2010-05-02 22:41:02

Bankers Day event challenges business students

1. Bankers Day event challenges business students

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Written by Ted Bordelon Collegian Editor

“Joe, do you have a solid colored tie I could borrow?” asks Chris Mariotti from his dorm room in St. Basil’s Court.

“No, dude—sorry,” replies suitemate Joe Almerini from his desk, not glancing up from his laptop. Tie choice is the least of his concerns right now, perhaps because he is already clad in a suit and tie of his own.

Standing next to Almerini’s dresser, Justin Gadzinski flips through index cards with his notes on them, as Colson Ferrari and Jim Sykes review notes of their own. All are dressed like Almerini. The LCD clock reads 1:27.

“We’ve gotta get going to meet up with Hunter,” says Ferrari, putting on his suit coat. Marioti stays behind as the group departs. He’s meeting his team outside of the Dan Rodden Theater closer to 2 o’clock.

As they make their way along the sun-soaked walkway, between the baseball field and McCarthy Stadium, to the Wister computer lab, the group gets some curious glances from t-shirt-wearing classmates.

“You look classy,” shouts one student.

It is Bankers Day at La Salle.

Business 100 is a prerequisite course for students whose majors are a part of the School of Business. The course is intended to introduce students to how business processes are related to each other in a company.

Students taking the course are divided into teams and develop a business plan to market a product that they, as a group, invent. The teams then present their product to “bankers” who either approve or deny “funding” for the potential products and companies. The role of banker is played by La Salle graduates and other friends of the university, and this year’s Bankers Day, held on April 23, marked the 11th anniversary of the program’s inception.

“This basically teaches students how business works and what the functions are, before they ever get into their business classes,” Dr. Susan Borkowski, who organizes Bankers Day each year, said.

“Pretty much our entire grade in this class comes down to this project,” Ferrari says from the Wister computer lab, as he and the rest of the group wait for the fifth member of their team, Vice President of Marketing Hunter Selman.

Almerini, the CEO of the team, prints and staples together a paper form of the team’s business plan. The cover reads “Abrasion-Aid.”

“Colson is covered in abrasions, my knees are all messed up, and Hunter’s a BMX-er,” says Almerini, explaining the team’s decision to market an anti-scar, anti-infection bandage—specifically intended for those who participate in extreme sports.

Selman arrives, and the group heads upstairs, to the lobby of the Dan Rodden Theater, which is filled with conversation and packed with suited students reviewing business plans, studying index cards, and checking hair from the reflection of Intermissions’ window.

“I think we’re the most realistic out of all of the groups,” says Selman, as he and his team mingle with some of the other students. “Our product is something that people would actually buy—we’re not trying to make some product that can’t and won’t exist.”

Some of the products, being marketed by other groups, include a teeth-whitening strip which dissolves in the mouth, a pain-killing flavored drink mix, and a diaper which plays music when soiled.

“I’m pretty confident we’ll get funding,” says Selman, as the mass of about 200 students makes its way upstairs to the Ballroom, where some 60 bankers await the groups at numbered tables. Each team will present its product to two bankers.

In preparation for this day, the teams had to, research the product, its target sales group, the location of any potential factories, and develop an advertising plan, among other things.

The Abrasion-Aid group make their way to their assigned table and are greeted by bankers Jeff Benninghoff ’93 and Kelly Fleckstein ’05. The presentation seems to go smoothly, as the group calmly explains how they decided upon “Abrasion-Aid” and make their pitch for funding. Benninghoff and Fleckstein listen to the business proposal quietly and attentively for about fifteen minutes and then dismiss the team so that they can review the paper copy of Abrasion-Aid’s plan.

“We didn’t have this when I was here, but this is a great experience,” says Benninghoff as he reviews the business plan. He is currently the Vice President of Finance at Calkins Media, a media company based in Levittown, PA. “Considering these guys are freshmen, they did a good job.”

Fleckstein, a senior financial analyst for Johnson and Johnson, feels similarly, noting that “you can really see the passion that they had for their product.”

The group returns and, to sighs of relief, Fleckstein and Benninghoff inform the team that their product will receive “funding.” Everyone at the table shakes hands, and similar scenarios play out at tables all around the Ballroom.

“We have 288 students here today,” Borkowski, who watched the event unfold as she walked around the Ballroom, said. “Every single one of them on the first day of class was told they were going to do this, probably 99% of them thought they were never going to finish it. It’s good seeing them grow and gain confidence. If they can do this they’re gonna get through the next four years.”