Across the globe, support for student entrepreneurship is at an all-time high, and New York State is no exception. BitCrusher, a University of Buffalo-based student-led startup, has won or placed in several business competitions over the past few months, and is aiming to follow in the footsteps of other student-launched enterprises like SparkCharge, Buffalo Automation and Farther Farms to launch a successful company.

Universities are a natural place to experiment with launching companies. InBIA, an international network of incubators, accelerators and other entrepreneurial support organizations, indicated that over half of their incubation programs have some association with institutions of higher learning in 2017.

In New York State, at least 34 out of 82 Business Incubator Association of New York State (BIANYS) members are associated with universities, according to their member listing. And in New York, support is growing with the recent $32M commitment by New York State to establish an Innovation Hub at the University at Buffalo. The entrepreneurial startup culture is being fostered on campuses statewide, and that is paying off for student-led startups.

One place to gauge the progress that students and schools are making is business plan competitions. Competitions provide valuable incentives for budding entrepreneurs, as platforms for students to compete for recognition, and often, cash prizes. With the 9th annual NY Business Plan Competition that took place in April, students from across New York State competed for a $20k top prize and a total of nearly $100,000 in cash prizes. Michael Castellana, CEO of SEFCU, the competition “long-time title sponsor, discussed why SEFCU is so supportive.”