May 1, 2023
RHM Innovations Takes Panasci; Immunaeon Raises $850k
RHM Innovations wins Panasci's $65k for its assistive shower chair. Immunaeon, the first UB Cultivator graduate, raises $850k to bank healthy immune cells.
Check out what happened in the WNY Startup Community this week and what you can look forward to next week.
Weekly Recap
April 24-30, 2023
BootSector in the Community
Upcoming Events Powered by BootSector
Looking for something entrepreneurial to do? Why don't you come out to these upcoming events Powered by BootSector?
- Buffalo Startup Coffee - Tuesday, May 2 from 7:30-9am at HANSA
- Startup Happy Hour (ROC) - Thursday, May 4 from 5-7pm at Roc Brewing Co.
And here's a few other startup community events to check out this week:
- Buffalo Soup (404 Link Removed) - Wednesday, May 3 from 6-9pm at Thin Man Brewery
- MARL on Main - Thursday, May 4 from 5-7:30pm at Innovation Square in Rochester
But wait, there's more! You can see all of the WNY Startup Community Events on BootSector's Venture Herd Calendar. Click the link below to see more! Check here for more events!
BootSector Team Honored at Panasci
Congratulations to Kamal Patel (404 Link Removed) (BootSector's Director of Community Engagement) and Jordan Walbesser (404 Link Removed) (BootSector's Executive Director) on being named as Luminaries by BlackStone Launchpad (404 Link Removed) Looking Good!
Female Forward with Megan Kelly
Shout out to Megan Kelly (404 Link Removed) (BootSector's Director of Operations) for speaking at M&T Tech's Female Forward series this week. (We see you too, Sonya (404 Link Removed) !) Look out for more women-centric programming from Megan and BootSector this year!
Pitch-In by Startup Grind Rochester
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjIxYy7X_gk
Startup Grind Rochester (Powered by BootSector!) hosted their first Pitch-In last week and we are so excited them. Check out this video and the beautiful things that these creative organizations are doing for Rochester.
Quantum Computing Meetup
BootSector, in cooperation with BosonQ Psi, LaunchNY, and the NYS Center of Excellence in Materials Informatics (404 Link Removed) , powered the first Quantum Computing Meetup this past week. The event was a huge hit for undergrad and grad students, faculty, investors and others involved in the entrepreneur community interested in the potential of quantum computing.
The event featured presentations from Xuedong Hu, Abhishek Chopra, and Vasili Perebeinos, as well as a panel discussion on "Quantum Computing: From Theory to Reality" on the current and future state of the technology and what it means to UB and Western New York. Nice work!
Pittsburgh Startup Week - Investor Day
But the week doesn't stop there, Kamal Patel (404 Link Removed) (BootSector's Director of Community Engagement) represented BootSector and Western New York at the inaugural RustBuilt Startup Showdown, held during Pittsburgh's first XchangeInnovation Week.
Supporting the Community at Taste of Ghana
Kat Carter (404 Link Removed) (BootSector's Director of DEI & Special Events) and Jonathan Wess (404 Link Removed) (BootSector's Director of Small Business Development) were out with the startup community at this year's Taste of Ghana. The night benefited HOSIKIDS, a non-profit organization striving to provide education and healthcare to rural community schools in the Greater Accra region of Ghana.
In Case You Missed It
Immunaeon is raising $800k+
Immunaeonis raising funds about $600,000 in fact with another $250,000 on the way. Congrats Adam Utley (404 Link Removed) !
Immunaeon is the first graduate of the UB Cultivator program (404 Link Removed) The company stores a person's healthy immune cells for the future.
Read more about Immunaeon's raise here (404 Link Removed)
Panasci, Panasci, Panasci!
RHM Innovations, a durable medical equipment manufacturer that develops assistive bathing technologies to reduce strain on caregivers and improve shower quality for recipients, took first place at the Panasci Competition. The company will receive $25,000 in startup capital and in-kind services valued at $40,000. Congratulations Courtney Burris (404 Link Removed) and Brandon Davis (404 Link Removed) !
In second place was Exergi, pitched by Dominic LaVigne (404 Link Removed) and Daniel Chan (404 Link Removed) The team will collect $10,000 for their company which is dedicated to the innovation and production of affordable clean energy products.
And that's not all. Spectators voted on a People's Choice award that came with $1,000, which went to Kristen Kelly (404 Link Removed) and Sara DiBernardo (404 Link Removed) for their company Totelly Lined, which produces adhesive, thermoplastic polyurethane liners to protect the interior of luxury handbags.
Read more here (404 Link Removed)
More Wins for RHM and Exergi - NYSBP Competition
But that's not all! RHM Innovations placed 1st in the Health and Well-being category at the NYS Business Plan Competition. Exergi placed 3rd in the Safety, Power, and Mobility. Western New York is racking up those wins!
Meet S2 Ventures
Ronald Faso (404 Link Removed) sat down with Buffalo Business First to talk about his hometown approach to investing. S2 Ventures has six investments in their pipeline including: CleanFiber, Egret Healthcare Ventures, Favordrop, Azuna, and BetterMynd.
Read more about how S2 Ventures invests in WNY (404 Link Removed)
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:
- Ellicottville Greens, Starco Lighting Inc., and the University at Buffalo team up and land $50k from FuzeHub (404 Link Removed)
- Agape launches a new version of its app (404 Link Removed)
- The Foundry receives funding to grow its middle school STEAM after-school program →
- Randy Gugino is interested in donating office furniture to an organization or startup in need. Contact Donna at donna@randygugino.com](mailto:donna@randygugino.com) for more information.
Funding & Opportunities
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.
A Pitch Deck Template That Works
Did we get your attention? Check out this pitch deck template from Shaan Puri that helps entrepreneurs tell a story.
And guess what. We're giving it to you for free. Save a copy here Is there an opportunity we missed? Let us know!
BootSector's Weekly Ask
Check out the BootSector Video Library
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.
Did you know that BootSector has a library of Startup Community Videos ? Check them out with the button below and subscribe! Show me the BootSector Video Library!
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. Got a job you want to post? Send it to BootSector!
Parting Thoughts
Wisdom is Practical
The Greeks had a word for good judgment: phronesis.
I think of phronesis as the ability to do the right thing, at the right time, for the right reason. In other words, phronesis is practical wisdom.
Every virtue can be practiced to the extremes. For example, courage is a virtue; recklessness is a vice. Phronesis is finding the middle.
And the best way to develop this practical wisdom is through action. Make decisions, See how they go. And then alter your behaviors so you make wiser choices the next time around.
Jordan Walbesser Executive Director, BootSector Share this mailing list with your friends!