Blackstone LaunchPad Announces 2025 Afropreneurship Business Competition Winners
Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad awarded prizes to several student teams as part of its annual Afropreneurship Celebration and Business Competition held in Bird Library on Friday, February 7, 2025. Winning teams awards include:
- $1500 to Olutosin Alabi G’25 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management), founder of Diabetech
- $1500 to Anthony H. Smith Jr. G’25 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), Bryson Carter G’25 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), Asha Breedlove G’25 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), and Stacey Collier G’25 (S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications), founders of HBeatzCU
- $1000 to Sydney Moore G’25 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management), founder of Thrive Insights
- $1000 to Lindy Truitt ’25 (College of Visual and Performing Arts) and Anjaneya Padwal G’25 (School of Information Studies), founders of Safe Sip
- $500 to Tony Goncalves ’27 (College of Engineering and Computer Science) and Armani Isonguyo ’24 (College of Engineering and Computer Science), founders of GymIn
- $500 to Jasmine Mayers ’26 (Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs), founder of Pressed
- $500 to Elizabeth Paulin ’24 (College of Arts & Sciences), founder of Paulin Capital
- $500 to Swathi Jacob G’25 (Martin J. Whitman School of Management)
- $250 to Maven Kavan ’28 (College of Visual and Performing Arts)
About Syracuse University Libraries’ Blackstone LaunchPad
The Blackstone LaunchPad is Syracuse University’s innovation hub, connecting the campus resource-rich ecosystem with a global network that provides support for aspiring entrepreneurs, inventors and creators. The program serves faculty, staff, students and recent alumni across all disciplines who are interested in entrepreneurship, venture creation and innovation careers. The program supports a key pillar of Syracuse University’s academic strategic plan to give students experiential opportunities that help prepare them to be trailblazers in an entrepreneurial world.