first time she has ever made a business pitch.

After getting advice from the competition’s judges and mentors, Mullens said he’ll be looking into other pitch and funding opportunities. Among the companies they’ve been able to work with through competing in Panasci is Lloyd Taco Factory.

In the past, a People’s Choice winner, selected by the audience, was awarded $1,000. That was not presented this year.

“We’re thrilled to have been a part of cultivating an innovative and entrepreneurial mindset,” said Brian Hamluk, vice president for Student Life at UB. “These are invaluable skills that will serve (these startups) well as (they) progress in future and business endeavors.”

Welcome to Buffalo Next. This newsletter from The Buffalo News will bring you the latest coverage on the changing Buffalo Niagara economy – from real estate to health care to startups. Read more at BuffaloNext.com.

Applications for the Grow-NY International Business Competition are open through May 15.

For a sixth year, Grow-NY is looking for high-growth food, beverage and agriculture startups to compete for $3 million in total prize money. The competition supports 20 finalists through a business development phase. This year, the final pitch competition will take place Nov. 6 and 7 in Ithaca.

Last year, of 323 applicants, FoodNerd of Buffalo was named one of 20 finalists. One finalist will receive a top prize of $1 million; two others will be awarded $500,000 prizes; and four more will be given $250,000 prizes.

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Five reads from Buffalo Next:

1. How a Buffalo woman became a pioneer in the architecture field.

2. How Lake Shore Savings Bank’s new CEO is trying to get past the shortcomings cited by federal regulators.

3. If eating healthy is good for you, why don’t food-as-medicine programs get better participation? A pair of UB researchers aim to find out why.

4. A closer look inside Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center’s big push into cell therapy as a way to treat cancer.

5. How ACV Auctions is helping women take on leadership roles.

The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the region’s economic revitalization. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.

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