Excelsior Students Win Third Place at 2021 IACBE Competition
Albany, New York—A team of four Excelsior College students placed third out of 24 in the 2021 IACBE (International Accreditation Council for Business Education) Live Business Case Competition. A total of 126 students from around the world submitted 24 entries to the competition.
The case competition was a unique opportunity to get students in front of real-world executives as they competed to come up with the best insights based on real company challenges. Each competing team was tasked with developing a USA Go-to-Market Strategy for GENUINO, an Italian start-up that connects non-fungible tokens (NFTs) to real-world objects. The specific focus for this project was how GENUINO could leverage its blockchain certification technology and community engagement platform across multiple sectors, including sports, music, art, and fashion, to build and grow revenue streams for all points of engagement in the life of the collectible (NFT + Physical).
Teams looked at how all points of contact (athletes, teams, artists, musicians, fashion designers, collectors, and fans) can monetize opportunities within the United States as they look to gain value and enrich their experience with athletes and teams through the use of NFTs, proprietary to the GENUINO marketplace, which uniquely incorporates physical asset blockchain certification protocol. Team member LeRoy Greene II said that it was a “very unique project that had involvement with Excelsior centered around new and innovative technology platforms. It’s how educational experience should happen!”
Teams had two weeks to research the case and submit a final deliverable that included a “go-to-market” proposal and a video presentation. “This competition epitomized what teamwork truly means,” said Mario Ramdial, another team member and Master of Business Administration student.
Competing as Team Ever Upward, the students’ proposal fully explored and addressed adoption across three target consumer audiences: the web-savvy, veteran crypto user who understands the NFT concept; the sports fan with no prior experience or understanding of NFTs; and the collector who may or may not understand the NFT concept. “Our challenge was to truly create a way to harness the wild west of crypto-trading,” said team member Keila Peters, a Master of Science in Management student.
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Media Contact Excelsior College:
Erin Coufal, ecoufal@excelsior.edu, 518-608-8498
ABOUT EXCELSIOR COLLEGE
Excelsior College is an accredited, not-for-profit online college focused on helping adults complete their degrees and advance their careers. The college contributes to the development of a diverse, educated, and career-ready society by valuing lifelong learning with an emphasis on serving individuals historically underrepresented in higher education. Founded in 1971, Excelsior meets students where they are — academically and geographically — removing obstacles to the educational goals of adults pursuing continuing education and degree completion. Our pillars include innovation, flexibility, academic excellence, and integrity.
