UVANY to host entrepreneurial-funding forum in Utica

UTICA, N.Y. — The Upstate Venture Association of New York (UVANY) this week will host a forum on securing funding for entrepreneurs at the ThINCubator in Utica.

The event is set for this Thursday, June 9 from 5:15 p.m. to 8 p.m., the organization said in a news release.

The session will include a panel discussion with New York entrepreneurs who have raised “significant” capital.

The event serves as a precursor to the Business Incubator Association of New York State, Inc. (BIANYS) annual meeting, which is set for Friday in Utica.

“UVANY is excited to partner with [Albany–based] BIANYS for this event because it’s so incredibly important for entrepreneurs hoping to raise capital to hear from others who have traveled the same road,” Jennifer Tegan, president of UVANY and partner at Cayuga Venture Fund, said in the release. “The lessons learned and shared are invaluable from one entrepreneur to another.”

Tickets for the UVANY event are available at this website.

Following the panel discussion, several startups will pitch the audience. The startups include Utica–based SkyTubeLive.

“We’re preparing the beta release of our product, a mobile app enabling live streaming video from consumer drones,” Brian Barris, CEO of SkyTubeLive, said in the UVANY release. “So we’re interested in raising capital to help our company achieve our next level of growth, and really looking forward to having the opportunity to present at this event.”

RIT Venture Creations, a tech accelerator that has enabled clean-tech companies to raise upwards of $50 million in private investment since 2010, will moderate the presentations, UVANY said.

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com