All Over Albany

A big check for Flower Scout

From left to right: Dan Ciampino of Staff Ciampino, Jon Dion from the College of Saint Rose, Colie Collen of Flower Scout, Justin Priddle from Berkshire Bank, Mary Darcy from AOA, and Sue Conroy from the College of Saint Rose.

The giant check is always fun.

The winner of this year's AOA Startup Grant -- Colie Collen from Flower Scout -- was awarded the giant $1,500 prize check today at the Huether School of Business at the College of Saint Rose. (She's also getting a smaller check that she can actually deposit.)

This year's prize money was provided by Berkshire Bank, and the contest was sponsored by Staff Ciampino & Company P.C., Certified Public Accountants and the College of Saint Rose.

Flower Scout will be using the prize money for a hoop house on its farm lot in Troy, which will allow it to extend the growing season for flowers to supply its floral services. Which are in demand! Colie was preparing for a wedding later this weekend before stopping over at Saint Rose.

And Flower Scout also got a bonus prize today: Dan Ciampino of Staff Ciampino offered Colie a year of free consulting and accounting services! That's in addition to the business planning class that the Community Loan Fund also has offered.

Speaking of bonus prizes, many thanks again to the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce for offering the Dutch Udder, one of this year's runners-up, free enrollment in Janet Tanguay's Entrepreneur Boot Camp. And thank you to Outspoken Media for offering Kristine Lambracht $1,500 in in-kind services to help Jerzey's Dog Resort, another runner up, to refine its online branding and messaging.

Thank you to everyone who helped out with this year's contest, including Jon Dion of Huether School for coaching, and our judges Lissa D'Aquanni from the Community Loan Fund, Rhea Drysdale from Outspoken Media, and Duncan Crary from Duncan Crary Communications.

And thank you again to our sponsors, Staff Ciampino & Company P.C., the College of Saint Rose, and Berkshire Bank.

The 2015 AOA Startup Grant final

Left to right: Kristine Lambracht from Jerzey's Dog Resort, Colie Collen from Flower Scout, Kehmally Karl and Jeff McCauley from The Dutch Udder Artisanal Ice Cream.

The field for this year's AOA Startup Grant was deep.

Many of the entries would have been worthy finalists, but there could only be three. And each of the finalists would have been a worthy winner, but there could only one.

Monday evening at the College of Saint Rose we found out which project took the prize.

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AOA Startup Grant finalists presentations are this Monday

Just a quick reminder that the finalists presentations for the AOA Startup Grant are this coming Monday evening (April 20) at the College of Saint Rose. This is the first year the presentations are open to the public. It's free to attend -- we just ask that you pre-register.

The finalists for this year's grant are:

+ Jerzey's Dog Resort, a dog boarding and day care facility.

+ The Dutch Udder, an ice cream company.

+ Flower Scout, a floral design business and flower farm.

The finalists will be pitching their projects to the panel of judges in short presentations, and the judges will be asking the finalists a few questions. These interactions have been interesting in years past, as the judges get into topics like business structure, marketing, and how the business fits into a person's life.

The three judges who will be selecting this year's winner are:

+ Lissa D'Aquanni: director of community relations at the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region, and former small business owner.

+ Rhea Drysdale: founder and CEO of Troy-based online marketing firm Outspoken Media.

+ And, stepping in because of a scheduling conflict, Duncan Crary of Duncan Crary Communications.

The presentations are Monday, April 20 at 6:30 pm in the Science Center (993 Madison Ave) Room 369.

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.

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...

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Startup Grant 2015 halfway leader board

The top 5 by percentage of votes cast.

We're at the halfway point of the crowd voting for the finalists for this year's AOA Startup Grant. The graph above shows the projects with the top 5 vote totals so far.

The full leader board with vote totals is after the jump.

Two of the three finalists will be selected by the crowd voting. (The third will be a selection by the Editors.) Voting closes this Friday at 4 pm. So if you haven't voted -- do so now! A handful of votes could make the difference.

If you don't already have a favorite (or two), it's worth taking the time to read through the entries. This year's group spans a wide range.

Also: For the first time, the final presentations to the judges -- the evening of April 20 at the College of Saint Rose -- will be open to the public. It's free to attend, we just ask that you pre-register.

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Voting now open for AOA Startup Grant 2015

The entries for the 2015 AOA Startup Grant are now posted online and voting is open!

Three finalists will be chosen to compete for the $1,500 prize. Crowd voting will pick two of the finalists, the Editors will pick the third. Voting closes this Friday, April 10 at 4 pm.

The finalists will make presentations to a panel of judges that will pick the winner. Those presentations will be April 20 at the College of Saint Rose. And for the first time, they're open to the public. It's free to attend, we just ask that pre-register.

This year's pool of entries includes a bunch of interesting projects. They range from an event design company to an ice cream company to a boudoir photography business to a farmers' market to a program aimed at getting a wider group of people involved with designing video games.

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.

Startup Grant entries are posted!

A handful of AOA Startup Grant entries are now posted on the site, so go have a look. We're expecting a few more before tonight's deadline. (Procrastinators of the world unite!)

You still have until 11:59 pm Friday to submit your entry. It's super simple -- it just takes answering a few questions and sending along an image. Here are the necessary details.

Voting for the two crowd-picked finalists starts Monday.

Also: For the first time, the finalists' presentations to the judges will be open to the public. It's April 20 at 6:30 pm at the College of Saint Rose. It's free -- we just ask that you pre-register.

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.

Come see the AOA Startup Grant final presentations

2012 Startup Grant winner 3 Chicks and a P making their presentation to the judges.

The application deadline for this year's AOA Startup Grant is fast approaching! It's this Friday, April 3 at 11:59 pm -- here's the info you need -- don't wait!!!

Voting starts next week, with the finalists' presentations two weeks later. And for the first time, those presentations will be open to the public.

On Monday, April 20 the three finalists will be at the College of Saint Rose to pitch their ideas to our panel of judges. The 20-minute presentations start at 6:30 pm in the Science Center (993 Madison Ave) Room 369. It's free to attend, we just ask that you register ahead of time.

This year's judges are:

+ Lissa D'Aquanni: director of community relations at the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region, and former small business owner.

+ Rhea Drysdale: founder and CEO of Troy-based online marketing firm Outspoken Media.

+ Update: Due to an unexpected schedule conflict, Vic Christopher won't be able to join us. In his place we'll have Duncan Crary of Duncan Crary Communications.

The final presentations are interesting not just because of what the finalists have to say, but also because of the questions the judges ask, and the back-and-forth. After the presentations, the judges will gather in a closed session to determine the winner, which will be announced later that week on AOA.

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.

How's that Startup Grant app coming along?

Just a friendly reminder that the deadline for submitting your entry for the 2015 AOA Startup Grant contest is April 3. Here are all the details you need to enter.

Applications should be emailed to startups@alloveralbany.com. Please enter the title of your project in the subject line. You will receive a confirmation email within 24 hours of your submission.

Entries from previous years are posted on the Startup Grant page -- it's worth looking through them to get an idea of what people have proposed in the past. This year's entries will be posted here on the site in the order they're received, so the sooner you enter, the sooner your entry will be posted. (Entries will start going up early next week.)

Crowd voting for two of the finalists starts April 6.

The winner of the AOA Startup Grant gets $1,500 in cash for their project. The three finalists get a business coaching session. And, of course, there's also a fair amount of attention that goes along with being a finalist.

Many 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.

AOA Startup Grant Contest 2015

Sara Mae Hickey won last year's grant for Puzzles Bakey & Cafe, which is set to open soon in Schenectady.

The Capital Region has a bunch of people with interesting ideas, but sometimes an idea needs an extra push to get it going, or to take it to the next level.

So once again with the help of Berkshire Bank, Staff Ciampino & Company P.C., Certified Public Accountants, and The College of Saint Rose we're bringing back the AOA Startup Grant contest. The idea: Provide $1,500 in cash, as well as some attention, to help a new project off the ground, or take an existing small business project to the next level.

It's also an opportunity to get a look at some of the good ideas circulating just below the radar in our region. And once again, you get to help decide who gets that funding. Or -- you know -- maybe even enter your own idea.

We're really looking forward to seeing what people come up with this year.

So, here's what we're looking for -- and how to apply...

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