Greetings! As we round out 2023 and look forward to 2024, I’m excited to share some highlights to remember and plans we anticipate. I appreciate you sharing my passion for private capital investment, entrepreneurship, and making connections across Upstate NY and beyond.
2023 In Review
VC activity: As of this writing, Upstate New York has 1,410 funded companies, 124 active VC investors, and $718M in funding from 138 rounds to startups founded or headquartered here. This data is from Invest NY, the ecosystem data platform we launched this year, free for everyone to use for research, fundraising, tracking, and storytelling (1,200+ users and growing!). We also launched VC Community membership this year, and have 16 members!
PE + M&A activity: Local trends in deal activity have matched the national trends in Upstate NY, with both PE and M&A deal counts down compared to recent years. The Bonadio Group has been tracking activity quarterly – see their Q3 report here. We’ve hosted several notable CEOs and PE investors this past year sharing insights at events – notably Trevor Messerly (Hamilton Lane), Lane Wiggers (Argosy Private Equity, Greg Burkholder (Fairway), Jeff Bause (Groome Industrial Services), Andrew Olsen (Candlelight Cabinetry), Randy Bianchi (Lakelet Capital), David Kocen (Bluehenge Capital Partners), and Dan Penberthy (Rand Capital), among others.
Notable investments: Upstate Capital recognized 40+ companies doing great things in Upstate NY through our Annual Awards event this year. Congratulations to all the nominees and winners!
Events – check out a few of my favorite pictures. We hosted 15 events across Upstate NY and online this year, connecting over 1,000 attendees at events large and small.
Our giveback – the NYBPC: In April, we hosted our largest entrepreneurship competition yet. This year’s Grand Prize Winner is RHM Innovations, led by Brandon Davis Burris (University of Rochester) and Courtney Burris (University at Buffalo).
Recognition @ City and State: Economic Development Top 100 – Our team does good work across NY to promote private capital investment and entrepreneurship, and it’s an honor for me to be included with so many esteemed leaders.
Looking Ahead to 2024
Membership growth: We’ve revamped membership to focus on what individuals can benefit from most through Upstate Capital and supporting VCs* and PE investors and advisors in more targeted ways. We’re showcasing our members in our “Who’s Who in Venture Capital and Private Equity” 2023-2024 membership directory.
*The VC Community is a new bespoke membership level for active early-stage venture capital investors! We’re starting regular dealflow calls and exclusive get-togethers in January! Ask for an invite.
New board members: We’re excited to welcome Dom Mammarella, Heidi Knoblauch, Erica Choi, Mike Shimazu, Heidi Mergenhagen, David Drahms, and Chris Rodi, and to have David Brown succeeding Brian Model as chair of the board.
President’s Council: The brand-new President’s Council has 4 inaugural members – Dave Helgerson, Hamilton Lane, Jennifer Tegan, NY Ventures, Sean Moskal, KeyBank, and Jeff Lewis, Bonadio Group. They have served on the Upstate Capital Board of Directors and are making way for their colleagues to bring fresh energy and perspective to the organization.
Upcoming events: We’re planning events for this upcoming year, focusing on making valuable connections for members and creating spaces for relevant and interesting conversations. We are adding more intimate networking opportunities and members-only events throughout the year. Keep an eye out for those announcements, including dinner in Miami FL on 1/31/24 during the Florida Venture Forum! (RSVP)
Mark your calendars for our 2024 marquee annual events:
- April 24: Venture NY – Capital Region – focused on angel & pre-seed investing, followed by the NYBPC Finals on April 25
- July 17-18: Saratoga Forum – exclusive for Board of Directors and invited guests amid the Saratoga summer season
- September: Buffalo Private Equity Summit – deal-making connections and tactical insights from CEOs, private equity investors, M&A investment professionals
- December 11: Annual Awards Celebration – Rochester – recognizing our members’ achievements in the Seed + Venture and PE + M&A deal-making community across New York.
Sponsors: We are also pleased to welcome (and welcome back) our major sponsors that help underwrite our work throughout the year, including NY Ventures, NYSERDA, KeyBank, SUNY Research Foundation, Withum, The Bonadio Group, Schwartz Heslin Group, BRP, Bluehenge Capital, Lakelet Capital, Hamilton Lane, Genius NY, Woods Oviatt Gilman, Congruity HR, and the Griffiss Institute.
Happy Holidays:
Our team is taking some time off between Christmas and New Year’s to spend time with friends and family and refresh. We’ll look forward to seeing you in 2024!
From all of us at Upstate Capital, we send you our best wishes!
Sincerely,
Noa Simons
President & CEO
Upstate Capital Association of NY