Governor Hochul Announces $1 Million Grand Prize Winner of 43North’s 7th Annual Startup Competition
[ad_1]
Governor Kathy Hochul announced today the winners of the seventh annual 43North $ 5 million startup competition, including the grand prize winner of a $ 1 million investment and the seven other companies, each with an investment of $ 500,000 -Dollars won. In addition to financial investments, winners will receive a year of free space at Seneca One, where 43North is headquartered, advice from experienced mentors, local connections with prospects, access to the 43North investor network and other business incentive programs. The winners were announced during an awards ceremony at Shea’s Performing Arts Center in Buffalo.
“Over the past seven years, the 43North Startup Competition has put Buffalo and the Western New York region on the map for innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Governor Hochul. “I would like to congratulate Top Seedz on their well-deserved success and praise the hard work and creativity of every single finalist in today’s competition. Through initiatives like 43North, we’re bringing innovative startups to New York State and creating a more prosperous future. ”
The winners of the 43North 2021 competition are:
Top Seedz – Buffalo, NY – $ 1,000,000 winner
Top Seedz makes handmade crackers and toasted seeds filled with nutrients and flavor, using the simplest ingredients nature provides.
BetterMynd, Inc. Buffalo, NY – $ 500,000 winner
BetterMynd is an online therapy platform for college students. They work directly with colleges to give their students access to their diverse network of licensed mental health advisors through the privacy and convenience of their laptops and mobile devices.
Big Wheelbarrow, Inc. – Austin, TX – $ 500,000 winner
Big Wheelbarrow is a SaaS company that enables grocers and grocery chains to build and maintain decentralized supply chains to meet consumer demand for local groceries profitably, efficiently and safely.
FLOX – The Healthy Chicken Company – London, United Kingdom – $ 500,000 winner
FLOX – The Healthy Chicken Company is a revenue-generating company that uses machine vision to enable species-appropriate husbandry with initial applications in chicken husbandry. Your product helps improve the health and wellbeing of chickens so that farmers are more ethical, profitable and sustainable; and better visibility of the entire supply chain – right down to (increasingly more conscious) consumers.
Infiuss health – San Jose, CA – $ 500,000 winner
Infiuss Health is a SAAS platform that supports remote research / clinical trials in Africa by connecting researchers (in industry and science) with patients, participants in Africa with US and EU-based pharmaceutical and life science companies for clinical research and clinical trials .
ShearShare, Inc. – McKinney, TX – $ 500,000 winner
ShearShare is the premier B2B mobile marketplace that monetizes unused assets in the beauty and hairdressing industries, starting with space to work. Stylists rent suites / stations on a daily, weekly or occasion-related basis without a contract or commission, and salon, spa and hairdressing salon owners earn money with empty spaces they already have.
Zealot Interactive – Arlington, VA – $ 500,000 winner
Zealot Interactive offers advanced streaming video lessons for musical instruments paired with state-of-the-art optional hardware. You are a “peloton for music”. The curated content marketplace is legally compliant with record labels and allows YouTubers to host videos that they would otherwise not be able to license.
Verivend Buffalo, NY – $ 500,000 winner
Verivend is the fintech that modernizes the business processes of companies. As a true network, Verivend offers the fastest payment and payment method available, no barrier to entry so companies can do business with all customers and vendors, unbiased reputation visibility and a digital wallet for instant B2B and B2C payments.
The winners of 43North were selected by the following final judges:
- Brian Brackeen, General Partner at Lightship Capital
- Peter Boyce II, Founder and Managing Partner of Stellation Capital
- Howard Draft, Executive Chairman at Draftfcb
- Scott Omelianuk, Editor-in-Chief of Inc. Magazine
- Jackie Reses, Chair of the Economic Development Council of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco
- Rudina Seseri, founder and managing partner of Glasswing Ventures
43The Chairman of the Northern Board, Eric Reich, said: “Every year we are overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle, talent and innovation exhibited by the companies competing for a spot in the 43North portfolio. We look forward to seeing tonight’s winners make their mark in Buffalo, while they grow their business and use the abundant resources. ” Offer of the city and our program. ”
43 Northern President Colleen Heidinger said: “The energy in Shea’s Performing Arts Center was tangible tonight as the western New York community cheered on our incredible finalists. Buffalonians have seen firsthand the transformative economic impact of bringing new talent and capital to our region, as the support shows. ” issued tonight. I can’t wait to see the winning companies experience everything our burgeoning startup ecosystem has to offer. ”
Over the past seven years, 43North has invested in a diverse portfolio of 51 companies, of which 31% are color founders and 23% are female founders. Almost half of these companies have maintained a physical presence in Queen City and created over 800 local jobs. One of the ranks is the tech unicorn ACV Auctions, which took 43North to new heights after going public on March 24, 2021 as the first listed portfolio company.
About 43Nord
43North is an accelerator program that runs an annual startup competition and invests $ 5 million annually to attract and nurture high-growth businesses in Buffalo, NY. 43North portfolio companies also receive one year of complimentary Buffalo incubator space, mentoring in related areas, and access to other business incentive programs such as START-UP NY. 43North works with support from Governor Kathy Hochul, Empire State Development, the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, and several other sponsors. For more information on 43North, please visit www.43north.org.
[ad_2]
