Winter: Time to think about plans for the business year ahead – and stretch thinking with new connections and ideas.
The 10th Annual SmartStart UNYTECH Venture Forum, will meet in Syracuse on May 17 and 18, at the Sheraton Syracuse University Hotel & Conference Center. The forum connects early stage companies with investors, and the call for entrepreneurs will begin in early January 2010.
“Supporting high growth companies is important for the Tech Valley region, as well as across the state. Moving this forum to different cities each year allows us to diversify opportunities presented to our entrepreneurs. The Center or Economic Growth is looking forward to another successful forum, connecting researchers and start-ups with the funded needed to move forward,” stated F. Michael Tucker, president and CEO of the Center for Economic Growth.
This is the largest event for early stage companies and entrepreneurs in upstate New York, and showcases local innovation before the entire Northeast investing and technology community. Every year, the forum provides a snapshot of the entire spectrum of New York state’s latest emerging technologies and insights into future markets.
“The Tech Garden is truly excited to welcome UNYTECH and SmartStart to Syracuse. The two events together showcase the best of what Upstate has to offer–cutting edge technologies and strong cross-regional collaborations between universities, entrepreneurs and angel/venture investors,” said Nasir Ali, president of The Tech Garden.
Since its inception 220 high-quality companies have presented and 62 have raised more than $390 million in equity financing, including more than $71 million directly attributable to their participation in the forum.
“The Smart Start Venture Forum is an exceptional opportunity to showcase the wealth of innovation, expertise and resulting leading technologies that exists in Central Upstate New York. This year’s event being hosted in Syracuse will allow guests to meet and network with New York’s Creative Core’s entrepreneurial and tech commercialization leaders,” said Mitchell Paterson, economic development coordinator of the Metropolitan Development Association (MDA) of Syracuse and central New York.
For more information on the SmartStart UNYTECH forum, call CEG at (518) 465-8975 or visit www.smartstartvf.com.