DETROIT – Adam

Skornia is one step closer to realizing his entrepreneurial goals after undergoing

a rigorous mentoring program and getting awarded $5,000 in pre-seed capital

from Wayne State’s Blackstone LaunchPad Warrior Fund Competition.

Skornia, who

graduated from Wayne State in December with a bachelor of science in mechanical

engineering, received the funding last month for his “patent pending”

design of a crossbow which he says is safer, more efficient and compact – and

at just shy of 3 pounds – weighs at least 50 percent less than typical

crossbows. His design also allows bowstrings to run internally, prohibiting

fingers from coming across the path of the strings.

“I

structured the handle to serve as a cocking mechanism, which makes it much

faster to reload than traditional crossbows,” said Skornia. “All design

elements were incorporated into the product without sacrificing accuracy or

speed.”

Sponsoredby

the Michigan Initiative for Innovation and Entrepreneurship through the

Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Comerica Bank, Lakeland Venture

Development, Detroit Venture Partners, NextEnergy and Bizdom, the competition

is designed to prepare students to pitch, secure and effectively use venture

capital. The competition awards students up to $5,000 if they convince a panel

of distinguished judges that their business is supported by a viable business

plan.

Judges

included Martin Dober of Invest Detroit, Gerry Roston, entrepreneur in

residence for TechTown, Ian Charles, mentor in residence for Spartan

Innovation, Nic Wetzler, principal of technology for WSU technology

commercialization and Nick Di Cresce, founder and head instructor of Detroit

Archers, youth and adult archery training for metro Detroit.

Skornia, an

avid hunter, said he first conceived of the idea for a more efficient crossbow

while playing a video game in the Assassin’s Creed series. “The characters were

carrying a crossbow while free running. I started sketching crossbows and

wondering why no one had designed one that was lightweight and easy to

maneuver.”

He plans to

use the Warrior Fund capital for design iterations and to get his product to

the production phase. “I would never have gotten to where I am right now

without Blackstone LaunchPad,” said Skornia. “All I had was a design and no

other idea on how to get my product out there; I’m an engineer, I would have

had to go to business school to get my MBA. They taught me business strategy

and to narrow down my focus to see the financial side of the equation and

provided me with contacts to move forward.”

“Students

participating in our the pre-seed pitch competition have been mentored through

our rigorous Blackstone LaunchPad program and have a good understanding of

their target market, production costs and competition,” said Aubrey Agee,

senior program administrator for Wayne State�s Blackstone LaunchPad and Warrior

Fund manager. “Adam�s impressive product design combined with his passion,

determination and business acumen, equips him with the necessary tools for

obtaining venture capital.”