Ryan Ritchie, a junior social science/humanities major from West Deptford, took top honors — and a $5,000 prize — in the recent 6th Annual Rohrer Business Plan Competition at Rowan University.
The Business Plan Competition encourages the pursuit of entrepreneurial ventures and provides a forum in which students can present their ideas and win cash prizes to bring their dreams to fruition.
Ritchie won the competition over four other finalists for his Spider Gauge, a device that will inflate multiple truck tires without requiring supervision. Using a series of devices, a mechanic can regulate the tire pressures automatically.
More than 50 individuals/teams entered the yearlong Business Plan Competition — think a modified Shark Tank — which culminated in presentations by the finalists in front of a panel of judges (Linda Rohrer, president of Rohrer & Sayers Real Estate; Gerald Shreiber, president and CEO of J&J Snack Foods; Scott Kintzing, market president of Cornerstone Bank; and George Loesch, vice president of Campbell Soup Company).
Second place and $2,500 went to Alex Wooley, a senior entrepreneurship major from Sewell, for Scratch Indoor Golf Facility, which features five state-of-the-art golf simulators in a fun, relaxed sports entertainment environment that is not impacted by weather or lighting.
Ron Kohri came in third, with a $1,000 prize, for Kohri Sports LLC, designed to provide sports fans and analysts with the opportunity to evaluate the future performance of professional sports teams derived by their performance on fthe ield and free market principles. Kohri is an MBA student from Williamstown.
The two honorable mention winners, who earned $500, were Jason Hojnowski, a senior management major from Stratford, for DIY Garage, which provides the equipment and space for do-it-yourself car mechanics to perform simple maintenance and complete overhauls, and Jessica Zarandona, a senior entrepreneurship major from Randolph, for Build-A-Mattress, which allows for complete customization of mattress materials and foams for each individual.