Two HVCC Teams Advance to Statewide Business Plan Event

May 15, 2025

Two Hudson Valley Community College teams advanced to the statewide finals for the New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC) this past month. The teams were led by Lucas Castro, a second-year Business Administration student, and first-year Business student Renato Guida.

The NYBPC highlights the next generation of innovators and entrepreneurs by bringing together college students from around New York State to craft and pitch interesting and unique business ideas. Hudson Valley again hosted the regional competition in early April and the statewide finals were held at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute on April 24, with competitors from 65 colleges and universities from across the state in attendance.

For the past three years, Hudson Valley Community College has consistently had a strong showing in the number of student teams it generates for the regional competition. Each year, at least two Hudson Valley teams have also moved on to the state finals.

Guida said his business idea was based on an old family recipe, handed down through generations. “My dad immigrated from Italy and when he came here, he just didn't bring himself and his family, he brought his culture, too,” Guida said. “This recipe for limoncello has been in my family for generations, and he’s been making it in the basement for as long as I can remember.”

Why not take an old family recipe for a unique product - limoncello is a traditional liqueur mainly produced in southern Italy - add a little branding, and see if it sells, he thought? Working with fellow student Ricardo Luca, he began crafting a sales pitch and marketing materials. That sales pitch for Monaciello Limoncello launched their team to the top of the Food and AgTech category in the regionals and booked them a spot in the statewide finals.

Guida credits fellow members and faculty advisors of the Entrepreneurship Club for encouraging him to give the NYBPC a shot. “(As a new student) I started going to some club meetings and Entrepreneurship Club was one of them. Ryan (Connors) and Austin (Shulkin) were the co-presidents of the club and really pushed everyone to get involved in this. I thought of that idea and thought, ‘I could do this.’”

Matching up their sales pitch against teams from colleges and universities across the state on April 24 was a nerve-wracking but positive experience, Guida said. “It was an amazing opportunity to learn about business pitching and other people's products,” he said. “I was very nervous. This is my first time ever doing something like this, but in the end, it was a great learning experience.”

Castro’s winning product and pitch came out of a simple desire to find different activities and adventures to do with his friends. “Imagine if there was an app that can find new experiences for you based on what you want to do, your mood and location, using AI. So, that's how my idea started - this concept of using AI to understand and analyze user data, to recommend experiences to them based on their location,” he said. “I really felt like there was a market opportunity there for this app.”

Castro said he is currently working with an app developer to bring the concept forward, and he also credits his fellow Entrepreneurship Club members for encouraging him to enter the NYBPC. After an ACL injury sidelined his football career at Hudson Valley last year, he went looking for new opportunities and found a way to foster his growing interest in business development. His app, called “Venture: Where Next?,” is the result of that interest. “I know it sounds strange, but that torn ACL actually opened up doors for me and if it didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be where I am now. All of the opportunities I was able to take advantage of have come because of the amazing people I’ve met in Entrepreneurship Club and through this competition.”

Two members of the Business Department faculty have been instrumental in helping the college host the regional competition and also encouraging participation among students. Associate Professor Jodi Mather and Professor Danielle Blesi are the regional representatives for the event, which is sponsored by Upstate Capital Association of New York.

“This event gives students a chance to apply skills they have learned in their classes, and collaborate among departments. In addition, they have the opportunity to network with business professionals, faculty, and students from colleges throughout the region and the state,” said Blesi.

“As faculty, we are very proud to see the growth and progression of the students as they prepare for this high level of competition,” said Mather. “We know that sentiment is shared among all who have played a role in their success. We are very happy for them!”

Overall, there were seven teams from Hudson Valley that competed in the regional event this year. Five of the seven advanced to the first round of the state finals and two of the seven – Lucas and Renato – moved on to the final round at RPI.

“When we see our Hudson Valley business students competing against teams from Cornell, Syracuse, Columbia, FIT, all of these great schools from around New York, we know we’re doing something right,” said Officer in Charge Louis Coplin. “We should give kudos to every team that collaborated and worked hard to perfect their products and pitches, and also to the dedicated Business faculty members who encouraged them and helped them along the way.”