Adding Spice to Success: York College Hot Sauce Business and Others Participate in McNees Accelerator Program
Benny’s Hot Sauce, a York College student-run business, was one of several participating in the McNees Accelerator Program through the J.D. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship. Through their efforts, Benny’s Hot Sauce became one of three businesses awarded a $2,000 prize to continue their growth.
Ben Horwitz ‘27, a Marketing major with a triple minor in Entrepreneurial Studies, Advertising & Digital Marketing, and Retailing, grew up loving cooking. He carried with him a strong passion for trying new foods and recipes, but he discovered that one particular condiment had captured his attention: hot sauce.
“I’ve always loved giving out my hot sauce,” Ben said. “That’s how I made a lot of good friends, like in high school, and I’ve gotten close with some of my other professors; they’ll come to me every few months asking for more and more. And they always told me the same thing: ‘You’ve got to start a business - got to share it with the community.’”
After 10 years of perfecting and distributing his personal hot sauce recipe to friends and family, Ben decided to take his side passion to the next level. He enrolled in York College of Pennsylvania and teamed up with Matt Medvedovski ‘27, a Mechanical Engineering major with a double minor in Entrepreneurial Studies and Mathematics.
Together, they joined the McNees Accelerator Program through the J.D. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship and learned everything they needed to know about running a professional business. At the end of the program, they had the opportunity to pitch their business to three judges, and Ben and Matt walked away with $2,000 to spend on further improving their business.
The McNees Accelerator Program
The McNees Accelerator is an eight-week program that allows participants to gain the experience and guidance needed to start a business. York College faculty and community members come to guide the students on various topics to assist in their entrepreneurial ventures.
Not only do they get exposure to many important factors in starting a business, such as legal knowledge, customer and market research, and grant securement, but the participants are also given the opportunity to network with other entrepreneurs and businesses, all to provide them with the tools they need to find success.
“The goal of the Accelerator is to help new or established companies form a solid foundation and understanding for their business,” said Oscar Winters, Executive Director of the J.D. Brown Center for Entrepreneurship. “We want to see them exit the program with the ability to not only succeed at what they do but also to confidently grow their business.”
Winters worked with the program’s moderator, Gerry Patnode, Professor Emeritus at York College. Together, they have been helping businesses get off the ground and running since 2020.
“The purpose of the program is to give aspiring entrepreneurs an opportunity to test ideas, research market potential, enhance product or service concepts, and to gain some insight as to how to finance a new venture or expand an existing start-up business,” Dr. Patnode said. “Each program class is a combination of areas, small business owners at various stages of development, mixing with YCP students. The chemistry and camaraderie seem to be the magic of the program.”
At the end of the eight weeks, the participants will pitch their businesses to three judges, who, after some deliberation, will award a $5,000 prize. This year, three businesses were declared winners, so the Graham School of Business graciously contributed an additional $1,000 to grant each of them a $2,000 prize.
The following businesses were declared winners of the McNees Accelerator Pitch Day:
- Sparkle Fire Design Studio - “A vibrant company dedicated to turning everyday items into dazzling works of art through the power of bling. Beyond adding sparkle, we’re passionate about promoting creativity, self-expression, and the arts, inspiring individuals to craft something extraordinary while embracing their unique style.”
- Fragrance Gems Company - “Founded in the summer of 2024, we’re here to share how we’re rethinking home products through innovation with a goal to integrate sustainability into everyday life. We specialize in Fragrance diffusers and reusable and washable paper towels.”
- Benny’s Hot Sauce - “Benny’s Hot Sauce is focused on delivering a perfect balance of heat and flavor. We create small-batch, handcrafted sauces that enhance various dishes without overpowering them. Our focus on quality ingredients and a carefully crafted recipe makes our product stand out in the hot sauce market.”
Benny’s Hot Sauce
Of the three winners, Benny’s Hot Sauce was the only YCP student-run business.
Dr. Molly Sauder, Ed.D., Dean of the Graham School of Business and Associate Professor of Sport Management, was one of the judges of this year’s Accelerator Program Pitch Day. She shared how much of a wonderful opportunity it was to see everything that the businesses accomplished over the past two months, especially the winners and their future plans.
“Given that the J.D. Brown Center has multiple ways in which they can support student-run or local businesses, part of what we considered for this event was which businesses had best articulated how a fairly small amount of capital (a few thousand dollars) could move them to the next level,” Dr. Sauder said. “Benny's and the other two winning businesses did this particularly well, and we're excited to see where they go next!”
Both Ben and Matt are excited about the next potential steps they can take in their business and the impact they can continue to have on the people they interact with.
“I think one of the things we’ve seen so far is that it really brings people together through just a love of spicy food, our hot sauce in particular, and we’ve met a lot of great people through this,” Matt said.
Ben and Matt hope to continue improving their business within the next few years. They shared that they hope to use the money to help scale their business, find a permanent kitchen, and order ingredients in bulk. Their goal is to cut down costs, increase their margins, and help their business grow faster.
Ben also shared that he has made other spice and pepper-related products, such as hot oils, jams, and salts, so they may expand their product line to include one or more of them.
Ultimately, Ben and Matt are very grateful for the chance to turn a small dream into a reality and to work with such amazing people. When asked about advice they would share with anyone interested in starting a business, they emphasized not being afraid to take a chance if you have an idea you’re passionate about.
“Just go for it,” Matt said. “Because I think a lot of people have good ideas, [but] it’s a risk, right? You put your time and energy and potentially your own money into it, and there’s always a chance that things just don’t work out. But at the end of the day, it’s a good learning opportunity…so you’ve got to take that risk.”
Matt and Ben weren’t the only students who participated in the McNees Accelerator Program this year. Three more businesses participated as well, and each will continue to develop their companies after the 2025 Spring Semester.
Read more about them below.
Faceless Phenomenon
Created by Emma Homan ‘27, a Fine Arts major with a Creative Writing minor, Faceless Phenomenon is, in her own words, a “...nonprofit anonymous art collective that organizes groups of like-minded artists and encourages and supports them to exercise the right of free speech through public art and creative expression.”
Emma has been passionate about social justice issues for as long as she can remember. It had been a desire of hers to take an active role in society in addressing these issues, and she decided that the best way to do so was through her love of art.
Emma has been brainstorming ideas for her business for some time now, but this is the first year that she has had the resources and guidance to put them into action.
“I have an online website where artists can go and just talk to each other, submit ideas, and get connected with each other, and brainstorm with other artists that share the same thoughts and ideas as them,” Emma said.
The website has a form where artists can submit requests to see a public display of art or something similar about an issue they are passionate about. They can then workshop ideas with other artists about ways to get their image and message out to the public.
“I want to take a pushback against the discrimination of minority groups and advocate for the harmful behaviors against them,” Emma said. “And honestly, I’d like to say end it, but I don’t think that’ll happen in my lifetime. So hopefully, just continue that push and advocacy for minority groups and people being discriminated against.”
Emma hopes to continue expanding her network of artists and creators as her business grows. She also hopes to file for her LLC and complete designs she is in the midst of for two monuments.
When it came to advice, Emma shared a similar sentiment of not being afraid to take that first step.
“Just do it - Just go for it, because there’s going to be so many people along the way to help you and guide you in the right direction,” Emma said. “I literally started the McNees with a very unspecified idea, and I’ve been able to workshop that into a full-blown business.”
LaClair & Co.
Another business created by a York College student, LaClair & Co. is a collectible investment and reselling business run by Garrett LaClair ‘25, an Economics major.
“I essentially try to source undervalued items and price them to sell fast as well as buy some inventory and hold it for two to three years, targeting when market demand and pricing peak for that item and then list it and sell it,” Garrett said. “It’s been pretty fun and profitable so far, and I’m trying to ramp it up and scale it as much as I can at the moment.”
Since he was 10 years old, Garrett has grown up with a love of investing. He quickly learned how to flip items and sell them for much higher profits, even venturing into trading stocks in high school. Soon, he found himself interested in alternative investing.
“Since I am an Economics major, I really like the fact that every alternative investment has its own unique market that you can understand, and it’s been really fun to learn each market and follow it,” Garrett said.
Garrett didn’t turn his initial side hustle into a full business until last year. He began creating an official brand, developing a schedule, and going to flea markets every week to earn cash. Last year, Garrett felt confident enough that his business had grown into a good investment opportunity.
“I want to create a consistent revenue stream for myself and my business and build my inventory, but I also want to offer a service to other people,” he said. “So, I’m looking into consignment services right now so I can essentially use what I’ve already learned and my expertise to help other people sell their items because I realized through the Accelerator that a lot of people don’t know how or don’t want to list products online.”
In terms of further growth for his business, Garrett has considered expanding to have a team of fellow entrepreneurs who know about different markets (such as shoes or jewelry) and can help him sell his items. He also expressed how he would love to invest in storage facilities to move his inventory.
“I also would like to really start streamlining, like cross-listing across multiple platforms rather than just eBay or Mercari, which I’m currently listing on,” Garrett said.
When it comes to advice about starting a business, Garrett urges new entrepreneurs not to overthink their ideas and avoid getting stuck on the ‘what ifs’ if something goes wrong. He recommends listening to a quote that he continues to remember to this day: “Failure helps you move faster.”
“You can think about starting your business a lot, and nothing will happen because you just thought about it,” Garrett said. “You also can’t overthink it; you might spend a lot of time building and testing something, only to realize, ‘All right, this probably isn’t what I want to do.’ But that’s not wasted time. Now you’ve got a better idea of what keeps you motivated and what doesn’t, and you can pivot into something that feels more like the right fit.”
MedWheel
The final business is MedWheel, named for its product, a smart pill organizer and dispenser. It was created by Electrical Engineering majors Baia Grdzelishvili ‘27 and Brendan Haney ‘27.
The device contains 16 compartments where each medication can be placed and dispensed when needed. Doses can be scheduled on a mobile app, and then notified/recorded every time the pills are dispensed.
“My inspiration basically was my grandma, because she had breast cancer and because she wouldn’t be on chemotherapy, she would have to take medicines right on time, and she had a lot of medicines to manage,” Baia said.
When Baia learned about the struggle her grandmother was having, she decided that the issue would be a good project to work on and hopefully execute. She teamed up with Brendan, and the two found that there was a large number of people who could benefit from their potential solution.
“This all stems from a problem we realize in people forgetting to take their pills,” Brendan said.
Baia and Brendan developed a prototype of the MedWheel and entered it at the YCP Hackathon in November 2024. They also added two more non-YCP student members to their group: Youssouf Hassan, an engineer, and Orion Mulgrew, a software developer.
The group found that while their product wouldn’t be the first medication dispenser to exist, one aspect could be made appealing to potential buyers: the price. Many dispensers, regardless of quality, can cost up to or around $1,000, and even then, some devices still require users to pay a monthly fee to keep using them.
Meanwhile, the MedWheel team found that building one prototype cost them around $80. So, even with a 100% markup of the selling price ($160), their device would still be much cheaper. When they asked people how much they would be willing to pay for such a device, they were told around $200.
“Clearly, it’s a big enough issue that people are willing to pay to fix it,” Brendan said.
In the end, the MedWheel team won 1st Place at the 2024 Hackathon competition, and left with many people asking if they would be willing to sell their prototype. Shortly after, Winters reached out to the team and suggested that they create their own business and apply to the McNees Accelerator. They agreed and found the experience very helpful in establishing what they needed for their budding business.
“Our next goal in the immediate future is to finish designing and developing a professional-grade device so we can begin selling,” Brendan said. “After that, it’s probably going to be scaling up.”
In terms of advice, Baia and Brendan shared that it is important to be open to adaptation, especially regarding the initial business idea. They also acknowledged that while failure is possible, it shouldn’t keep you from continuing to improve your work.
“I would say not to be afraid of asking questions or failing, and to just be able to put in the work,” Baia said.
“You cannot assume that you know everything,” Brendan said. “If you do, then you’re not going to make it. You have to be willing to adapt. You have to be willing to go with the flow sometimes, and sometimes, you have to realize that you’re wrong and you may not know everything, and you have to be willing to change.”
The Future of Businesses
Overall, every single participating business within the 2025 McNees Accelerator Program found success. Whether it be someone who came in with only an idea or a group that has been working on their business for years, the program provided the necessary guidance to navigate the world of entrepreneurship and prepare them for their next steps in life.
“It was amazing to see what they accomplished,” Dr. Sauder said. “And, the ideas were so innovative. I especially loved seeing YCP students working alongside community members to collectively advance their ideas.”
Now, 10 businesses will be leaving the program, ready for whatever comes their way and for their products and services to positively impact their markets.
“I always joke that I feel like a proud dad when the companies present at the final pitches,” Winters said. “It really is remarkable to see all of their hard work come to fruition, and the understanding that shines through as they present their company. Each one of these businesses absolutely deserves to succeed!”
