MBA Small Business Institute team places second nationally

On Feb. 13, Rider's graduate Small Business Institute (SBI) team was in the national finals for Consulting Project of the Year and received second place in the nation. The students who received this honor were current MBA students Nazhat Aboobaker '16, Farzana Razack '15, '16 and Aisha Varnadore '12, '15. 

For this competition, students produced the consulting report as part of Dr. Ron Cook's Consulting for New and Small Ventures class in the fall of 2014. 

"In this course, students act as consultants to small firms/organizations in the area and their report is now being recognized for excellence," says Cook, director of Rider's Entrepreneurial Studies program and the Small Business Institute. "The students developed a social media strategy for their client, Spruce Industries, to attempt to help increase its sales through better brand awareness and improved communications with its stakeholders."

"In the graduate division, since 2009, our exceptional program has had seven graduate top three national titles out of eight entries since 2009," says Cook. "In the only year we missed, we came in fourth place. The competition is intense as Rider competes against some schools who require an SBI project in certain majors/programs who are sending their very best projects to the competition." 

Rider thanks the SBI's corporate sponsor, Grand Bank of Hamilton NJ, for its support in helping this winning streak continue.   

To learn more about Rider's Small Business Institute, visit www.rider.edu/sbi.