SUNY Canton Entrepreneurial Challenge Opens to Students

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An entrepreneurial challenge with cash prizes is now open to all SUNY Canton students.

The sixth annual “Roopreneur” contest is orchestrated through the college’s Management program. This year, it challenges students to create a membership business model for college partner Day & Nite All Service, a commercial refrigeration, kitchen equipment, HVAC, plumbing installation, maintenance, and emergency repair company. Day & Nite is one of the college’s top allies and sponsors educational endeavors and scholarships in addition to hiring its graduates.

Michael Berman and David Sher stand next to HVAC equipment.

“Like many businesses, Day & Nite uses a transactional business model where money is exchanged for goods or services,” noted Professor Charles R. Fenner, who teaches in the Management program and oversees the competition. “Roopreneur asks students to determine if the company could thrive under a membership model like Netflix or Spotify.”

Students are encouraged to use their creativity to imagine a business model where Day & Nite continues to provide its renowned services while increasing both customers and revenue.

About 50 students from the four-year Management and Finance programs will be participating. The competition also draws interest from students majoring in Graphic and Multimedia Design, Technological Communications, and the Engineering Technology programs.

To compete, students must create a brief five-slide narrated PowerPoint presentation. Prizes range from $125 to $250. The deadline for submissions is Feb. 20.

Submissions will be evaluated by Day & Nite Chief Operating Officer Michael A. Berman. “I’m quite certain the remarkable SUNY Canton energy and intellect will reach new levels in the Roopreneur challenge and am looking forward to learning about all the transformative ideas,” he said.

For more information about the competition, visit the Roopreneur webpage.

About SUNY Canton

Discover SUNY Canton, where innovation meets opportunity. The college’s career-focused educational programs emphasize hands-on and applied learning opportunities in digital design, engineering technology, health, information technology, management, public service, and veterinary technology. Faculty members bring real-world experience and exceptional academic expertise to the classroom. As a leader in online education, SUNY Canton offers unmatched flexibility with hundreds of courses and 23 comprehensive degree programs offered completely online. The SUNY Canton Kangaroos compete at the NCAA Division III level and will be transitioning to the SUNYAC in Fall 2024. In addition to its 15 traditional teams, SUNY Canton offers coed varsity esports and cheerleading.