Supporting entrepreneurship and innovation across New York.
The Capital Foundation of New York was formed in 2018 as the 501c3 non-profit arm of the Upstate Capital Association of New York. The Capital Foundation’s mission is to support entrepreneurs along their journeys.
Capital Foundation Programs
The Capital Foundation organizes programs and connects resources across communities, to fulfill its mission to promote and advance entrepreneurship and innovation across New York.
NYBPC
The New York Business Plan Competition develops entrepreneurial mindsets and skills through experiential learning, facilitates building personal networks between participants and the broader business community, and helps launch new ventures through the annual intercollegiate entrepreneurship competition.
Invest NY is an open-access data and intelligence platform for founders, investors, community stakeholders, and entrepreneurship ecosystem professionals, designed to track and visualize innovation ecosystem information including organizations and programs, startups and corporations, venture capital investment activity and open job opportunities.
President + CEO, Upstate Capital Association of New York
Shelby Schneider is a passionate connector and leader known for her extensive work in fostering economic development and innovation. Her significant achievements include leading the expansion of a statewide semiconductor industry asset map and creating impactful programming as the Deputy Director of the New York State Economic Development Council. Shelby has also served as President and CEO of the Saratoga Prosperity Partnership, where she supported over 1,000 small businesses during critical times and spearheaded community development initiatives.
Committed to enhancing access to capital and strengthening community engagement, Shelby aims to propel Upstate New York’s investment ecosystem into a dynamic and prosperous future. She is dedicated to raising awareness of Upstate Capital’s mission, expanding membership opportunities, and promoting initiatives like the New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC) and Invest NY to enrich the regional economic landscape.
“Bonnie Ryan Arrante is the Director for Silicon Valley Bank’s New York Structured Finance Group. She joined Silicon Valley Bank in 2006 as part of the New York office’s technology lending team. After working with companies of all sizes, Bonnie focused in 2011 on working with Growth Stage and Corporate technology businesses, structuring growth capital, working capital, asset based financing, syndicated loans and mezzanine debt. In 2013, Bonnie moved to lead Accelerator Group, a group focused on early stage high growth businesses that had raised a Series A or Series B round of financing in providing venture debt and working capital financing. Currently, Bonnie has transitioned to leading the Structured Finance Group in New York focused on high growth businesses providing debt expertise around asset based lending.
Prior to joining Silicon Valley Bank, Bonnie began her career at Deloitte & Touche, LLP in New York City primarily focused on the Technology, Media, & Telecommunication. Bonnie received a B.S. in Accounting at Boston College and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.”
“Matthew Pelkey is a business attorney representing investors, high-growth startups, innovative entrepreneurs and established public and private businesses throughout New York State. From raising capital, structuring deals, regulatory compliance, and securities offerings, to advising clients on internal investigations, conflict resolution, and crisis management. Clients choose Matthew over competitors because he understands what it is like to launch and grow a business and can navigate complex legal issues with practical business considerations.
Matthew is an active member of the Western New York startup ecosystem dedicating time to helping organizations such as Upstate Venture Connect, TechStars, Startup Grind, Founder’s Institute, LaunchNY, 43North, and Blackstone Launchpad. Outside of the startup community, Matthew is also a strong advocate for sustainable land use and community development where he serves on several boards and committees for local nonprofits dedicated to regeneration of Western New York.
As a faculty member at the University at Buffalo School of Law, Matthew teaches startup law and innovation through the Entrepreneurship Law Center. He is a regular lecturer to faculty, students and founders on how to start and grow a business, and the various legal issues that can present challenges along the way.”
“Christine E.B. Howard is passionate about equal and equitable access to funding (dilutive and non-dilutive) for historically underrepresented founders of start-ups. It is her ambition to support the innovation ecosystem and promote inclusive economic growth. She believes inclusivity is imperative for innovation, and building a strong and diverse economy where all our citizens thrive is essential. With this in mind, she founded E.B. Howard Consulting in 2013 (celebrating 10 years this year and securing 100M+ in funding for clients), where they help startups and those that support the startup eco find and apply for funding and measure the success of funding.
She actively mentors and advises small businesses through programs like the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps (I-Corps™), Columbia Technology Ventures, Verizon Forward for Good Accelerator, NYSERDA’s EIR Program, Startup Grind and many others. She has also served as a pitch judge for start-up competitions like 43North, Female Founders in Tech & (FinTech and InsurTech) competitions, E^3 and NYBPC and many others. She is a Buffalo/Niagara National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) Past Board Member and Past President. She has served as Sponsorship Committee Chair, Programming Committee Chair and Nominating Committee Chair. She is also an active member of the Chapter’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force.”
Vikram Agrawal serves as President, CEO, & Co-Founder of Levrx. In his role, Vikram is responsible for the vision, product strategy and business development. Prior to Levrx, Vikram served as President and CEO of Etransmedia. Previous to Etransmedia, Vikram worked as Program Manager at Indian Telephone Industries and Groupe Bull, India. He served as Director of Business Development for R.K. Enterprises in Cochin, India.
Randy Bianchi is Managing Director of Lakelet Capital. He has over 25 years of entrepreneurial and management experience as well as 10 years of experience as Business Development Partner at Summer Street Capital Partners.
Senior Director for Innovations and Partnerships, Griffiss Institute
“Seth specializes in leading innovation and venture development programs, with the related management disciplines and developing business systems, to grow organizations and startup companies. He has been a partner to innovators as a startup incubator operator and has operated as a key leader inside private, scalable companies.
Seth Mulligan’s specialties: defense dual use technology, sales technology, economic development, business planning and strategy, creative marketing plans, forecasting, coaching, mentorship, leadership, alternative energy systems and biofuels, technology commercialization, early-stage growth capital funding, venture development, entrepreneurship and go-to-market planning.”
Eliza Edge is the Program Director of the Hudson Valley Venture Hub at SUNY New Paltz, the regional NYSTAR Innovation Hot Spot designation in the HV. She brings 10+ years’ experience as both an entrepreneur and a developer of programming to support entrepreneurship. She has been an adjunct professor of Social Entrepreneurship at Bard College for 4 years. Eliza holds her BS in Communications from SUNY Oneonta and her MBA in Sustainability from Bard College.
Eliza is born and raised in the Hudson Valley originally and believes that anyone from our community should have access to the capital, education and network to start their own businesses to create a living for themselves and bring high-quality jobs to others, without needing to leave our beautiful region. It’s because of this personal mission that she is interested in joining the board of the Capital Foundation at Upstate Capital.
Philanthropy helps fund the NYBPC, New York’s intercollegiate entrepreneurship competition. Contributions support increased access for students and are used to grow and expand programming, provide travel funds for students who need them and fund special prizes for specific types of businesses and entrepreneurs.
