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May 8, 2023

BPS High School Pitch Day; AgTech Meetup Launches May 11

BootSector ran a pitch competition for seven BPS teams. Buffalo Soup raised $600+ for Project Mona's House. WNY AgTech Meetup kicks off May 11 at Kubed Root.

Check out what happened in the WNY Startup Community this week and what you can look forward to next week.

Weekly Recap

May 1-7, 2023

BootSector in the Community

Buffalo Public Schools - Pitch Competition

BootSector had the honor of powering a pitch competition featuring seven incredible high school teams from the Buffalo Public Schools. We were so impressed with the passion that these students had for entrepreneurship and the amount of effort and thought that they each put into their pitches and business plans. Thanks to our co-sponsors, First Student →and M&T Bank

And a special thank you to David Brenner (404 Link Removed) and Julie Johnson (404 Link Removed) for their amazing work organizing the event.

Buffalo Soup - UB Students Feeding Non-Profits

Buffalo Soup, the first student-run crowdfunding event of its kind in Western New York, put over $600 in microgrants into the hands of Project Mona's House → while providing guests with a light meal. All thanks to a group of student organizers in an experiential learning course in UB's Philosophy, Politics, and Economics program in conjunction with BootSector's operational support.

Congratulations to Annabella Bogart (404 Link Removed) and her team for leading a fantastic event. Can BootSector Help Your Community Project? Email us!

Startup Community Events

WNY AgTech Meetup - Powered by BootSector!

Come join BootSector at the WNY AgTech Meetupkickoff event! Meet and network with other entrepreneurs, farmers, investors, and experts passionate about driving innovation in agriculture. Thank you to 43North →and Kubed Root (404 Link Removed) for supporting this meetup series.

More Upcoming Events

Looking for something entrepreneurial to do? Why don't you come out to these upcoming events Powered by BootSector?

And here's a few other startup community events to check out this week:

But wait, there's more! You can see all of the WNY Startup Community Events on BootSector's Venture Herd Calendar. Click the button below to see more! Check here for more events!

In Case You Missed It

So Much To Share - News Briefs

We're running out of real estate in this Weekly Update, but we have so much more to share. Check out these news briefs:

Did we miss something? Get your ICYMI featured!

Funding & Opportunities

National Grants via Buffalo Inno

Buffalo Inno put together a list of national grants for startups. There's quite a few, so make sure to click through to get more info.

Empowering Education with AI

Think you can enhance education through AI? Join the University at Buffalo in daily learning sessions (TED Talk style discussion) and presentations, integrated with immediate application of the knowledge via a team idea challenge. Finally, the challenge will be supplemented by mentoring and coaching, punctuated by a final pitch presentation.

Want to know more? Register here

ROC the Pitch!

RIT's Center for Urban Entrepreneurship is hosting a Pitch Competition for businesses operating within Monroe County. The goal of the competition is to provide a unique opportunity for businesses that are challenged by the need to secure access to capital to help such businesses grow and provide services.

Please send proof of residency/identification, business plan, and proof of at least two years of revenue to Assunta Davidson at axdvpr@rit.edu

Pax Momentum is Looking for SAAS Businesses

https://www.paxmv.com/

PAX's virtual accelerator seeking B2B SaaS founders companies for pre-seed investment. Final Deadline Applications for Fall 2023 are open through June 13. Read more about this program here →

Is there an opportunity we missed? Let us know!

BootSector's Weekly Ask

BootSector's purpose is to grow Western New York's Startup Community. Here's one thing you can do this week to help us educate, encourage, and empower the next generation of startup community leaders.

This week, we want your help encouraging entrepreneurship in the Buffalo Public Schools. David Brenner wrote a fantastic post on what the community can do to help. Check it out.

Here's a quick summary.

  1. Thanks: The pitch competition was a success! Thanks to all those who gave their time, talent, cash, and resources. First Student was our financial sponsor. M&T gave us the space. BootSector provided the mentorship, operational support, and connections. The community produced 10 volunteer mentors and 3 judges generous enough to give their time.
  2. Give your time and talent: If you want to volunteer with BPS (1-3 hour commitment of your time), click the button below.
  3. Give your treasure: If you can sponsor next year's event, message me (this year was $1k total budget. $10k total budget next year is our goal). Click the button below.

I want to Mentor or Sponsor!

Startup Jobs

We're always on the look out for job opportunities in the Western New York Startup Community. Post your openings on the WNY Community Slack → ! And let us know if you have a position to fill using the button below.

From the Microenterprise Collective

From the WNY Startup Community Slack

From UVC

Got a job you want to post? Send it to BootSector!

Parting Thoughts

Imperfect Heroes

This week, I spoke to a woman that had a fantastic startup idea but didn't think she could pull it off given her somewhat checkered past. She looked up to a few startup "heroes" and felt like she couldn't compare.

It's easy to pretend that these heroes have gifts that we don't possess. But, we all need to let go of the idea that our heroes are flawless. After all, if we believe that we might also believe that we - being flawed - can never be heroic.

So I told her, just as we're all capable of failure, we're all capable of greatness. Be great this week. And if you fail, that's ok. Try again next week.

Jordan Walbesser Executive Director, BootSector Share this mailing list with your friends!