Zicklin’s Newman Real Estate Institute Honors Winning Teams In Entrepreneurship Case Competition
Inaugural Florence and Robert Rosen Real Estate competition recognizes excellence in creative thinking among undergraduate and graduate studentsJanuary 16, 2020
The entrepreneurial spirit is thriving at the Zicklin School of Business’ Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute where five finalist teams competed recently in the inaugural Florence and Robert A. Rosen Real Estate Entrepreneurship Case Competition for Excellence.
Open to all Baruch College students, the competition awarded grand prizes of $6,000 each to an undergraduate team and a graduate student team.
The new competitive event was created to encourage creative thinking in future real estate leaders among Baruch undergraduate and graduate students. The five finalist teams presented their real estate-related startup ideas before a panel of judges comprised of industry professionals and faculty members. The teams were evaluated based on the novelty and feasibility of their ideas, as well as the depth of research and overall presentation.
“This competition provided the opportunity for students who have a great idea to get real-world feedback from the industry. They had to come up with a plan and present it – it’s really good for students to get a sense of how to turn their ideas into businesses,” said Yildiray Yildirim, PhD, director, Steven L. Newman Real Estate Institute and chair, William Newman Department of Real Estate at Zicklin.
Meet the Grand Prize-Winning Teams
“OneStep Escrow,” the grand prize-winning undergraduate team, proposed an escrow service designed to make the New York City rental market more accessible to individuals with funds to pay rent upfront, but without the standard qualifications, such as established credit score, required by landlords. “OneStep Escrow” plans to work with landlords to set up escrow accounts with such tenants and serve as an indirect prepayment service.
“Compound,” the graduate student winning team, proposed a software platform that allows amateur real estate investors to optimize their investments in exchange for data on their operational practices. Initially positioned as a consulting service where professionals offer targeted advice to the platform’s users, Compound plans to use the data collected to come up with automated suggestions for investors on which operational areas to focus on.
Professor Yildirim served as a judge of the competition, along with Assistant Professors of Real Estate Sophia Gilbukh and Waldo Ojeda, as well as Victoria Ornstein, director of acquisitions, central region at Convene, a partner for commercial landlords in providing meeting and workplace solutions.
Besides the top-winning undergraduate team, three additional undergraduate teams landed cash prizes of $3,000, $1,000 and $500, respectively, for their proposals.
The new competition is funded by Robert A. Rosen who holds B.B.A. and M.B.A. degrees from Baruch, and is retired from a career in residential and commercial property development. His wife, Florence, attended Brooklyn College.
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