Investors
Summer in the Hudson Valley can be a time to slow down, relax, and enjoy all that the area has to offer, from farmers markets to Catskill hikes, from sailing on the Hudson to kayaking any of the area’s many streams, and from sampling the harvest at the Valley’s vineyards and orchards to dining at our great restaurants.
That doesn’t mean that the startup and investment community are on hiatus until after Labor Day. (Though you may not always find someone in the office on a Friday afternoon …) Here are a few of the entrepreneurial activities you can find over the summer months.
For starters there is the Upstate Capital Association of New York’s annual Saratoga Forum. This invite-only event is a gathering of investors, company founders and leaders, and deal-making professionals from across the state.
The Saratoga Forum takes place each August. Its location at the historic Saratoga Race Course, convenient to our entire area, makes it a popular event with Hudson Valley investors and entrepreneurs.
You’ll find that many of the area’s local organizations, like angel investing groups, switch gears over the summer months and replace their regular business-focused meetings with more social gatherings like picnics and other outings. These events can be a great way to get to know members in the Hudson Valley’s entrepreneurial community.
For other organizations, summer is a time to consolidate great ideas and data gathered over the past year. For example, The Field Group, based in Beacon, is building an accelerator program for "Main Street" businesses in the Hudson Valley, which is a shift from their usual focus on high-growth startups.
Jeff Werner, CEO of The Field Group, told us that the focus of the accelerator is to help Main Street businesses grow revenue, improve profitability, and increase business valuation.
“Along with helping business owners with their financial model, we will also dive into business vision and mission, sustainability and well-being, systems and operations, sales and marketing, and leadership skills,” said Mr. Werner. “We are taking a holistic approach to the business and the stakeholders, while always circling back to the financial health of the business.”
The accelerator is called Accelerate HV and its first cohort is expected to start in January 2023.
Johnny LeHane, a managing member of the angel investing group Hudson Valley Startup Fund (HVSF) and an advisor to startups, also points out that “deals happen when they happen” no matter what the calendar says.
He goes on to note that the HVSF management team is as busy as ever. “Despite it being the height of summer, we are dealing with 2 note conversions: one because a note extension expired/matured and one precipitated by a successful subsequent raise by one of our pre-seed stage investments.”
So don’t put your thoughts of getting more active in the Hudson Valley’s entrepreneurial/startup/investment community on hold until the fall. There’s plenty going on during the summer despite the fantastic distractions the region has to offer.
For more information about Hudson Valley Startup Fund, please contact Fund Manager for Communications, Andrew Schulkind at info@hvstartupfund.com, and visit our website at www.hvstartupfund.com. Please follow HVSF on LinkedIn.
