NYBPC

What NYBPC does

NYBPC (New York Business Plan Competition) is a statewide intercollegiate entrepreneurship competition founded in 2010 and administered by the Upstate Capital Association of New York, a nonprofit trade organization. The program operates across all 10 of New York's economic development regions and is headquartered in New Paltz, NY. Entry is free for students, and the program is funded entirely through sponsorships and donations from state economic development agencies, corporate sponsors, and partner foundations. Notable alumni include venture-backed companies such as SparkCharge, Farther Farms, Vyv (Vital Vio), and KLAW Industries.

The program's core offering is an annual competition pipeline that runs from regional rounds to a statewide finals event, supported by hundreds of volunteers and 1-10 dedicated staff. The underlying technology infrastructure includes a custom-built matchmaking software platform deployed to facilitate mentor-student pairings. Key sponsors include Empire State Development, NY Ventures, NYSERDA, NYSTAR, the SUNY Research Foundation, and the Techstars Foundation, reflecting deep ties to New York's public sector economic development apparatus and national accelerator networks.

The business model is nonprofit and sponsorship-driven: NYBPC does not charge participants and generates no direct commercial revenue. Its economic value is measured in cumulative outcomes—7,000+ students impacted and a claimed $150M+ in associated economic impact. The program functions as a pipeline builder for the New York entrepreneurship ecosystem, channeling student-led ventures toward follow-on capital, mentorship, and accelerator pathways. Operational leadership was assumed by Upstate Capital in 2018 via the creation of the Capital Foundation of NY, with Bailey Burke serving as NYBPC Director and Noa Simons as President & CEO of the parent organization.

Name

NYBPC

Legal name

New York Business Plan Competition

Website

https://nybpc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

NYBPC is a nonprofit, statewide intercollegiate entrepreneurship competition founded in 2010 and administered by Upstate Capital Association of New York. It serves New York college students across all 10 economic development regions with free entry, funded by sponsorships from state agencies and corporate partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Competition Services

NAICS

Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (6113), Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)

akta.pro primary industry

Corporate Foundations & CSR Grantmaking (BPAGAKAC)

Keywords

• Student entrepreneurship competition
• Business plan competition
• Collegiate startup pitch
• Intercollegiate entrepreneurship program
• Regional startup competition

Headquarters

HQ city

New Paltz

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Others

Revenue model

1. Sponsorships and Corporate Partnerships: The NYBPC is privately funded through corporate sponsorships from organizations including Empire State Development, SUNY Research Foundation, NYSERDA, NY Ventures, NYSTAR, and various businesses. Sponsors gain visibility and relationships with business leaders, investors, collegiate professionals and students.
2. Philanthropic Donations: Individual donors and family foundations contribute to the competition's prize pool and operational costs. Notable donors include the Opalka Family Donor Advised Fund and Vikram Agrawal.
3. Techstars Foundation Matching Program: Techstars Foundation matched 20% of every dollar raised up to $25,000, providing additional funding for the competition prize pool.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

NYBPC runs a free, statewide intercollegiate business plan competition for college and graduate students enrolled at New York institutions, structured as regional semifinals across 10 geographic zones followed by statewide finals with cash prizes (up to $25,000 Grand Prize). The program includes six industry tracks, mentorship matching with business professionals, themed workshops, and exposure to investors and judges across New York's entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Product overview

The New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC) is a statewide intercollegiate entrepreneurship competition powered by the Upstate Capital Association of New York. The core offering is the NYBPC Competition Program, which operates across ten New York State geographic regions with regional semifinals followed by a statewide finals competition. The program includes six industry tracks (Food & AgTech, Health & Wellbeing, Safety/ Power & Mobility, Media/Art & Entertainment, Products & Hardware, and Software & Services) and awards prize money including a $25,000 Grand Prize. Supporting the competition, NYBPC offers a Mentorship Program pairing students with business professionals, monthly themed Workshops covering topics like Business Model Canvas and Intellectual Property, a Student Ambassador Program with campus champions, and Regional Competition Hosting partnerships with local institutions. The program also offers sponsorship and advertising opportunities including Virtual Event Booths and online advertising for corporate partners seeking visibility with student entrepreneurs and investors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• NYBPC Competition Program Statewide, intercollegiate entrepreneurship competition for college and graduate students across New York, structured as regional semifinals across 10 geographic zones followed by statewide finals. Offers cash prizes including a $25,000 Grand Prize across six industry tracks (AgTech & Food, Consumer Products & Services, Energy & Environment, MedTech & Well-Being, Military & First Responder, and Technology & Entertainment).
• NYBPC Mentorship Program One-on-one mentorship sessions matching student entrepreneurs with experienced business professionals based on students' needs, skills, and sectors, supported by custom matchmaking software.
• NYBPC Workshops Educational workshops covering Business Model Canvas, Customer Discovery, Entity Formation, Intellectual Property, Social Media/SEO/SEM, SBIR funding access, VC fundamentals, industry-specific startup guidance (MedTech, CleanTech), and Pitch Development.
• NYBPC Virtual Event Booth Branded online spaces at NYBPC virtual events where sponsors can host chats with attendees and embed their own video content, with post-event meeting summaries.
• NYBPC Online Advertising Virtual event advertising including profile listings on sponsorship pages with website/social media links, 200-character ads within attendee lists, and 1:1 meeting scheduling capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $150M in economic impact generated by student ventures since 2010
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SUNY Research FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe SUNY Research Foundation supports the NYBPC as a key sponsor, providing funding and institutional reach across SUNY institutions.
• Capital Foundation of New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational arm of Upstate Capital Association of New York that administers the NYBPC program.
• Upstate Capital Association of New YorkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeads the NYBPC and provides leadership, fundraising, and staffing support together with the NYBPC Coalition. The largest network of investors, professional advisors, entrepreneurs and support organizations in Upstate New York.
• New York Small Business Development Center (NYSBDC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosts webinars with NYBPC to introduce competition and provide resources for student entrepreneurs statewide.
• Regional Partner InstitutionscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal partner colleges and universities host regional semifinal competitions across 10 regions. Includes SUNY Albany, Clarkson University, Binghamton University, Touro University, Onondaga SBDC, Upstate Medical University, SUNY Polytechnic Institute, Hudson Valley Community College, Farmingdale State, and St. John Fisher University.

Scale indicators14 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Rice Business Plan Competition: One of the largest and most prestigious global collegiate business plan competitions hosted by Rice University. Directly comparable format (student teams pitching for prize money and investor exposure), serving a similar student entrepreneur segment with mentorship and judging.
• Hult Prize: Global student entrepreneurship competition with $1M grand prize, often called the "Nobel Prize for students." Direct peer in collegiate startup competitions, with similar sponsorship-driven funding model and student pitch competition format.
• 43North: Buffalo-based startup competition awarding $1M+ to early-stage companies, with strong ties to the NY economic development ecosystem. Direct peer as a NY-state-headquartered entrepreneurship competition competing for the same sponsor and founder pipeline.
• Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC): Global competition hosted by UC Berkeley for student-led social ventures, providing mentorship, prize money, and investor exposure. Comparable in providing structured competition, mentorship matching, and investor pipeline access for student entrepreneurs.
• Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA): Operated by the Entrepreneurs' Organization, GSEA is the premier global competition for college and university students who own and operate businesses while in school. Closely mirrors NYBPC's collegiate founder focus and pitch-competition structure.

Broad incumbents

• MassChallenge: Global nonprofit accelerator running industry-specific cohorts and competitions (HealthTech, FinTech, etc.). A broader incumbent peer operating a similar nonprofit, sponsor-supported early-stage founder development model at scale.
• Techstars Startup Weekend: Global hackathon-style entrepreneurship program operated by Techstars. Broader incumbent offering similar experiential entrepreneurship programming for students and early founders, with comparable sponsorship and volunteer-driven operating model. Techstars Foundation is also an existing NYBPC partner.

Others

• Angel Capital Association (ACA): National alliance of angel investor groups in North America. Comparable as the umbrella/trade organization that supports regional investor networks and entrepreneurship programming, mirroring how Upstate Capital backs NYBPC.
• Upstate Capital Association of New York: NYBPC's parent organization and the largest network of investors, professional advisors, entrepreneurs and support organizations in Upstate New York. Comparable as a regional venture/angel ecosystem association providing programming, events, and deal flow services.

Emerging players

• Cornell Tech Runway Startup Postdocs / eLab: Cornell's student-facing accelerator programs that compete for the same NY student founder pipeline as NYBPC. Comparable in providing mentorship, prize funding, and investor introductions to student entrepreneurs in New York State.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nybpc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NYBPC