2022 Sesi Midwest Entrepreneurship Conference & Skandalaris Business Plan Competition
At this year's March 11th conference, high school and college students teachers from the Midwest region will join notable business leaders/entrepreneurs to celebrate entrepreneurship. Students, instructors and community members from our region are invited to attend this free, flagship, half-day agenda presented by the EMU's Center for Entrepreneurship. This year the conference is organized as a webinar.
2022 Sesi Program Download
March 11, 2022 Schedule
- 9:00 – 9:30 a.m. Welcome and Introductions
- 9:30 – 10:00 a.m. Speaker 1 - Jeeva Nadarajah
- 10:00 – 10:05 a.m. Intermission/Transition
- 10:05 - 10:35 a.m. Speaker 2 - Linda Smith
- 10:35 – 10:45 a.m. Intermission/Transition
- 10:45 - 11:30 a.m. Keynote - Raffaele Mautone
- 11:30 – 11:35 a.m. Intermission/Transition
- 11:35 – 11:50 p.m. Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award
- 11:50 - 12:00 p.m. Intermission/Transition
- 12:00 –1:00 p.m. Business Plan Presentations and Awards
Speakers

Jeeva Nadarajah | 9:30–10:00 a.m.
Jeeva Nadarajah | 9:30–10:00 a.m.
Working in domains such as digital advertising, logistics, automotive, healthcare and e-commerce she realized accessebility to fast and reliable software development was preventing innovation in local communities. In 2019 she launched her company Serendip that aims to make software development available to communities in Michigan. Serendip has to date served 13 clients across the United States and helped them bring their digital products to life with design and software development.
Jeeva is also passionate about expanding opportunities to minorities and underserved communities. She is a board member and sponsor for Automotive Women's Alliance Foundation and Grace Girls Home in Sri Lanka.

Linda Smith | 10:05–10:35 a.m.
Linda Smith | 10:05–10:35 a.m.
Linda co-founded Michigan Innovation Headquarters with her husband in 2015. Serial entrepreneurs, they launched MI-HQ, a collaborative business incubator accelerator campus which has grown to 170,000 sq. ft. of flex office, wet lab and manufacturing space as a start up venture.
At 80 companies and growing, MI-HQ fosters Life sciences, Alternative Energy, Medical Device, Waste to Energy, Corporate Development and Micro Electronics together in a community environment. MI-HQ was awarded Ann Arbor Spark Project of the Year in 2020. Over 25 years working with early stage companies has provided Linda with a unique insight into what makes a successful start up. She enjoys helping other entrepreneurs succeed.

Raffaele Mautone | 10:45 – 11:30 a.m.
Raffaele Mautone | 10:45 – 11:30 a.m.

Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year | 11:35 - 11:50 a.m.
Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year | 11:35 - 11:50 a.m.
2022 Skandalaris Business Plan Competition
Finalist Presentations and Awards 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Three finalists from the High school category and three from the College category will each offer a four minute presentation of their business plans. Community business leaders will judge these presentations to select the best presentation for cash prizes.
For more information on this competition and to submit your business plan, please visit the site below:
https://my.reviewr.com/s2/site//Skandalaris-BPC-2022
The submission deadline is February 11, 2022.
College Category
- Finalists from college category will present their business plans
High School Category
Finalists from high school category will present their business plans
A Very Special Thanks to Our Donors

Joseph M. Sesi & Catherine R. Sesi

Robert J. Skandalaris
Please Click here to see this years additional Sponsors: Ann Arbor SPARK and SkySpecs