All Over Albany

AOA Startup Grant 2015 finalists

The pool of entries for this year's AOA Startup Grant included a wide variety of projects -- from an ice cream company, to an educational play group for kids, to a bakery, to boudoir photography, to a game design studio program.

There are now three finalists, two chosen from last week's crowd voting and one picked by the Editors.

And here they are...

Crowd voting picks

Out of more than 4,000 votes cast, here are the two projects that topped the list of crowd picks:

Jerzey's Dog Resort

This project, entered by Kristine Lambracht, got 18 percent of the votes cast, and narrowly claimed the top spot by a four vote margin.

From the project's description: "Jerzey's Dog Resort will be an upscale dog boarding and day care facility. There will be boarding rooms that are spacious enough to hold up to 3 dogs from the same family. These rooms will be very cozy with toddler beds, ceiling fans and walls painted with inviting colors. There will also be runs available to dogs that prefer to go between the inside and outside. The Resort will have 6 small outdoor play yards so that boarding dogs have plenty of opportunity to stretch their legs and run around. There will also be a 1/3 acre grass play yard with a jungle gym so that dogs that really like to run and play will be able to do so. The highlight of the Resort will be a fenced in yard with an in-ground swimming pool. There will also be an indoor play yard for days that are too hot or cold. Dogs that are able to play friendly with other dogs will be able to participate in play groups with other dogs."

The Dutch Udder Artisanal Ice Cream Cart

Entered by Kehmally Karl and Jeff McCauley, this project also got 18 percent of the vote.

From the project's description: "Kehmally is a nurse at Albany Medical College. Jeff works at a local HVAC company, and is also a reservist in the military. Collectively they have formulated many unique ice cream flavors incorporating local ingredients every chance they get. Jeff is an avid homebrewer as well, so they enjoy integrating his brewing ingredients into their ice cream too. They started this endeavor about 3 year's ago, shortly after Kem attended Penn State's Ice Cream 101. Since then they have been slowly accumulating the ice cream equipment required to start their own ice cream business."

Editors' pick

This is always a difficult decision. And it was even more so this year because there were a handful of projects that we thought had good arguments for being included in the finals. After much discussion, we picked...

Flower Scout

From the project's description: "Flower Scout is a floral design business and tiny flower farm located in Troy. Its mission is to recognize and make use of the natural beauty all around us, to encourage attention to weather and season, and to strengthen our community's connection to the natural world, right here where we live."

Who entered this project: Colie Collen

Why the Editors picked this project: Flower Scout did well in the crowd voting -- it placed third -- so that helped get our attention. We are also intrigued by Colie Collen's plan to grow flowers and other plants on a vacant lot in Troy. And her application was specific about how she would apply the money -- and how some of those materials would help expand the business. Based on the application, it sounds like Flower Scout could be on the verge of taking a significant step forward this year, and the grant could potentially play a role in that.

What's next

Coaching
The finalist will get some coaching this week from John Dion, a professor of marketing at The College of Saint Rose, who will help them arrange their ideas and think about how to present their projects to the judges in the final round.

Presentation to the judges
The finalists will then present their projects to the panel of judges Monday, April 20 at the College of Saint Rose at 6:30 pm. For the first time, these presentations will be open to the public. It's free to attend, we just ask that you pre-register. We hope to see you there, because the presentations -- and the judges' questions -- are always interesting.

The judges will pick the winning project after the presentations, and we'll announce it here on AOA next week.

Thank you

Thank you to everyone who entered this year's contest. We appreciate the time and effort you put into your applications. And we wish you a lot of luck as you pursue your goals.

Thanks also to everyone who read through the applications last week and voted. And if you haven't read through the applications yet, you should! There are lot of interesting plans -- and you might find one you'd like to help support or encourage.

Final voting results

Thanks to Berkshire Bank for providing the prize money and to Staff Ciampino & Company P.C., Certified Public Accountants and The Huether School of Business at the College of Saint Rose for sponsoring the contest this year.