Syracuse, NY — MPD Partners is to launch the MPD Partners Venture Challenge for the #givebacktothecommunity NY initiative with Blackstone Launchpad and Syracuse University to contribute to the SME ecosystem in New York State by injecting smart and qualified opinions and helping local start-ups with post-COVID strategic decision-making.

Five Syracuse-based start-ups will participate in the pitch competition and exchange their innovation ideas and business plans with MPD’s international manager network. The 1st-prize winner will be offered 16 hours’ mentoring by Mirco Coccoli, MPD Partners CEO and Miguel Dupret, MPD Partners’ director, Kearney Associate and COO of Sentient Blue, winner of 2019 GENIUS NY. The runner-up and third-place winner will profit from 8 hours’ coaching from two executive members of MPD’s evaluation panel who best suit their strategic plans.

“It is important to stay together in the face with the Corona crisis, and it is also a wonderful opportunity for MPD Partners and its extended network of international managers.” say Mr. Miguel Dupret and Mr. Mirco Coccoli, “This will be an enriching experience for all: ventures will receive a different and qualified point of view, and this initiative will be also very stimulating to involve our professionals who are passionate about innovation and new technologies.”

The #givebacktothecommunity initiative was first launched by MPD Partners CEO Mr. Mirco Coccoli in Switzerland and Italy in the wake of post-Covid-19 recovery period, in July 2020. With the help of MPD Partners’ vast network of experienced managers from different sectors, this initiative aims at contributing to the venture and SME ecosystem through the decision-making process and by assessing post Covid-19 recovery approaches.

MPD Partners is servicing Central New York since 2019 thanks to its tight joint efforts with Centerstate CEO and Syracuse University, and successfully supported the winner of GENIUS NY 2019, the world’s biggest unmanned aerial vehicle competition. MPD played a critical role in the start-up’s business planning, pitching, financial strategy and project management, and helped it relocate the business in Central NY.

The company is also in strategic collaborations with the Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University’s Libraries, the campus central innovation hub. This win-win partnership aims at helping start-ups understand their value proposition and better prepare themselves to pitch to professional investors.

“The values of MPD Partners and the Blackstone LaunchPad are perfectly aligned, as we strongly believe that investing in enterprises that have the potential to stimulate economic growth and deliver long-term value is of paramount importance, even more so in this business cycle,” says Mr. Mirco Coccoli.