May 2019

Entrepreneurs

Burbio (Westchester County),  is the industry leader in aggregating school, government, library and community event information for delivery over mobile, web, video, email and voice.   Burbio will feature every public school in the country on its platform for the Fall of 2019.

Burbio has a consumer web and mobile app that is expanding rapidly, plus an API that allows for data integration into third-party services and allows partners to deliver personalized content to subscribers, viewers, and listeners. Burbio's technology organizes and streams millions of hyper-local events and keeps them automatically updated.  

Burbio’s content partners include local media sites and national digital platforms, and growth areas include connected media, Smart City Partners, and businesses looking to present local information to consumers or use it for business intelligence. Example applications of Burbio data include:

• Targeted and personalized consumer-facing connected media services providing key value for subscribers, viewers, and listeners across digital, TV, radio, and print.  
• Integration into business units where knowing what is happening in local communities is a key component of managing results - whether it's back to school and vacation schedules, local sports activities, or government meetings.
• Smart City partners such as governments seeking to engage and inform residents, and the service companies building next generation solutions for local communication such as 5G  networks and digital screens.
• Business intelligence and predictive analytics in industries such as financial services, media planning, and residential real estate.

The HV Startup Fund made an investment in Burbio in late 2017.

For more information, contact Dennis Roche, Dennis@burbio.com

Investors

Westchester Angels is an investor group whose mission is to provide financial and strategic partnerships to entrepreneurs in the Westchester area. Our interest in companies goes beyond the capital. We work with, and mentor, the companies we invest in.

We provide both the opportunity to meet entrepreneurs and the infrastructure to facilitate individual assessments. We are looking for early-stage businesses with strong growth prospects to invest in. If you are interested in pitching at one of our events, please submit your application on GUST.  

We enjoy building businesses, seeing them succeed, and are committed to helping new and innovative companies prosper. The Westchester Angels recently completed a large investment in Perch Interactive. Trevor Sumner is the motivated and experienced CEO of Perch which is revolutionizing the retail experience of tomorrow today! Their interactive retail displays are currently rolling out in selected Macy’s stores across the country and their newest clients are in the growing cannabis space.

We are also serious about education: we become better investors by learning from each other and studying the art of Angel investing. Membership is by invitation on an annual basis. You must be an accredited investor as per the SEC definition. We ask members to help with company selection, governance and group management. A sense of humor and a constructive mindset are required. While we are serious about investing in, and growing companies, life is too short to take anything too seriously. If you are interested in joining our group, contact us here.

Westchester Angels is co-managed by Sandy Wollman, Jeff Loehr, and Michael Wieser.

Leaders

Element 46 is a brand new startup incubator network within the rich business ecosystem of Westchester County, home to a wealth of successful businesses and entrepreneurs, and a vibrant startup community. Element 46 hosts cohorts of 10-15 of the very best entrepreneurs in the NY Metro area with the first cohort starting July 1, running for 4 months, ending October 31, 2019. Entrepreneurs will be located at various co-working spaces across Westchester and supported through the programs and resources outlined below.

• Entrepreneurial Skills Training: a structured program on how to start and scale a startup. Training will include topics like customer development, pricing, cash flow, sales, marketing, branding, pitching to investors, etc.

• Facilitated Cohort-building Sessions: facilitated team-building sessions that include a large-group discussion to share struggles, give advice, offer support and collaboration between all our startups.  

• Professional Service Providers: access to a curated list of professionals who will provide pro bono services in areas such as IP Law, accounting and marketing, etc.    

• Workspace: A dedicated desk at a co-working space full-time for free for the 4 month period.

• Mentors: A dedicated team of 3 or 4 mentors will be assigned to each startup.  These will be experts in business strategy and implementation and committed to the startup’s success.

For more information, please contact Bridget Gibbons, BGibbons@westchestergov.com

Service Providers

Saile Ackerman, LLC is an intellectual property law firm based in the Hudson Valley. Every business needs to differentiate itself from the competition, and this often takes the form of intellectual property (IP). For 30 years, Saile Ackerman has been working with inventors and startup companies in the Hudson Valley, as well as in other parts of the US and around the world, to obtain patent, trademark and other forms of IP protection. We have obtained thousands of patents, in many technologies, from consumer products to those in the trades/construction, electronics, software, manufacturing, and many others.

It's usually crucial for startups and entrepreneurs to protect their intellectual property (IP).  We work closely to understand your business needs, advise on IP matters and will help you maximize your protection of these critical assets.

We're glad to be involved in the Hudson Valley Startup Fund as a member, and help bring IP experience to the Fund and to companies looking for investment. We're excited to be a part of the valley's growing, and thriving, entrepreneurial ecosystem.

TIP FOR STARTUPS:  One important consideration is the timing of the filing of a patent application with regard to other business activities in which the invention could be made public.   While the US has a limited 1-year 'grace period' between the first date an invention is made public - by, for example, disclosing it publicly, putting it on sale or even making an offer for sale, advertising, discussing at a trade conference, and others - and the filing of a patent application, the far safer route is to file a patent application before any of those events occur. This also will preserve the possibility of patenting in other countries, many of which do not have a grace period.

Saile Ackerman is located in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. For more information or for a free consultation, please call us at 845-452-5863 or 845-452-3204.

Before Silicon Valley, the HV

Before FedEx

Fulton @ Clermont

Inventing On Time Delivery

Before FedEx, there was Fulton at Clermont. In 1807, commerce in the Hudson Valley was a fragmented market, ready for innovation. A growing abundance of fresh agricultural goods, plus mail and travelers set sail on sloops, never knowing when they would arrive at their destination. The farmers, shippers, and transporters were unified on one issue - the speed of commerce. Through steam propelled innovation, Robert Fulton and Robert Livingston invented “on-time” delivery at Clermont on the Hudson.

The ‘New Eden’ blessed with a waterway that Henry Hudson reported to his financial backers had become, by 1807, a bustling agricultural economy of self-employed operators, a market constrained and constricted by the lack of an operating system. The innovation of steam power transformed speed to market and created the operating system to support a reliable scheduling and delivery system. On time delivery was born, enabled through speed and logistics.

Behind these game-changing transformations were Robert Fulton and Robert R. Livingston.   The two Roberts has been described as a perfect entrepreneurial partnership blessed with equally perfect timing. Robert Fulton was an ‘enlightenment’ trained artist, engineer and inventor.   Robert Livingston also ‘enlightenment’ trained as a lawyer, was a political leader, venture investor, and scientist. Both shared a passion for developing steam and making a lot of money. And, the Hudson River Valley was ready for their disruptive start-up, the paddle-wheel steamer – The Clermont.

The Greeks were first to experiment with steam power but successful development of commercial steam-powered vessels was elusive. The two Roberts’ breakthrough was entrepreneurship. Their business model was multifaceted and ingenious:

• refine steam engine technology
• design a clever propulsion device transforming a water wheel into a paddle wheel
• design a customer-friendly environment on board for cargo and passengers
• produce scheduled service
• arrange a market monopoly on the Hudson River for the invention  

First-year profits using current dollar value were $500,000. While this entrepreneurial innovation was made in the Hudson Valley, it was extended south and west by Edward Livingston, Robert’s younger brother, to New Orleans and the Mississippi.

This Before the Silicon Valley, the Hudson Valley blog offers a 400-year narrative journey honoring the Icons of Entrepreneurship and their impact on invention, innovation, and commercialization in the Hudson Valley.

Contact welcome: Donald J. Delaney, HV Entrepreneurship Historian & Blog Writer for the HV Venture Hub. You can reach Don at don@dondelaney.com

© Donald J. Delaney 2019

Events

Event Highlight: The 7th Annual Mid-Hudson Regional Business Plan Competition was held on April 12 at Marist College with 109 student competitors in 39 teams, from seven HV colleges (Marist College, SUNY Dutchess, SUNY New Paltz, SUNY Ulster, The Culinary Institute of America, US Military Academy at West Point, and Vassar College).

Each team presented an innovative business formulation ranging from distinctive kitchen appliances to unique products to improve wheelchair mobility, from enhancing recycling pathways to mobile apps which locate available parking. With support from Marist College and area sponsors, cash prizes of $1,000.00 and $500.00 were awarded to the first and second-place teams in each category. Winners competed at the state level in Albany on April 26.

Upcoming Events & Programs

• May 2 (White Plains): 3rd Annual Hudson Valley Affordable Housing Summit - the current state of affairs in housing and present strategies for increasing affordable housing
• May 13 (Newburgh), May 20 (Kingston): HV Women in Business meeting and weekday retreat, respectively
• May 14 (White Plains): 3rd Annual Real Estate Summit - annual breakfast event with the region’s top leaders in commercial and residential real estate
• May 30 (White Plains): Westchester Angels Investor Meeting (for accredited investors) and After Meeting Networking (open to all)
• June 12 - September 4 (NJ): Capacity Business Accelerator - a 12 week concentrated accelerator program designed to launch startup companies or accelerate early-stage businesses, weekly ride available.
• June - August - Strategies for Running a Successful Business - a series of short courses over this summer at SUNY Westchester