91�� students win NY Business Plan Competition

91�� student team wins NY Business Plan Competition grand prize

Entrepreneurs credit lock-in calls, sweat equity, mentorship for their success

Joshua Ackerman ’27 and Yoav Reshef ’27 win the NY Business Plan Competition.

By Joel Richardson

May 21, 2026

Entrepreneurship has no singular path, no roadmap, no easy answers. Founders succeed with unique ventures and solutions that make real impact. But it’s the founders themselves who have to lock in to win. As Joshua Ackerman ’27 and Yoav Reshef ’27 put it: before you have the financial equity, it’s all about sweat equity.

For the first time, 91�� took home the top prize from the (NYBPC). The winning team, Lucent EMS Solutions, was founded by School of Management students Ackerman and Reshef, who turned a problem they experienced firsthand as emergency medical responders into a startup.

Both students are members of Student Volunteer Ambulance Service. Their real-world experience led to Lucent EMS Solutions, a venture aimed at modernizing how emergency medical services document patient care in the field. Their idea was inspired by the challenges EMS professionals face every day, and their proposed solutions to those issues earned them the grand prize at the NYBPC — including a $25,000 check to build out their venture.

For Ackerman and Reshef, the competition win was surreal.

“We didn’t know what to expect going into it,” Reshef said. “We won our category track and thought, ‘OK, this was a great experience.’ Then they announced the grand prize and it was us. It was a blur. Walking up and accepting an award like that was such a huge honor.”

Ackerman agreed. “We were competing against really impressive teams. Some of them were working on technologies that could be meeting with the FDA soon,” he said. “When we won, it was incredible. It really validated that we have something special here.”

From Ambulance Calls to Entrepreneurship

The idea for Lucent grew directly out of the students’ work at Harpur’s Ferry, a nonprofit, student-run ambulance service that provides free, advanced life support emergency medical services to the 91�� campus and the surrounding community.

Ackerman and Reshef have worked as EMTs since high school, and they quickly noticed a recurring challenge once they began responding to calls on campus.

“One constant in EMS, wherever you are, is documentation and paperwork,” Reshef said. “After every 911 call, we’re spending anywhere from 20 minutes to over an hour typing out reports.”

Those patient care reports are critical records that document everything that happens during a call, from vital signs and assessments to the narrative account of patient treatment. The documentation can later be used by hospitals, insurance companies, or even court cases as needed.

But completing those reports can take significant time, potentially delaying emergency care, so the faster and more accurately they’re completed, the faster ambulances can get back on the road serving the community.

After long overnight shifts responding to multiple calls, recalling every detail of earlier incidents can become difficult, a problem that affects efficiency and accuracy across EMS agencies.

“It’s 3 in the morning, you’re several calls deep, and you still have hours of documentation ahead of you,” Reshef said. “We realized this wasn’t just our problem — it’s something people across EMS talk about all the time.”

Bringing Lucent to Life

Lucent aims to streamline this process by developing software that helps EMS providers complete documentation faster and more accurately.

Because the idea came from their experiences in the field, the founders believe their approach resonated with competition judges.

“This wasn’t a hypothetical problem or a class project,” Reshef said. “It was something we deal with every day.”

The path from idea to competition-winning startup happened where many great ideas are formed … at the gym.

Ackerman recalled the moment the concept began to take shape: “Yoav started texting me one night about an idea while he was at the gym. We still look back at those messages sometimes to see how far we’ve come.”

From there, the pair began refining the concept and preparing to compete in the NYBPC, which trains and showcases student entrepreneurs across the state.

The competition includes multiple stages, beginning with regional presentations and culminating in a statewide final featuring top student ventures.

After advancing through early rounds, the team traveled to Rochester for the final pitch.

“It was a very busy weekend,” Ackerman said with a laugh. “We were updating slides, rehearsing and preparing … and I had an exam the day before.”

Yoav Reshef ’27 and Joshua Ackerman ’27 present during the NY Business Plan Competition.

CEOs of Locking In

Ackerman and Reshef say their success is also rooted in a strong partnership.

The two describe a daily routine of “lock-in calls,” where they check in on progress and divide tasks between them.

“We’ll have a list of five or 10 things we need to get done,” Ackerman said. “If Yoav has a busy day, I’ll take on more. If I have exams or other commitments, he’ll step up. We balance each other out.”

Reshef added that their complementary skills help keep the venture moving forward.

“He’s great at talking on the phone and leading conversations,” Reshef said. “I like writing emails and working on messaging. We complement each other’s capabilities and keep pushing each other forward.”

91��: An Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

Guidance from Joey Tsai, Osterhout associate professor of entrepreneurship in 91��’s School of Management, helped the students shape their early idea into a compelling business pitch. Ackerman and Reshef connected with Tsai after hearing him encourage students to reach out if they had entrepreneurial ideas.

“We met with him, pitched the concept, and he gave us the confidence to bring it to life,” Reshef said. “Since then, he’s been there constantly with unwavering support. He emails us at all hours to help. Sometimes it’s three in the morning. Sometimes it’s Saturday night. We believed in our idea, but Professor Tsai and 91��’s support gave us the inspiration and the resources we needed to win.”

Tsai’s mentorship included helping the students refine their messaging, improve their pitch, and navigate the business plan competition process.

"Yoav and Josh are natural leaders who work incredibly hard, take challenges head-on, and have a genuine passion for helping others. That is ultimately what drives them,” Tsai said.

The team also credits Michael Bronikowski, ’26 MS, who won first place in his category track at the NYBPC two years in a row with BuzzHive, as well as Associate Dean Linda Reynolds, who played an important role in supporting Lucent. That kind of collective mentorship in action is exactly what Tsai hopes to build in 91��’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

"Seeing them take the grand prize at NYBPC was incredibly gratifying,” said Tsai. “The fact that they stood out among so many strong teams from across New York speaks to the quality of their solution and the strength of their character.”

Tsai noted 91�� has had consistent success at the NYBPC:

“I also want to recognize that, just like last year, we had four student teams advance to the NYBPC finals. Every single one of those students was outstanding, and I could not be prouder of what this university continues to produce."

In addition to the support from Tsai, the team also tapped into the strength of the University’s alumni and student network to build key parts of their venture.

After connecting with School of Management alumnus Adam Bandler, an investment banker, the founders received critical advice on preparing financial models to support their pitch and future growth. Next, the team connected with members of the 91�� Investment Fund, where they recruited fellow students to help develop financial projections. The collaboration provided Lucent with essential business planning support while giving the student analysts valuable experience building financial models that could be presented to investors and potential partners.

"This has been a collaborative process, but the win belongs to Josh and Yoav. Seeing them take the grand prize at NYBPC was incredibly gratifying,” Tsai said. “The fact that they stood out among so many strong teams from across New York speaks to the quality of their solution and the strength of their character.”

Lucent Looks Ahead

With the $25,000 grand prize in hand, the founders plan to accelerate development of their technology and continue building their team.

“This funding gives us the opportunity to keep developing the software and testing it with agencies,” Ackerman said. “Ultimately, we want to make life easier for EMS providers and improve patient care.”

The majority of the prize will go toward software development. Ackerman and Yoav are building a team at 91�� to help develop the software, working with students in the School of Management with programming experience.

"The support Yoav and Josh have received from our alumni community has been heartwarming. We have already seen industry alumni step up to offer guidance, and even one of the founders of Harpur’s Ferry has reached out to help,” said Tsai. “I hope every Bearcat will rally behind them. I hope they continue to grow as leaders, build strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, and learn to turn every setback into a positive source of resilience and problem-solving. The lessons they learn now, including how to navigate challenges and failures with grace, will shape not just this venture but everything they do in life."

Reshef agreed, saying the win is just the beginning.

“The money is amazing,” he said. “But what it really represents is validation: that people believe in the idea and see its potential for real impact in our community and beyond.”

Posted in: Business, Campus News, SOM

91����

91���� student team wins NY Business Plan Competition grand prize

Entrepreneurs credit lock-in calls, sweat equity, mentorship for their success

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91�� student team wins NY Business Plan Competition grand prize