Latest News About Business Incubators and Accelerators From Across New York State

September 2024

New York State Incubator Report

BIANYS News and Updates

Unlock the power of alternative dispute resolution for your startup by joining the Business Incubator Association of New York State (BIANYS) for an exclusive webinar featuring expert speakers from the American Arbitration Association (AAA).

This virtual event is specifically designed for entrepreneurs, startup founders, and incubator managers looking to enhance their conflict management skills. During this insightful session, you’ll learn how alternative dispute resolution methods like mediation and arbitration can save your company valuable time and resources while preserving crucial business relationships.

The Business Incubator Association of New York State's Entrepreneurship Bootcamp is now open for applications! This comprehensive training provides aspiring entrepreneurs with a robust framework for building their companies, drawing on the principles of the Lean Startup Method. Key features of the program include:

• Minimum Viable Product (MVP): Participants are guided in developing MVPs that allow them to gather maximum validated learning with minimal effort, helping them refine their offerings based on real-world feedback.
• Agile Engineering Practices: The bootcamp emphasizes iterative development, encouraging entrepreneurs to adapt their products rapidly in response to customer insights.
• Business Model Canvas: Founders utilize this strategic tool to frame and visualize their core commercialization hypotheses, enabling a clearer understanding of their business model.
• Validated Learning: The program focuses on risk reduction through systematic experimentation, teaching participants how to validate their assumptions and pivot when necessary to find scalable and repeatable business models.

By integrating these elements, the bootcamp equips entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge needed to navigate the complexities of launching successful startups.

Metrics That Matter

InBIA Impact Survey

BIANYS is teaming up with InBIA (the International Business Innovation Association) to collect data from our members on the incubation and acceleration of startups statewide, nationally, and internationally. If you participate in the survey you will be able to access data on incubation that can help with your own programming and reporting, while BIANYS will be able to obtain important data for our members at a statewide level. 

The Impact Index, a report that provides global insights on the impact of entrepreneur support and identifies ESO benchmarks of operations and success. This information helps InBIA and the practitioners we serve showcase the why of entrepreneur support and give ESO managers a sense of the industry standard for similar organizations. 

But this effort won’t be as effective without you! We need to collect as much

data as possible to create a robust industry report, so we are asking you to take a few minutes to complete the survey. By completing the survey you will receive preferred access to the FY23 Impact Index. 

Not the person who has all the information? Please pass this request along to the one who does to make sure your organization is represented in this important industry project.

Interested in becoming more involved with BIANYS?

Join one of our Committees!



• Programming & Education
• Legislative
• Membership
• Finance
• Governance
• Business Development

Ecosystem News and Reads

New York State Launches $10 Million Fund to Support Startups and Early Stage Companies

Governor Kathy Hochul announced the launch of the Main Street Capital Program, a $10 million fund aimed at providing affordable loans to New York’s start-ups and early-stage businesses. The initiative, part of the state’s broader State Small Business Credit Initiative led by Empire State Development, will offer qualifying entrepreneurs loans of up to $100,000 with flexible payment terms designed to ease financial pressures during the early phases of growth.

Empire State Development Announces Opening of $9 Million Biotech Incubator: Harlem Biospace

Join New Energy New York at

Battery Week

New Energy New York and partners look forward to bringing together battery and energy storage industry stakeholders in Binghamton, NY, October 22-25, 2024. The event series begins with an innovation networking reception at the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator (October 23), followed by NY-BEST’s Annual Fall Energy Storage Technology and Innovation Conference (October 24). Join us for one or all exciting events! Stay tuned as we add more events for the week.

Four Startups Graduate from RIT Venture Creations Incubator

Rochester Institute of Technology's Venture Creations Incubator celebrated the graduation of four diverse startups: Agri-Trak, Lux Semiconductors, Sign-Speak, and Panacheeza. These companies, which have collectively raised over $15 million in funding, represent a range of industries from agricultural software to microelectronics and plant-based food products. The incubator has a strong track record, having graduated 54 companies that have raised approximately $500 million in total funds. RIT President David Munson announced plans to establish an Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation to further support startup growth, while keynote speaker Chuck Gershman emphasized the importance of maintaining a clear purpose in entrepreneurship.

University of Buffalo Welcomes Per Stromhaug as the new Senior Associate Vice President for Economic Development

The University at Buffalo’s new senior associate vice president for economic development, Per Stromhaug, held a lot of titles while at SUNY Binghamton for the past decade, including “Money Man” for the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, a partnership of Binghamton University, SUNY Broome and federal, state and local partners that helps high-tech businesses grow and succeed in the region.

The Koffmann incubator is a startup support hub and workspace in downtown Binghamton that has "graduated" 32 new companies since its founding in 2017, created 667 jobs and generated $405 million in economic impact, according to its website.

JelikaLite Awarded 2-year

$959,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant.

The project's objectives are to finalize the current clinical prototype into a manufacturing-ready product, and implement a platform for personalizing transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) treatment based on individual sensor-derived patient characteristics. Results could enrich scientific knowledge through personalization, monitoring, and data aggregation of neurological measures for further elucidating the mechanisms of autism and enhancing the efficacy of other therapies.

New York’s Growing Quantum Consortium Takes Center Stage at Q4I’s Quantum Alley

The New York QUANTUM Consortium, a statewide collaboration organized and led by the Westchester County Office of Economic Development and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), recently participated in Quantum Alley, an extension of the Quantum for International (Q4I) workshop held at Innovare in Rome, NY.

Among the QUANTUM Consortium members who exhibited at Quantum Alley were: the Westchester County Office of Economic Development, which shared information about the growing Consortium; City College of New York, which showcased an interferometer and gave short demos of the quantum properties it illustrates; The Coding School, which spoke about its Qubit by Qubit program; Qunnect, which highlighted its quantum communications hardware and software products; and SUNY Polytechnic which shared information about the school’s various STEM majors.

Chris Helvly: Why The Culture of Entrepreneurship is Opportunity

Opportunity is the lifeblood of entrepreneurship. It’s what drives us to create, innovate, and disrupt. It’s the fuel that ignites our passion and motivation. And when a community culture thinks in opportunity, something magical happens: people engage, ideas flourish, and commerce booms. That’s when innovation thrives.

Recent Filings

AlleyWatch Releases August 2024 US Venture Capital Funding Report

The average early-stage round in the US for August was $3.3M.

The median early-stage round in the US for August was $2.5M.

$941.9M was invested across early stages rounds in the US in August.

Upcoming Programs

Genius NY Hosts Innovation Night

Join the GENIUS NY accelerator as the five finalist teams unveil their revolutionary technologies and innovative solutions live on stage. With $3 million in prizes on the line, including a $1 million grand prize and four $500,000 awards, the stakes couldn't be higher. Hear each team share their journey, the problems they're tackling, their scaling strategies, and why they’ve chosen Central New York as their launchpad.

University of Albany Research and Entrepreneurship Week 2024

The University at Albany's Research & Entrepreneurship (R&E) Week returns on October 21, once again uniting faculty, students, researchers and innovators from across the University to demonstrate the impact of research on the world around us. 

By providing a collaborative forum for scholars from diverse disciplines, R&E Week will showcase UAlbany's research and economic potential while fostering new partnerships. 

What to expect: 

Monday – State of Research and Innovation  

Tuesday – Capital Region Artificial Intelligence Day 

Wednesday – Innovation and Entrepreneurship Day 

Thursday – Impact in the Public Interest: Research and Creative Works

NY-BEST FALL ENERGY STORAGE TECHNOLOGY AND INNOVATION CONFERENCE

CALL FOR ABSTRACTS

NY-BEST is hosting its Annual Fall Energy Storage Technology and Innovation Conference on Thursday, October 24, 2024, at the Doubletree by Hilton in Binghamton, NY. 



This annual event brings together leading minds in energy storage technology and innovation for a stimulating one-day conference on the latest groundbreaking work and technological advances in the rapidly growing field of energy storage technology, including:

• advancements in storage technologies and applications
• innovations in materials and chemistries
• advancements in product development
• commercialization, manufacturing, and supply chain developments

RFP Announcement: Startup and Venture Internship Programs

New York City Economic Development Corporation (“NYCEDC”) invites qualified organizations to submit proposals to operate annual cohorts of the Startup and Venture Internship Programs, multi-year workforce development programs which aim to support tech-enabled startups and venture capital (“VC”) firms in New York City with capacity to host interns, grow their teams, and strengthen their businesses, while providing NYC students with on-ramps to meaningful work in NYC’s technology and VC ecosystems through paid work experiences, professional development, and mentorship.

Application Deadline: Monday October 21, 2024

Announcing the New York Area Life Science Innovation Bootcamp Fall 2024 Call for Applications

A consortium of medical school partners are offering a Regional Life Science Innovation Bootcamp! The program provides innovators with a hands-on learning experience to successfully transfer research or ideas into products and services that benefit human health. This rapid two-week program utilizes the Lean Startup methodology, helping teams engage in 20+ customer discovery interviews with potential stakeholders in the healthcare, biotech, and life science sectors. 

Program Highlights:

• Customer Discovery in Life Sciences: Teams will learn to communicate with customers, partners, and competitors in the healthcare and life science markets, navigating the complexities and uncertainties of launching a venture in these fields.
• 
  
• Funding Opportunity: Eligible teams that successfully adhere to program requirements may receive up to $1,500 in reimbursements for customer discovery interviews, including travel to relevant conferences and trade shows in the USA.

Join Grow-NY for a two-day event showcasing food and ag innovations that have the power to address main street economic health, the climate crisis, and how we feed our growing population. The event will take place at the Ithaca Downtown Conference Center in Ithaca, New York and will be streamed virtually. 

The event is designed for startups, established companies, investors, resource providers, researchers, entrepreneurs, farmers, students, and anyone who is passionate about tackling the challenges facing our agrifood system.

The LifeSciencesNY Annual Conference - Together '24 is set to be a landmark event for the life sciences industry in New York State. The conference will bring together key stakeholders from across the life sciences ecosystem, including biotech and pharmaceutical companies, academic researchers, investors, and policymakers.

The event will feature cutting-edge presentations on the latest advancements in biotechnology, medical devices, and digital health, as well as panel discussions on critical industry topics such as funding strategies, regulatory challenges, and emerging market trends.

CNY Concept to Commercialization Series:

Biotech Equity Research: Tracking The Promise (And Risk) Of Early Stage Companies Navigating The Public Markets

October 3, 2024 | 3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Benjamin J. Burnett, PhD, Managing Director, Equity Research, Stifel Investment Services



This webinar will cover recent capital market trends and forecasts, timing the market, and what it takes to become (and be) a public company. Balancing innovation with capital needs requires a good understanding of how and when to access capital, and whether or not this is more easily done as a private or public company. We plan to delve into these concepts in detail and walk through informative case studies of both success and failure.

Open Application: Battery I-Corps

The Battery Show brings together engineers, business leaders, top-industry companies, and innovative thinkers to discover ground-breaking products and create powerful solutions for the future. More than 19,000 attendees are expected to take advantage of four full days of educational sessions, networking opportunities and, of course, explore the latest market innovations from over 1,150 exhibitors across one of the world’s largest battery technology trade shows.

Battery I-Corps @ The Battery Show: Through the experiential course, battery and energy storage innovators and entrepreneurs will learn about customer discovery and product-market fit of their innovations by directly connecting with relevant stakeholders, including potential customers and partners, in-person at the Battery Show.

When: October 7-10, 2024

Where: Huntington Place - Detroit, Michigan

NYC OTI Launches Smart City Test Bed

The newly launched NYC Smart City Testbed Program creates a streamlined path to pilot emerging technologies with stakeholder city agencies. Accepted applicants will pilot their technology within New York City’s built environments with assistance from the Testbed team throughout the entire process

BIANYS Job Board and Talent Network

Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships at Binghamton University is seeking applicants for the following roles:

1. Technology Transfer Director
2. Technology Transfer Manager

If your Incubator and/or Member Companies would like employment opportunities posted to the BIANYS Talent Network please submit requests here.