- Junior Achievement of New York

May 20, 2015
MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR LOCAL TEENS THE JOURNEY IS THE DESTINATION IN JA NEW
YORK’S EIGHTH ANNUAL BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION
The Top Six High School Teams Pitch Their Enterprising Travel and Tourism Biz Ideas in the
Final Round of the 2015 JA New York Business Plan Competition
What:
On Thursday May 28, KKR will host the final round of the eighth Annual Junior Achievement of
New York Business Plan Competition funded by the Nasdaq Educational Foundation, Terex Corporation and
G.C. Andersen Partners. Coached and mentored by community volunteers and business professionals from
seven NYC and Long Island companies, the final six teams out of a pool of 150 competing teams, will move on
to the final round of the 2015 Business Plan Competition. Finalists will compete for cash prizes valued up to
$19,000. Each team will pitch a business idea focused on “Travel and Tourism”, the theme for this year’s
competition.
The last six high school teams standing out of a pool of 150 competing teams, move on the final round
of the 2015 JA New York Business Plan Competition on Thursday, May 28.
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Who: The following teams and schools will compete in the final round:
SCHOOL
TEAM
TEAM MEMBERS
Vahni-Vishala Bernard
Ingo Tjokronelo
Jessica Ho
Wileen Zeng
BUSINESS IDEA
U-Cation offers mobile app users the ability to
follow their own personalized “treasure map" of
destinations appealing to their interests. The
mobile app user travels to the first location on
the map, where s/he unlocks the identity of the
next destination, and so on. With U-Cation,
traveling will make you feel like a child on a
fun-filled adventure of discovery - the prime
jewels and treasures each city has to offer.
We are an international company focused on
providing a social network for travelers. In the
interconnected world of 2015, people travel to a
variety of places for business, pleasure, or
family. In many cases, tourists may feel
intimidated, alone in a foreign land, due to
unfamiliarity with local languages or customs.
TravelPal provides a social network that allows
tourists to meet up and go to events together,
enhancing their travel experience.
Our company creates a fun and safe
opportunity for foreign exchange students to
experience American culture and make the most
of their time here. We look to provide both
excursions and leisure activities in groups to
make foreign exchange students more
comfortable engaging in American customs.
Bronx High School of
Science, Bronx
U-Cation
Brooklyn Technical High
School, Brooklyn
TravelPal
Arif Mahmud
Ashley Malinias
Lee Yusufov
Shumayl Syed
Kings Park High School,
Suffolk County
Hello! Let’s
Go!
Alexandra Bennett
Jaclyn Stroessner
Patty
Competellpo
Meta Post
Express
Kristina Golden
Shane Bradley
Bryan Lin
Avinash Deonarine
Meta Post is a mobile app service to design,
personalize and deliver one-of-a-kind postcards
digitally or by mail. A universal truth that unites
us is rooted in what makes our relationships and
experiences special. This is why Meta Post helps
people separated by distance or travel, to stay
connected in a unique and highly personalized
way. Meta Post will show us that matter who
we are or where we go, we can share memories
with each other, one postcard at a time.
Newcomers High School,
Queens
Lugcate
Cemarly Rodriguez
Emma Reyes
Angelica Meneses
Our product will prevent the stress of being the
victim of luggage loss/confusion while
traveling. Our product device Lugcate will
localize and send information regarding your
luggage location to the your smartphone so that
when travelling, you no longer need to worry
about losing track of your luggage and you will
always be alerted of the proximity of your
belongings.
W.T. Clarke High School,
Nassau County
PinPoint
Steven Davidson
Karen Papazian
Christina Mendoza
Binita Shah
Our product will prevent the stress of being the
victim of luggage loss/confusion while
traveling. Our product device Lugcate will
localize and send information regarding your
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Leadership and Public
Service High School,
Manhattan
luggage location to the your smartphone so that
when travelling, you no longer need to worry
about losing track of your luggage and you will
always be alerted of the proximity of your
belongings.
Kevin Barr, Chief Human Resources Officer for Terex Corporation; Dominic Chu, a Markets Reporter
with CNBC; Scott Gerber, the Founder of Young Entrepreneur Council; Carrie Hammer, Founder of
Carrie Hammer clothing line, and Scott Karnas, Corporate Controller at KKR & Co. L.P., are the “allstar” panel of business leaders and entrepreneurs selecting the top three business ideas on May 28.
Why: Recognizing the growing demand for high school-level business education programs that are
rigorous, relevant, and applicable in the real world, JA New York developed an intensive, high stakes,
business education program for teens. Students participate in a 3-month long entrepreneurship experience
where they conceive, research, and write a feasible and innovative business plan to launch and market a
BIG idea. At each stage of the Business Plan Competition journey, students learn valuable, and highly
sought after business concepts and skills. The long-term goal of the program is to seed NYC and Long
Island students’ interest in entrepreneurship as a pathway to economic and social empowerment, and to
encourage students to create value by providing creative solutions.
Where: KKR, 9 West 57th Street Suite 4200, New York, New York 10019
When: Thursday, May 28, 9:00am-3:00pm
Interview Photo and Video Opportunities with winning student teams, VIP judges, business
coaches, and Joseph Peri, President of Junior Achievement of New York
Contact: Jacqueline Dolly, (212) 907-0046, jdolly@jany.org, @JANewYork
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