In the interest of fostering the growth of a stronger high-tech, entrepreneur-driven economy, Buffalo Bright Niagara (a coalition of regional partners lead by University at Buffalo) will host its annual Bright Forum on May 16 and 17. The forum will bring together entrepreneurs and investors for a series of pitch sessions, where entrepreneurs can present their ideas to investors seeking promising technologies to invest in, thus accelerating the deal-making process.
This year’s forum merges two events, the annual Bright Forum and the Center for Economic Growths SmartStart UNYTECH Venture Forum, into one collaborative forum entitled the 2012 Venture Forum. This will bring the venture capitalists that usually attend SmartStart/UNYTECH and the angel investors that attend the Bright Forum under one roof, giving presenters a broader audience for their investment pitches and a chance to significantly raise their company’s profile.
“As we build a stronger entrepreneurial ecosystem in Buffalo Niagara and neighboring regions, the Bright Forum connects investors with entrepreneurs who have urgent business needs,” said Scott Stenclik, president of Superior Group. “Given our expanding business in applying human resources solutions in regional and global high-tech sectors, our firm sees creative partnerships like the Bright Forum as a critical piece of growing a knowledge-based economy.”
The forum has proven to be an opportunity that opens doors for many emerging businesses, allowing them to reach a broader audience of local, national, and internationally based investors with their pitches, as well as network with other professionals in the field. Eric Leinberg, president of InfoPreserve, a Rochester-based firm that provides a private, cloud-based platform for securing and managing digital records, met one of his company’s early investors at the Bright Forum. Leinberg later met another prospective investor from Pittsburgh who introduced InfoPreserve to his angel group. When that investor visited Rochester, Leinberg was also able to introduce him to other start-ups in the area.
“Success is all about making the right connections with investors, advisors and customers,” Leinberg said. “The Bright Forum has been a catalyst in making some of those initial connections.”
In addition to forging bonds between individual companies and investors, the Bright Forum has also led to the creation of Launch New York, a nonprofit organization that provides high-potential startup tech companies with capital and expert input on commercialization. The organization was born out of discussions between regional leaders and the 2009 Bright Forum keynote speaker from JumpStart Ventures, a Cleveland-based organization that works to create high-growth companies.
“Everyone was so impressed, hearing what Cleveland had done to drive entrepreneurship as traditional industry struggled, that a group of us were motivated to bring the talent and funding together to make the same effort here,” said Marnie LaVigne, associate vice president for economic development at UB. “All net new job growth in the U.S. in the past 30 years has come from young companies, as shown by the Kauffman Foundation. Innovation and entrepreneurship have to be a centerpiece of transforming our region’s economy.”
Launch New York was implemented in accordance with a Regional Entrepreneurship Action Plan in the end of 2011. The organization will serve a 27-county region in Upstate New York. It has received seed funding from New York State through the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council and is currently applying to obtain a federal Economic Development Administration grant.
The first day of the 2012 Venture Forum will take place at the UB Center for the Arts, where the focus will be open innovation. From 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., several presenters from area universities and firms will discuss how to connect with the innovation landscape. That evening, from 6 to 9 p.m., the Statler will host an Investor & Entrepreneur Opening Dinner to allow for networking between a select group of investors, early-stage entrepreneurs, and sponsors.
On the second day, the collaborative Venture Forum will take place at the Albright Knox Art Gallery from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Over 250 investors, entrepreneurs and other professionals will be present for a day of networking and presentations. Representatives from early stage companies in the fields of life sciences, energy, information technology and advanced manufacturing from New York and Canada will deliver over 30 pitches to potential investors. There will also be a keynote address by Victor Thorne of Ohio TechAngels during the forum.
To learn more about the events at this year’s Venture Forum and to register, visit www.brightbuffaloniagara.com.