A team of Rider University graduates recently secured third place in the national Small Business Institute Consulting Project of the Year competition. The Small Business Institute (SBI) was founded in 1976 to provide college students with hands-on learning experiences through direct interaction with clients and analysis. Since Rider University began participating in the competition in 1998, they have achieved a total of 40 top 10 finishes in both the undergraduate and graduate divisions.
Dr. Ron Cook, professor of entrepreneurial studies and director of Rider’s SBI program, expressed his delight at the students’ hard work being recognized and praised the university’s consistent success in the competition. He emphasized the importance of exceptional students collaborating to create practical solutions for clients.
This year’s team consisted of Kaitlyn Kurfuss ’23, Lindsey Mulrooney ’23, Doris Martin ’23, and Ryan Dougherty ’23. They were tasked with developing a consulting report for Wolf Tree Wilderness Therapy in Ithaca, New York as part of Cook’s fall 2022 consulting class. Wolf Tree specializes in Wilderness Therapy programs and Mindful Outdoor Experiences in the psychotherapy and wilderness therapy fields. The students’ report proposed innovative strategies to enhance and optimize Wolf Tree’s brand presence in the wilderness therapy sector to attract more clients and increase revenue.
Kurfuss shared her insights on working with Wolf Tree Wilderness Therapy, emphasizing the practical experience gained by collaborating with a real business to help achieve their goals. She mentioned that managing a business, focusing on marketing, finances, and legalities are valuable lessons that cannot be learned from a textbook. David Molnar ’76, Rider’s entrepreneur in residence and former vice president of sales at Heraeus Sensor Technology also played a significant role as a mentor to the team by sharing his industry knowledge during weekly meetings.
Cook commended the students on their excellent work and dedication to creating practical solutions for their clients. He said that he is proud of how Rider University continues to excel in this competition year after year.
The Small Business Institute Consulting Project is an annual event where college teams present their consulting reports to a panel of judges from various industries who evaluate their effectiveness based on various criteria such as creativity, feasibility, impact potential among others.
In conclusion, Rider University’s success in this competition is attributed to its commitment to providing hands-on learning experiences for its students through direct interaction with clients and analysis which prepares them for real-world scenarios they may encounter after graduation.