Rylaxing LLC Wins Second Place in the Annual Panasci Business Plan Competition, among other awards.

Syracuse University seniors, Ryan Dickerson, Stephen Fox, Michael Santaniello, and Case Wayne, won second place and a $10,000 prize in the Panasci Business Plan Competition on Saturday, April 16. The team makes up the core members of Rylaxing LLC, a company who manufactures and sells an ergonomic bolster, called the Rylaxer, which is designed to turn any bed into couch and maximize living space for those living in small quarters, like a dorm room.
The annual contest is a Syracuse University is hosted by the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship in the Whitman School of Management, and made possible by long-time Whitman School supporter, the late Henry A. Panasci, founder of Fay’s Drugs. Rylaxing beat out 58 other teams to achieve this honor. Past winners of the competition, include Dream Water, Funk n’ Waffles, and RateMyClass.com.
The competition allows any Syracuse University student lead company, to submit a business plan, but cuts the field down to just 16 teams who are given the opportunity to present their plans to a panel of judges. Five of these teams are then selected to present again the next day for the three top prizes. Rylaxing took third place in the competition last year and was ecstatic about their improvement this year. “We worked extremely hard over the past year to refine our business plan and presentation,” said Dickerson, the owner of the company. “Almost every judge personally expressed how impressed they were with the improvements that we made to our company and our product since last year’s competition. And showed it, by awarding us second place. We hope to take the momentum from the competition to make even more tangible improvements to the company.”
Along with second place in the competition, Ryan Dickerson received the award for Student Entrepreneur of the Year from the Whitman School. Rylaxing LLC also recently received funding from the Raymond von Dran IDEA Awards, which is given to help cover student business start-up expenses. Finally, the four members were accepted as SU Engagement Fellows for the next school year and given a one year scholarship to get their Masters in Entrepreneurship from the Whitman School and continue run their business. “All of our recent success has shown that we are on to something and that people truly love our product. We are dedicated to this business and believe that our hard work will pay off very soon,” said Dickerson.
Visit www.rylaxing.com for more information on Rylaxing LLC. Also, http://whitman.syr.edu/Centers/Falcone/Student/Panasci/ for information on the Panasci Business Plan Competition, http://engage.syr.edu/ for information on the engagement fellows program, and http://accelerate.syr.edu/about.aspx for information on the Raymond von Dran IDEA Awards.

The Rylaxer solves the age-old complaint that “my room is too small!” This simple addition, will give you the space and seating to entertain or relax alone. Simply place the Rylaxer on top of your bed to create an instant couch and transform your room into a more comfortable living area. The product was conceived of, designed by, and formed into an LLC by Syracuse University senior, Ryan Dickerson. The Rylaxer is made from durable, eco-friendly foam and is manufactured by OneUp Innovations in Atlanta, Georgia. Both the 6-foot long FullBack ™ and 3-foot long HalfBack ™ are available now. It has a removable cover which can be machine-washed or replaced, and comes in a wide variety of colors and patterns. To design and customize your Rylaxer today, visit www.Rylaxing.com.

Rylaxing LLC
721 University Avenue
Suite 116
Syracuse, NY 13244

Stephen Fox
609-226-5924
smfox03@syr.edu

This release was published on openPR.