Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - Buffalo's largest business competition is coming to Shea's Theatre this Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. The day prior, a panel of professionals turned 15 semi-finalists into eight finalists who will present their three-minute presentations to a panel for a chance to win five of the $1 million dollar financial backing prizes the 43 North acceleration program has to offer.
The 15 growing businesses have come from all over, from here in Clarence, N.Y. all the way to London and the companies competing range from information and tech to health products.
In addition to the financial backing, the winners will receive new office space in the Seneca One Tower, access to industry professionals, involvement in the immersive 43 North acceleration program and Buffalo's growing workforce as well as exploring other unique opportunities geographically that the City of Buffalo and New York State have to offer.
We sat down with three of the eight finalists and a semi-finalist on why they want to bring their companies to Buffalo.
AMPAworks - Santa Monica, California
AMPAworks from Santa Monica is comprised of a team of doctors, nurses, and engineers who built an IoT camera using computer vision A.I. in order to have full inventory visibility in pharmacies, medical device companies, surgery centers, clinics, and hospitals.
CEO and Co-Founder Bianca Gonzalez says branching out to Buffalo makes sense for a number of reasons, "This is super important for our company. The Buffalo community has great technical talent in AI and computer vision and great manufacturing of hardware here as well. We don't really see that a lot in cities where assembly, both PCB (printed circuit board) layout can take place and CNC (computer numerical control) for enclosure development, but we actually found a great firm that could do all of those things for us here in Buffalo."
Gonzalez says she is now a lecturer for the University at Buffalo's nursing program, where she is connecting with medical and nursing students, getting them involved in technology development.
Phood - New York, New York
Phood looks to allow students to use dining dollars to order food from delivery services such as Doordash at no extra cost to the university. This is an opportunity to generate profit while enhancing dining services.
Parmley believes the key to a booming business lies in Western New York, "The pathway to a unicorn, which is a multi billion dollar company, happens here in Buffalo."
Mod Tech Labs - Austin, Texas
Alex Porter, CEO of Mod Tech Labs explains what her company is all about, "Mod Tech Labs is an automated 3D content solution. We do AI-based workflows that focus on building content for film and media production, both on the screens behind actors as they're transitioning into virtual production, as well as other transmedia applications, so virtual reality, augmented reality, media marketing and more."
So why Buffalo?
"Number one, we particularly work in the entertainment media industry, there are excellent film incentives in New York, nearly $500 million in film incentives. That brings the movies here and then you guys are building a ton of infrastructure, lots of stages. Of course, your universities have a lot of wonderful programs that are bringing talent here. A lot of wonderful things [are] coming together in one place and 43 North is a great opportunity," says Porter.
M Aerospace - Austin, Texas
A semi-finalist, M Aerospace didn't reach the finals but the CEO says he has built some strong connections.
M Aerospace, based in Austin has created a large 3D printer capable of making cars, medical applications and even rockets.
CEO and Co-Founder, Juan Munguia said that building connections in Buffalo was a high priority, "We came to Buffalo to make new partnerships, such as partnerships with Buffalo Manufacturing Works. Also, it will be very interesting for us to have employees here in the Buffalo region to expand our infrastructure network and make connections with potential investors."
Other Finalists Include
The five other finalists include: Otrafy, Lilu, Agape Wellness, CAHill TECH and Twipes.
This year's judges include: Ben Lerer, Managing Partner of Lerer Hippeau; Gary Ginsberg, SVP of SoftBank Group Corp; Sara Garson, Managing Director of Madison 25; Mac Conwell, Founder and Managing Partner of Rarebreed Ventures; and Taryn Jones Laeben, President and Founder of IRL Ventures.
Tickets for the event are currently SOLD OUT. However, the event can be streamed via the 43North Facebook and YouTube channels.
