Hofstra Digital Remedy Venture Challenge

Friday, April 24, 2020 11:15 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.

Watch it live at: https://youtu.be/hneXDfg092M Presented by the Hofstra University Center for Entrepreneurship hofstra.edu/digitalremedy hofstra.edu/entrepreneurship

The Hofstra-Digital Remedy Venture Challenge Series is an annual entrepreneurship competition administered by the Hofstra University Center for Entrepreneurship with total prizes valued at $75,000. It is made possible through the donation of Mike Seiman, chairman and CEO of Digital Remedy, a member of Hofstra’s Board of Trustees, and chair of the Center for Entrepreneurship Advisory Board.

The competition, which is in its eighth year, challenges students with business ideas to engage in business model generation and provides students with mentoring through a bootcamp program, individual mentoring sessions, and pitch preparation with the Center for Entrepreneurship’s entrepreneurs-in-residence.

The goal of the Venture Challenge is to inspire students to launch their own startup businesses by leading them through the business model canvas and customer discovery process, and teaching them effective communication skills.

FINALISTS 1. A-Brand A-Brand is a shoe provider that will help alleviate congenital foot conditions for an underrepresented demographic with a stylish, wide-width, and special-needs shoe.

Founder: Desireé Abdelkader, Business ‘22

2. Bantr Bantr is a smartphone application that pays podcast listeners with cryptocurrency for the data they provide by listening to podcasts.

Founder: Tyler Yagman, Nicholas Bruno, JD ‘21

3. Drive 4 Five Drive 4 Five is a multimedia platform that covers the New York Islanders, a professional hockey team on Long Island, and has begun entering new markets as a one-stop destination for sports coverage that creates unique, niche communities for specialized fan bases.

Founder: David Lazar, Journalism ‘22

4. Esports Training Center A training center that will provide all the necessary equipment and resources for an individual to become a nationally competitive esports athlete.

Founder: Benjamin Johnson, Computer Engineering ‘22

5. Haire Cosmetics Haire Cosmetics is an all-natural and vegan beauty brand focused on ethical consumerism through animal welfare and sustainability.

Founder: Sean Davenport, Public Relations ‘20

Each team will have five minutes to pitch their product/innovation.

Prior to the live pitches, finalists submitted an executive summary to the judging panel.

First Place

Second Place

Third Place

• $12,000 in prize money • $30,000 – value of in-kind services provided

by Digital Remedy.

• $6,000 in prize money • $15,000 – value of in-kind services provided

by Digital Remedy.

• $3,500 in prize money • $5,000 – value of in-kind services provided

by Digital Remedy.

Total Package $42,000

Total Package $21,000

Total Package $8,500

FINALISTS continued

6. Me Card Me Card is a smartphone application where users create and exchange digital business cards for more efficient and effective networking - professionally and socially all in a single tool.

Founder: Alec Marcus, Entrepreneurship ‘20

7. Mycelium Mile Mycelium Mile is a bioremediation company that will work with local governments and the Federal government to reclaim EPA/State brownfields using mushrooms and fungus.

Founder: Rowen Thaure, Entrepreneurship ‘20

8. Sweet Sweat Sweet Sweat provides chamomile shoe insoles that prevent the formation of nail fungus caused by moisture inside shoes during long trips, such as in planes.

Founder: Connie Anderson Castilla, Film Studies and Production ‘20

9. Snickering Dog Snickering Dog creates specialized dog bowls for long-eared dogs and for the health and comfort of dogs of any age and size. It is changing the standard dog bowl.

Founder: Alexandra Vidal, Speech Language Pathology ‘21

10. Totally Tubular Tats Totally Tubular Tats are temporary tattoos created to transform feeding tubes into something fun and imaginative to boost self-confidence and provide patients with happiness in tattoo form.

Founder: Makayla Farrell, Criminology and Global Studies ‘2020

JUDGES MIKE SEIMAN | Chairman and CEO, Digital Remedy Mike Seiman is the CEO & Chairman of Digital Remedy, a digital media solutions company leading the tech-enabled marketing space that he co-founded as an undergraduate college student at Hofstra University in the early 2000s. The company has grown quickly and is now a major player within the crowded digital advertising landscape. The rapid growth of Digital Remedy, formerly CPXi, led to its inclusion on Inc. magazine’s list of fastest growing privately held advertising/ marketing companies in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2014, and 2015. Mike was a finalist in Ernst & Young’s ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ initiative in 2009 and 2014, and a semi-finalist in 2010 and 2013. He was recognized by the American Marketing Association, receiving their prestigious ‘4 Under 40’ award in 2015, and received the SmartCEO Future 50 award in both 2015 and 2017. Mike serves on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater, Hofstra University. He also focuses on numerous philanthropic initiatives, including sitting on the boards of the H.E.S. (Hebrew Educational Society non-profit community center). He is also a long-time supporter of Children International, where he spearheaded the development of community centers in Guayaquil, Ecuador in 2010 and Barranquilla, Colombia in 2014. A fan of the arts, Mike has produced a feature length film distributed by Lionsgate.

KEVIN HESSELBIRG | Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Hofstra Center for Entrepreneurship After more than 25 years leading growth-oriented companies in a senior executive capacity, Kevin Hesselbirg currently serves as board member and advisor to multiple private entities ranging from startups to firms with more than $100 million in annual revenue. Kevin, a three-time Chief Executive Officer, was first named CEO of OpenLink Financial after previously serving as its Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operations Officer. OpenLink Financial is a leading global software developer of financial and energy, trading and risk management solutions with more than $300 million in revenue, 1,200 employees, and offices in nine countries. After that, he became CEO of Primatics Financial, a leading Software as a Service (SaaS) provider of finance and risk solutions for the banking sector. More recently, Kevin was the CEO of The Gemini Companies, a leading fund administrator serving more than 600 mutual, private, and hedge funds. He led multiple transactions with various private equity firms, eclipsing more than $2 billion in capital activity. Kevin began his career with the privately-owned and emerging business group at Ernst & Young. Kevin received a BS from Fordham University.

ROBERT HUSSEY | Lead Director, Digital Remedy Robert Hussey received his MBA in International Finance and his BSBA in Management/Finance from Georgetown University. Robert is a New York-based, seasoned financial, marketing, operations, and technology executive, who became a successful entrepreneur after a 10-year career in Fortune 100 multinational packaged goods and media companies. He founded the U.S.’s first and largest direct broadcast satellite radio network, POPRADIO Corp., and led its NASDAQ IPO and eventual $100+ million sale to Heritage Media/News Corp. In recent years, Bob served as CEO of Digital Lightwave Inc. (NASDAQ), chairman of NUR Macroprinters (NASDAQ/Israel-based, before being sold to HP), Chief Restructuring Officer of HC Wainwright & Co., the U.S.’s oldest securities broker-dealer. Robert has also acted as brand consultant to Dubai-based Apparel UAE. Today, he is the lead director of Digital Remedy, one of the U.S.’s leading independent ad tech, ad network, and consumed media publishers, NYC-based Amphion Capital Partners, and Eco Water Technologies, a Florida-based company that holds 10 “issued” patents for processing municipal wastewater. On a personal note, Robert is treasurer of the Mercedes Club of NY, Preservation Long Island, and has served for over 10 years as a trustee of Old Westbury Gardens. He’s a competitive Trap/Skeet shooter, sailor, and skier. He and his wife, Debi, live in Garden City, NY, and are the proud parents of five adult children.

CARA LONGWORTH | Long Island Regional Director, Empire State Development Cara Longworth was appointed Long Island Regional Director of Empire State Development in February 2015. Previously, she was the executive director of the Long Island Regional Planning Council. In addition, Cara has also worked as an assistant district attorney in the Nassau County District Attorney’s office, executive director of the Glen Cove Industrial Development Agency, and chief financial officer of the Nassau County IDA. Cara also serves as executive director of the Long Island Regional Economic Development Council.

4 Stacey Sikes

Executive Dean, Entrepreneurship and Business Development

4 Sharon Goldsmith

Vice Dean, Entrepreneurship and Business Development 88311:4/20

Center for Entrepreneurship