Five teams advance in Germinator business competition, each winning $20K

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — CenterState CEO has announced the five teams that will compete in the second round of The Germinator, the region’s “largest and most comprehensive annual business competition.”

The teams that advanced won $20,000 in funding and ongoing mentorship, CenterState CEO said in a news release on Friday.

The two-year competition will eventually award one winner a total of $250,000 in investments over the course of the program.

Advancing teams

Six teams on Oct. 29 pitched their business ideas and progress to judges in the first of four “greenhouse demo days.”

The five teams moving forward in the competition include Euphony Inc., which specializes in “natural-sounding,” text-to-speech synthesis software.

The company is applying their technologies to speech-therapy applications and speech simulation.

They also include Life Source Health, Inc., a company that offers “real time, vital” health information to emergency responders to help them in saving patients.

The advancing teams also include Sarita’s, a sister company to Sarita’s food truck, which will expand its business with a line of frozen empanadas available in grocery stores.

Sarita’s food truck operates in Rome, according to its Facebook page.

In addition, the advancing teams include Volu, Inc., a volunteer-“engagement” platform for nonprofit organizations and volunteers.

The group also includes VossVertical, a business creating new technology that expands the “distance and endurance” of unmanned aerial systems.

Unmanned aerial systems are also referred to as drones.

Trainer Engine, the team eliminated from the competition in this round, is now eligible to compete for a $50,000 “best of the rest” investment during the final “greenhouse” competition with three other eliminated teams.

The competition

The Germinator awards startups funding every six months. In addition to funding, the program offers teams training on topics that include marketing, intellectual property, sales, financing, and fundraising.

At the end of each six month round, teams compete in a public presentation called a “greenhouse demo day,” similar to the one held Oct. 29.

Judges and sponsors rate the teams’ progress and “potential for success” before choosing the teams that will earn additional funding and move on to the next round of the competition.

One team will eventually win a grand prize of $100,000 at the final “greenhouse” for a total investment of $250,000 over the course of the competition.

The Germinator’s sponsors include National Grid, M&T Bank, and CenterState CEO.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com