Newark's Most Promising
Young Entrepreneur Contest

Sponsored by Prudential Financial and Verizon
in Partnership with GNBDC and IFEL

| Overview | Criteria | Finalists | Voting and Results |
| Booksigning, Reception and Announcement of Winners |

Meet Our Newark's Most Promising Young Entrepreneur Finalists

Yvonna Wade (House of Hope)
Nutan Patel (Parxity)
Tamara Mangum-Thomas (Sharpened Image, Inc.)
Bryan Lee (School of Architecture)
Sue Emilyn Encarnacion (Sencarna)
Quaison Carter (fetchFIRE)
Iyea Brandy (Convenient Education Services, LLC)
Michael Amegashie (University Storage)
Bryant Jackson (BR Jackson Consulting)
Christopher Perez (wherethepartyat.com)

To vote on the finalists, click here

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Name: Yvonna Wade
School: Newark Tech
Year in School: HS-Senior
Name of Business: House of Hope
Industry: Education

Business Description:
The concept of the House of Hope is to provide equal educational opportunities to young mothers between the ages of 12-21 who have dropped out of high school, or run the risk of dropping out, as a result of their pregnancy. The House of Hope is a residential learning environment that caters to young women who are motivated to pursue an education, despite disparities such as teen pregnancy. As a graduate from the House of Hope, females will be exposed to a rigorous college preparatory educational curriculum which includes character development courses as well as vocational training. In conjunction with the traditional concept of education, parenting skills will be required as a standard course to aid the young mothers in their transition into parenthood.

House of Hope inspires females to pursue their dreams, regardless of their mistakes, or failures. Because the dropout rate of Blacks and Hispanics continues to grow, the mission of the House of Hope is to increase high school graduation rates, and provide opportunities to those that lack resources. In addition to the school, the House of Hope will serve as a community resource; offering medical assistance, after school programs, recreational activities, youth events, and parenting courses for young mothers. This concept is unique because it targets disadvantaged young mothers and their offspring. Most businesses target consumers who can afford to purchase their products or services. My concept is geared towards producing well-rounded individuals who can in turn contribute their knowledge and financial wealth back to society.

Launch: September 2009

Qualifications for being the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur:
Any successful entrepreneur, young or old, inhabit five main characteristics which contribute to their success: Diligence, Responsibility, Compassion, Purpose, and Leadership. I am diligent in my efforts to make an effective change within my community, which easily translates into my focus to ensure that my business venture is successful so that my mission is fulfilled. I feel obligated to build opportunities that have a positive impact on not only my community, but on the world. I am currently the Senior Class President of Newark Tech High School, editor of my school newsletter, graduate of New Jersey’s Governor’s School of Public Issues as well as New Jersey’s Development School for Youth. I was selected by the NJ Department of Education as a NJ Rising Scholar and awarded the Essex County Teamwork Award by Essex County Executive, Joseph DiVencenzo. I am currently an intern for Newark Councilwoman Dana Rone. As an aspiring entrepreneur, my leadership qualities and compassion will clearly show, but my inner drive, motivation, and sincerity will undoubtedly be the foundation of my success.

Executive Summary:
The House of Hope will offer many services, resulting in employment opportunities for qualified candidates. Because the House of Hope’s main function will be a school, educators will make up a majority of the staff members. Additional employees include healthcare physicians, psychiatrist, and social workers. My vision is that by 2018, the House of Hope will operate in the following locations: Newark, NJ, Atlanta, GA, New York, NY, Los Angelos, CA, Miami, Fl, and Houston, TX. By expanding, my intention to offer young mothers the same opportunities.

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Name: Nutan Patel
School: Rutgers University - Newark
Year in School: College-Junior
Name of Business: Parxity
Industry: Social Communications

Business Description: Tired of full parking decks? Want to find one that is open? Parxity is a social way of finding parking on college campuses because lets face it - you are already running late for class; why waste another 15-20 minutes trying to find parking when every parking lot is full? This is where Parxity comes in - you call a phone number which will tell you which parking lot is open or closed. Rutgers Newark has 2 main parking decks and when one closes, the other one is open, when both decks are full there is Eagle Street. What students can do it call up a number and an IVR will ask them which parking deck is open spots. This will benefit the students because they can call in advance to see how much time in advance they need to leave their house so they can avoid the hassle of driving around in circles to find parking! In the future, the Parxity website can be established updated like a "traffic report" so student can log in from their mobile phones and check directly from the website instead of calling to see if there is parking. This concept is similar to traffic updates that radio stations receive from callers but this is with a twist, this service is now meant to avoid the hassle for finding parking. Later on, this service can expand to locate other stores/bars/clubs that college students enjoying going to. Parxity is short for parking university, why the x? X marks the spot!

Launch: September 2009

Qualifications for being the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur:
I am someone that is not afraid of risks. I have many leadership roles that makes me a stand out from the sheep. In high school I established the computer club and debate team by going around the school asking for signatures of students interested. I then wrote a letter to our Board of Education asking them if they can provide funding because many people have an interest in a particular club. I was also the treasure of my high school's student counsel. People trusted me with their money because they knew I'm a young promising entrepreneur. Even in college, I was the head of fundraising because I knew how to raise money; I like promoting ideas which help fund the club I was part of. In senior year of high school, I established a DJ group called Asian Xilirating Entertainment. We are now very well known in the Indian community and from these skills I know how to speak and interactive with clients. I have potential to be a great entrepreneur.

Executive Summary:
I will launch Parxity Fall 2009 at Rutgers University and promote it during the summer months so students begin using it when they come back to school. Parxity will be a IVR/telephone only service which would allow students to call in to see if parking is available or they can let the IVR know if there is no parking available.

Why is Parxity an advantage to students?
- It provides a unique service that no one else has provided before. Parking is such a hassle, finding parking is even a bigger hassle! Since it’s free to use, why not use it? It will save the student time and gas because they do not have to run around in circles trying to find parking.

Why is Parxity an advantage to local business?
- It will help promote their business. Who wouldn't want to advertise to a service that is constantly being used? If you’re having a special for that day, instead of callers calling them to find out, they can directly let the callers know instead.

How will this service grow?
- Easy, look at Facebook, first it started at one college - Harvard, eventually it is now a multi-billion dollar company all because people enjoyed their service. Parxity is similar in that it will start off locally at Rutgers University Newark and slowly as college students beginning to hype up the service, there is media attention, Parxity can later expanded to other colleges - not just nationally but globally! Since this service is free to the user of the service, there's nothing to lose but something to gain - in this case a parking spot.

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Name: Tamara Mangum-Thomas
School: Walden University
Year in School: Grad-Student
Name of Business: Sharpened Image, Inc.
Industry: Human Resource Management/Staffing

Business Description:
Headquartered downtown Newark, Sharpened Image, Inc. (S.I., Inc.) is a New Jersey registered, licensed and certified woman and minority owned small business enterprise. Formed April 23, 2004, S.I. Inc. is a premier provider of comprehensive and cost effective human resource management and staffing solutions. As the traditional wave of employment services shifts more into of a consultative role, S.I., Inc. capitalizes on these changes by providing its clients with multifaceted HRM solutions. Therefore, in an effort to enhance and redefine existing organizational and hiring strategies, S.I., Inc. provides a full range of HRM solutions designed to enhance workplace and workforce productivity for private, public and non-profit organizations. These solutions include: strategic change initiatives - operational approaches, work analyses, performance appraisals, performance pay systems and traditional staffing services - temporary, temp-to-perm and permanent placements, as well as pay rolling, and vendor management services.

Launch: April 2004

Qualifications for being the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur:
Tamara Mangum-Thomas has over 10 years of professional human resource and personnel management experience and has staffed for companies and city and state agencies such as AT&T Solutions, McGraw Hill, JP Morgan Chase, MNS, INA, and Citicorp, the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Law, the Office of General Services, School of Construction Authority, the Office of Court administration and the Department of Human Rights. Mrs. Thomas is currently a member of several national academic and professional organizations to include the National Association of Women Business Owners, the NJ Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Women’s Chamber of Commerce and the National Academic Honors Society. In addition, Mrs. Thomas is an active participant for the fight against juvenile diabetes and leukemia. She is a corporate chair for the JDFR annual walk to cure juvenile diabetes and a CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) in the city of Newark. While her chosen career path has been Human Resources, Mrs. Thomas has B.S. from North Carolina Central University (Criminal Justice) and M.A. (Criminal Justice) from Rutgers University (Newark, NJ). Mrs. Thomas also has a certificate in Private Investigations and has experience performing intermediate and advanced employee background investigations and reference checks. Currently, Mrs. Thomas is a Ph. D Student at Walden University where her concentration is Applied Management and Decision Sciences-Leadership and Organizational Change.

Executive Summary:
S.I., Inc. will share in the top 10 detailed industries expected to have the largest job growth (Legal placements 4%, IT 17%, Accounting/Finance 28% and Office 62%). The catalyst for [the employment services] industry’s growth will be increases in the demand for temporary staffing services as flexible work arrangements and schedules continue to proliferate and businesses make their staffing patterns more responsive to market changes, wrote BLS economist Jay M. Berman in the November 2005 Monthly Labor Review. Since its inception, S.I, Inc. has grown from a two person HR management firm to a diversified corporation with over 50 contingent employees dispatched to perform administrative support services to organizations and agencies in cities across the Northeast. S.I., Inc. has demonstrated the ability to provide quality human resource management, temporary staffing solutions, and training initiatives to both private and public sector organizations. S.I., Inc. offers to its customer’s commitment, responsiveness, and reliability. Our commitment to the business communities is validated by their support for almost 250 placements and staffing projects with state and private sector clients over the past 4 years.

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Name: Bryan Lee
School: NJIT-NJSOA
Year in School: Grad-Student
Name of Business: School of Architecture|design and architectural multimedia
Industry: Architecture

Business Description:
My name is Bryan C. Lee Jr, the Founder/Principal/Graphic Architect for the School of Architecture | Design + Architectural Media. Our firm is dedicated to providing services and Products specific to the building and Development. B+D in the US drives about 6 % of the GDP, which is roughly $800 billion. Architectural services represent 8% ($60,000,000) of that. Where do we fit in? 80% of the design firms in the nation are considered small, between 1-20 people, and these Firms are pushed to the brink to survive in today’s market. We work with company and project graphics by providing, Renderings, Logos, Business Cards, Letterhead, websites as well as architectural design services. We give our clients brand recognition all while reducing project timeframe, allowing an exponential increase in their business revenue. In the Future we want to provide all things architecture from books to supplies in the SOA Design portfolio.

Launch: August 2007

Qualifications for being the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur:
My ability to assess a need and provide a product or service to fill that need, is paramount to my future prospects as an entrepreneur. I am a trained designer and my entire life has been dedicated to problem solving. I have always understood the necessity of a strong multi professional network and the ways to utilize that network in order to maintain work and grow the business. The most important quality, to which I owe many feats in my life, is the fact that I do not fear failure, or success for that matter. I relish the knowledge gained from both.

Executive Summary:
School of Architecture LLC| Design and Architectural Multimedia is an upstart firm with an eye on revolutionizing the field of architecture. We are firm of three people; myself, Sellasie Lamptey and Corey Dirutiglano. We are all currently architectural graduate students with creative ways of addressing the deficiencies of the field. Although we have only been in business for less than 1 year we have made substantial progress in the field by providing our services to local architects and developers. Our low overhead and virtual office has allowed us to appeal to our client’s budgetary needs and time constraints.

We provide both products and services that revolve around the building and development trades. Our primary scope of work consists of design related services. We designed or business to provide two revenue streams and the secondary source of revenue is based in furniture and supply design. Our designs include everything from Pens and pencils to the couched and beds. The setups has given use the flexibility to keep our design integrity while providing a valuable service to our clients. our advantages are endless and we provide a service that will save our clients millions of dollars in billable hours a year. School of Architecture provides both products and services that can increase the efficiency and provide the branding necessary for architects to survive in today's market. We are able to provide our services because of the ever expanding nature of the field and the speed at which the field moving towards the technologies of the future, since most smaller firms cannot keep up with this pace we help ease the transition while maintaining the high quality of work.

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Name: Sue Emilyn Encarnacion
School: Rutgers University
Year in School: College-Senior
Name of Business: Sencarna
Industry: Study Guides

Business Description: The product would be NCLEX, LSAT, SAT, MCAT game/program from the video game console. Studying for exams such as these are difficult enough. The best way to learn is to have fun doing it. The Nintendo DS already has Brain Age. It is a very popular game that trains your brain. Using that idea, I think that taking it a step further would also be a great idea. A handheld game would also be a lot easier to carry around than a one thousand page text book. It is an idea that has a lot involved. The major target group would be any high school or college student that is preparing to take these exams. This idea is unique because no one has ever thought of studying for these exams through a
game, however, I believe that using this strategy to study would decrease the anxiety level of students.

Launch: December 2009

Qualifications for being the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur:
In high school I was a business major and was top of my class. I am known to have good negotiating skills and analyzing facts to make sure I am always up to date and current with my information. I am currently the President of my College of Nursing. I am also the Student Life representative for my college, a member of the Dean search committee and served as a delegate for the New Jersey Student Nurses Association. I am a very hands on person and I like to be involved in whatever organization I am in. I am known for my organizational skills and communication skills. I have established a Mentorship and Community Outreach Program for my college. I have also reorganized the student senate after being left with an election with lost results. My work ethic and passion for helping others is my greatest qualification.

Executive Summary: My team would involve a major gaming vendor and a major publishing company. It is an idea that I would like to sell to these two companies. I would begin with the NCLEX type questions because as a nursing student, I would be able to test the product and evaluate its effectiveness. I would then expand to the MCAT and LSAT exams and move forward from there. Depending on its efficacy and sales on these exams, I would then move forward to other ventures including an online or wi-fi version of the game in which students can play against each other.

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Name: Iyea Brandy
Name of Business: Convenient Education Services, LLC
Industry: Education

Business Description: Convenient Education Services, LLC is a educational consultant firm that provides tutoring, enrichment, summer programs, behavioral and education consulting services to underserved and under achieving populations. We provide services in home, school and community centers that are convenient for both parent and child. Our customers range from urban to middle class youth and local school districts. CES is unique because we provide all around comprehensive services that is essential to the success of undeserved populations including education consulting and behavioral management. We work with the total child to ensure permanent and effective change.

Launch: February 2007

Qualifications for being the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur:
The most promising young entrepreneur is someone whom has the passion as well as the knowledge of his or her industry. My credential includes a bachelor’s degree psychology and masters in counseling as well as a teacher certification. I have worked as a teacher and counselor in urban environments and with undeserved and under performing populations my entire working career. My passion, knowledge and hard work have groomed me to be most promising young entrepreneur. I have received outstanding new teacher award as well as several great accomplishments in counseling awards for my work.

Executive Summary:
We are two highly trained and certified education professionals, who combined bring Fourteen years of experience, a wealth of knowledge and a passion for teaching to the field. It’s our goals to provide students with the resources they need to improve their level of understanding each subject matter to build their confidence and self-esteem tin their ability to learn. We want to equip them with the necessary tools to ensure they will continually progress in school and life. We want to prepare our program’s participants to successfully achieve their full educational potential, to become competitive and to realize personal, academic and economic accomplishments are well within their reach.

Ultimately we expect each graduate of our fifteen week comprehensive program to obtain a greater understanding of the subject matters and we look forward to academic success as a result of the supplemental education program that we have established. We believe that our students will achieve an improved level of comfort and confidence in their ability to learn and our program will provide an excellent foundation upon which the students can build their educational future.

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Name: Michael Amegashie
School: New Jersey Institute of Technology
Year in School: College-Junior
Name of Business: University Storage
Industry: Storage

Business Description: The name of my business is University Storage; an idea I got as I saw Newark’s surrounding neighborhood growing into a college town. I realized that college students had a tough time storing and shipping their belongings over the summer break. At University Storage our priority is to make moving convenient and affordable to college students. University Storage is committed to providing our customers with the absolute highest standards in customer service and personal satisfaction with our service. Our storage service includes a UPS shipping service and an online tracking service, an email system, a pick up at your residence, storage in a climate controlled warehouse with insurance, a drop off at customer’s new residence in the fall or off campus.

Launch: April 2009

Qualifications for being the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur:
I am Junior at New Jersey Institute of Technology current majoring in Industrial Engineering and a minor in Business management.

Executive Summary:
University Storage believe that it can continue to build storage relationship with residence on campuses, and businesses and capture a large market share in the industry before other companies achieve a similar presence. University Storage marketing efforts will be directed toward executing the company’s strategy of building a network of complementary strategic partnerships with College Campuses that will drive user ship of our services. The Company will develop strong alliance with key organizations, such UPS, to help bring credibility, content and transactions through our service. The Company expects to spend little and direct consumer advertising and will rely and direct sales efforts, viral marketing, publicity, word of mouth and strategic alliances to drive user ship.

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Name: Bryant Jackson
School: NJIT Newark College of Engineering
Year in School: Other
Name of Business: BR Jackson Consulting / ITEAMCorp/ SMART Consultant
Industry: Defense Contracting

Business Description: My ventures will consist of helping my parents launch two small brother-sister defense firms. They will both provide support to the Defense Department. Their internal capabilities will exactly mirror each other. Aside from the different company names, the only other distinguishable differences between the two companies will be that one is 51% owned and controlled by my mother, a minority female, and the other 51% owned by my dad, a disabled Vietnam veteran. With this strategy, my parents can bid and win contracts that are earmarked for disabled veterans with service connected disabilities, small women-owned, minority-owned SBA 8(a) disadvantaged, and HUBZONE businesses!! The first company will provide Information Technology, Engineering, and Acquisition Management (ITEAM) services. The second company will provide Systems engineering, Management, Acquisition, and Robust Technology (SMART) consulting solutions. Note, of course, that these companies will do essentially the same thing: provide engineering, technology, and acquisition management services.

Launch: October 2006

Executive Summary:
The two companies will have a brother-sister relationship. The first company is ITEAMCorp, LLC . This firm specializes in Information Technology, Engineering, and Acquisition Management and is headed up by my mother who is a competent legal professional. She has been a supervising paralegal for 15 years. Prior to that, she worked for the Legal Aid Society. Her management skills, legal knowledge, and human resource expertise will help propel my company into a multimillion dollar venture. The second company is The SMART Consultant, LLC. This is a veteran-owned firm specializing in Systems Management, Acquisition and Robust Technologies. It will be headed up by my dad, who is a service disabled Vietnam veteran employed by the Black Veterans for Social Justice (BVSJ), and is currently the NYC chapter President for the National Association for Black Veterans (NABVETS).

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Name: Christopher Perez
School: Rutgers University - Newark
Year in School: College-Freshman
Name of Business: wherethepartyat.com
Industry: Information

Business Description:
Everyone loves to party! Whether you’re in High School, College, or a hard working adult. But when you and your friends want to go out and have a good time do you know where to go? What type of party is your type of party? With wherethepartyat.com you can find the right place for you and your friends.
Our main target would be the young age group between 18 and 21 but we will also provide information for all party goers across the Tristate area (NY,NJ,PA). On the website we will list High School parties and Teen Bashes for people 18 and under. A separate page will post college or Fraternity parties for college students. And if your a little older, a third page will list parties 21 and over (just for the grown folks).

Launch: September 2008

Qualifications for being the Most Promising Young Entrepreneur:
Growing up in Jersey City, a city filled with negativity like drugs, guns, and violence there wasn't much to look up to as a kid. The only thing I admired was watching my father work his way as a mechanic up and finally owning his Auto Shop was amazing to me. He was happy doing something that he loved and he had that cool office. As a young boy I always dreamed of owning my own business and having that office. Although I was accepted to the Business & Finance Program at a High School across town I didn't have much time to be the entrepreneur that I wanted to be. I was on the football team all four years, one of the team’s captains. Football taught me how to prioritize my life and how to be a true leader. Senior year I had an internship with a company downtown called Pershing LLC. Working there was a great experience and showed me what the business world was like. I graduated with a 3.6 GPA and was accepted to the Rutgers Business school in Newark. I'm a hardworking, determined entrepreneur.

Executive Summary: My team consists of myself and one of my best friends Rajon Martinez. We met in High School in the Business and Finance program. We are both business students in college and each of us has had a year of experience with our internships. Three months ago Rajon and I were joking and throwing out business plans that could work. We thought "hey what about a website that promotes parties for all people in the Tri-state area?" We got the idea because as college students we like to have a good time and party after a long week of school. But we noticed that sometimes people don't catch the flyers or hear about the parties around school. So what if we could put up online for them. We needed a name so as all young people say when they want to find about a party, "where's the party at?"
As our website grows we can expand and add some more features to it such as, allowing the public to grade or comment on the club/party they went to. We would add tools to help search for your type of party such as tabs for SALSA, ERENGUE REGGATETON, IP-HOP, ROCK, TECHNO, and much more. Also we could have people join our website, become part of the team and post parties they know about, the more information the better.

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