listen to this articleMarnie Lavigne witnessed the effort required to attract venture capital when she worked to launch startups in the region in the 1990s.
“For many investors, taking risks in startups is not their first choice,” she says.
As co-founder, president and CEO of Launch NY, Mr. Lavigne has spent the past decade guiding these business ventures into attractive investment destinations.
The Buffalo-based nonprofit venture development organization offers mentorship programs and seed funding to startups across New York.
As the most active seed fund in the state, Launch NY achieved significant milestones in 2023, including the first investment from a new commercial fund and the addition of the 300th investor to its investor network.
Launch NY's InvestLocal financing program injected approximately $1.98 million into 36 different deals in 2023 to support startups in Western and Central New York, the Southern Tier, and the Rochester/Finger Lakes region.
Lavigne expects this momentum to continue into 2024.
“There's a lot more venture capital coming into the region,” she says.
Rochester/Finger Lakes area companies receiving seed capital from Launch NY in 2023 include:
- CYRISMA – SaaS platform for cyber risk management.
- Iryss, Inc. – A personal finance platform that helps families suffering from chronic illness reduce financial stress.
- Re-Nuble – A business that converts food waste into hydroponic nutrients.
- Layer Metrics Inc. – A company that provides a way to integrate inline quality assurance. This allows customers to respond to defects, shortcomings, and deficiencies in real time rather than scrapping finished products.
- TheirStory – A remote interview platform that allows the community to collect, store, and engage with the audiovisual stories of its members.
Oliver Downward, CEO of Rochester-based CYRISMA, believes his business would not be where it is today without the support of Launch NY.
“The invaluable guidance provided by Launch NY has helped propel our business towards success,” he said.
There were two types of support provided by Launch NY and an additional one provided by Downward.
“With the guidance of our resident and dedicated entrepreneurs, we have gained valuable insight into the techniques of building successful ventures,” he said. “Furthermore, the strategic injection of seed capital from Launch NY has allowed us to not only expand our team, but also fine-tune and improve our business model in synergy with their guidance.”
Lavigne said the organization is working to create a new generation of high-impact companies led by diverse entrepreneurs that will provide jobs, wealth and opportunity in the state.
“We want more people to think big,” she said.
Often, a lack of funding and direction causes entrepreneurs with a business idea to abandon their plans or leave the field to pursue it elsewhere.
Launch NY is focused on growing the local economy, Lavigne said.
Launch NY in Rochester works with organizations like Excel Capital Partners and NextCorps to meet that focus.
Lavigne has his own ties to Rochester, earning a bachelor's degree in neuroscience and a doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Rochester.
When she founded Launch NY, she envisioned jobs that were being lost in the region as large companies such as Eastman Kodak, Bausch & Lomb, and Xerox downsized and moved out of the region. The aim was to replace the
She found that scalable companies created jobs less than five years after they were founded.
However, the hurdle is helping these companies bring their ideas to market.
She explained that Launch NY will help achieve that goal through mentoring and seed funding, making it more attractive to other investors.
LaVigne points out that Launch NY is often the first institutional investor in a startup.
One example is Casana, a Rochester-based home health monitoring company.
The company, which has developed a smart toilet seat that measures heart rate and blood oxygen levels, has received initial seed funding from Launch NY and has raised more than $46 million in capital to date to help bring the product to market. are doing.
Lavigne said of the process, startups must first undergo three months of mentorship before applying for funding from Launch NY. We have several entrepreneurs on hand to provide assistance, including some who live in Rochester.
LaVigne said several factors are considered before a company is accepted into Launch NY. This includes not only the market opportunity for the startup's product, but also the team assembled to drive the business forward.
The goal is to fund companies that can generate $10 million in annual revenue within five to seven years.
Lavigne believes there are opportunities for startups in the Rochester area, noting that the area has a lot of research and development resources.
Re-Nuble, located in Eastman Business Park, is an example of a startup that was able to leverage Rochester's strengths.
Tina Pina, Founder and CEO of Re-Nuble, said Launch NY has been an investor in multiple funding rounds, supporting the hiring of local talent and providing critical support for manufacturing and physical products. He said the company has helped the company by collaborating with local entrepreneurs who have a wealth of expertise. Emerging manufacturing industry.
“They are incredibly responsive and facilitate connections in every way,” Pina said.
Zach Ellis, founder and CEO of Rochester-based TheirStory, credits Launch NY with helping the company grow its business by investing in human capital, mentorship and building connections. he said.
“When we first started raising pre-seed rounds at TheirStory, the funding was critical to hiring core team members and contractors across sales, marketing, and product development,” Ellis said. Told. “Launch NY's investment not only contributed to these key jobs, but the credibility that Launch NY has with investors in Western New York allows us to attract additional investment and support our sales, marketing, and product development efforts. We were able to further strengthen our capabilities.”
He pointed out that building human capital is also a continuous process for organizations. Most recently, Launch NY introduced Ellis and his team to his CEO of Belouga, Evin Schwartz, who served as Entrepreneur-in-Residence.
Schwartz, whose business provides social learning platforms, worked closely with the TheirStory team in recruiting, sales and marketing, investor communications, and pitch preparation.
Launch NY also connected Ellis with other startup founders who are at the same stage in their startup journey and have previously led startups to business success.
“Becoming a founder and CEO can be a lonely road, especially for first-time founders. These connections help me and our team continue to build our own networks as we stay on course. It’s also invaluable,” Ellis said. “At the end of the day, it all comes down to great people executing on a shared vision, and Launch NY has been an invaluable guide in this direction, helping me grow as a founder and aligning with my business needs. It has helped us build a network for our team, and as a source of financial capital we can hire key team members to grow our business.”
For more information about the organization, please visit https://launchny.org/.
[email protected] / (585) 653-4021
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