Lee & Associates NYC partners with SpeakUlyant; for entrepreneur of the year competition

New York, NY Lee & Associates NYC has welcomed nine Russian-speaking entrepreneurs to its Midtown East office to pitch their business ideas to a panel of judges. The entrepreneurs are members of SpeakUlyant, an organization based in New York City that connects Russian-speaking professionals with one another. Sergio Turaev, associate broker with a focus on the Russian market at Lee NYC, served as a judge at the event. Brett Ari Fischer, senior managing director of Lee & Associates Residential NYC, provided opening remarks about Lee NYC’s residential division.

Sponsors of the competition included Radio Gorod NY, Starta Ventures, Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator, Tete A Tete and ETVNET, many of which volunteered their executives as judges at the event. In order to apply to the competition, the entrepreneurs’ companies had to be at a pre-seed or seed stage and currently in the process of fundraising. Each contestant had three minutes to pitch their startup idea, followed by ten minutes of time in which the panel of judges asked questions.

“There is a large Russian community in NYC, many of whom are key players in the real estate industry,” said James Wacht, president of Lee NYC. “Observing all of the cutting-edge business concepts at this event was both exciting and educational. We look forward to future endeavors with SpeakUlyant.”

The competition was divided into categories and the panel of judges picked the best service, the best product and the best international startup. Prizes for the winners included one hour as a host on the Russian-speaking radio station dedicated to business, Radio Gorod NY, as well as 50% off an online business course. The winners also received mentorship and investment opportunities from Starta Ventures and Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator.