SYRACUSE — Genius NY, a $2 million business accelerator based at the Syracuse Technology Garden, has increased by 43 percent the minimum cash-prize amounts it will award its competition finalists. Genius NY stands for Growing ENtrepreneurs & Innovators in UpState New York. It’s an in-residence business competition accelerator at the Tech Garden that CenterState CEO […]
SYRACUSE — Genius NY, a $2 million business accelerator based at the Syracuse Technology Garden, has increased by 43 percent the minimum cash-prize amounts it will award its competition finalists.
Genius NY stands for Growing ENtrepreneurs & Innovators in UpState New York. It’s an in-residence business competition accelerator at the Tech Garden that CenterState CEO operates.
The program will award six companies at least $250,000 for participating in the program, the Syracuse Technology Garden said in a news release issued Sept. 28. That’s up from $175,000 last year. The six companies will spend a year at the Tech Garden developing their business plan, their operations, and working with mentors.
The program will award grand prizes of $1 million, $600,000, and $400,000 to the top three competitors, with “additional opportunities for follow-on funding,” while the other three firms get the $250,000 minimum.
“The additional funding is only allocated to the bottom three prizes,” says Jonathan Parry, director of Genius NY.
He spoke to CNYBJ on Oct. 4.
The additional funding comes from the overall Genius NY program budget, which Empire State Development, New York’s economic-development agency, funds.
“We just decided to directly allocate it to the teams,” says Parry.
The additional funding for the bottom three cash awards allows the firms to “steadily” operate their business; relocate to Central New York; cover additional costs that it will take to buy components and hardware; and also potentially hire additional people to “accelerate their business faster,” according to Parry.
“We wanted to make the lower three prizes more competitive and more desirable for companies that are going to pack up and move to Central New York to operate their business for 12 months,” he added.
As of Oct 4, just over 200 startups had applied to compete for placement as competition finalists.
“We do expect … a surge in the last week, in the last few days, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up somewhere in the 250 [to] 300 range,” says Parry.
The applicants include companies based on the West Coast looking to expand operations in New York and startups in the Ukraine, Spain, Belgium, and Brazil.
The startups from outside the U.S. that have applied to the Tech Garden contend that Genius NY is “gaining traction for promoting Central [New York] as an attractive hub for scaling innovative technologies,” according to the release.
“Weeks before applications close, we’re already impressed by the quality and ingenuity of our competitors, and look forward to selecting the companies that will add the greatest value to our entrepreneurial ecosystem,” Parry added.
Startups within the industries of unmanned systems, data-to-decision applications, and IoT (Internet of Things) are encouraged to apply at www.geniusny.com by Oct. 16.
The program will notify semifinalists in early November, the Tech Garden said.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com