Wasabi Ventures’ startup education program teams up with IgniteU NY to foster collaborative relationships with startups and the local business community in Upstate New York
Troy, NY – To accelerate startup ecosystem growth in the Upstate New York region, Wasabi Ventures Academy, who leads the Griffiss Institute’s Commercialization Academy, and early-stage accelerator IgniteU NY have partnered to create a joint entrepreneurship education program that combines IgniteU NY’s 8-week early-accelerator summer program with Wasabi Ventures’ formal startup education curriculum. Select students will participate in this intense, experiential education summer program that covers customer discovery, business fundamentals, and mentorship.
Applicants to IgniteU NY’s 8-week early-accelerator summer program that starts in June 2016 will have the opportunity to sign up for Wasabi Ventures Academy’s Startup 101 course. The course opened to applicants on April 1, 2016. Applications will be accepted through May 1, 2016. Wasabi Ventures Academy will tailor its virtual course of studies for both the region and specific participants.
“We are very excited to team with venture capital firm Wasabi Ventures to supplement IgniteU NY’s in-person, co-working startup program with a series of custom online experiences and lessons. This is a win for the Upstate innovation ecosystem. These online courses are an extremely effective way to deliver ‘lessons learned’ to Upstate and Central New York startups directly from seasoned entrepreneurs working in Silicon Valley, NYC, Boston, and Europe,” said Mike Walsh, President and CEO of New York State Technology Enterprise Corporation.
In 2015, IgniteU NY’s inaugural summer accelerator program was only open to students from local colleges and universities. However, this summer’s program is open to all Upstate New York startups that have proof-of-concept and validated business models that describe their customer segments and value propositions. The program does not provide funding but instead connects startup teams to business resources in the region, thereby enhancing the founders’ network.
“IgniteU NY addresses the biggest chronic concern of startups in Upstate New York: the lack of pathways to obvious sources of funding,” said Bruce Toyama, IgniteU NY Cofounder. The accelerator program is the ideal next step for startups who have been through an incubator program, entrepreneur development program, or similar program, but need help to advance to revenue-generating entities and investment-ready firms. Startups receive help to position themselves for aggressive growth in preparation for entrance into a top-tier accelerator program or seed funding.
Wasabi Ventures’ approach to startup education is anchored by the Wasabi Ventures Academy. The early-stage venture capital firm created the Wasabi Ventures Academy to give individuals a first-hand experience in the startup and venture capital world. Focused around the individual, the formal startup education curriculum provides participants a thorough overview of the startup universe to build successful individuals and startups.
Wasabi Ventures Academy provides a systematic course, taught by experienced entrepreneurs and investors, to give founders a solid foundation of skills and tools. Over the past five years the academy’s Startup Foundations Program has hosted thousands of participants. Its introductory course, Startup 101: Introduction to the Startup World, is the cornerstone of the academy and is a self-serve, self-paced course presented in a reverse classroom format on an online LMS platform.
In addition to the summer program, more startup education programs are planned throughout the year. Pop-up events that focus on various industries, such as education and health technology, are also planned to eventually create a year-round program. These events will connect startups with resources that they typically don’t have access to in the region.
About IgniteU NY
IgniteU NY is a community-oriented, early-stage accelerator and entrepreneur support initiative in Upstate and Central New York, powered by NYSTEC. The idea for IgniteU NY arose out of discussions between Michael Walsh, Michele Salisbury, and Bruce Toyama in 2015. Entrepreneurs who share the common goal of creating successful businesses are brought together in a collaborative environment to show them how much the region has to offer. The accelerator creates creative collisions among startups and the community to encourage entrepreneurs to launch and grow their startups in New York. Using the lean startup methodology, customer discovery and development process, and experiential learning, IgniteU NY fosters the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem in Upstate New York. To learn more about IgniteU NY, please visit their website www.igniteuny.com.
About Wasabi Ventures
Founded by Chris Yeh and TK Kuegler in 2003, Wasabi Ventures is an early-stage venture capital firm offering Silicon Valley VC-style services to strong secondary markets. The firm specializes in cofounding, investing in, incubating, building, and advising early-stage technology companies. Its approach allows early-stage startups to gain traction quickly through interaction with its founders. Due to the firm’s education and incubation processes being entirely virtual, founders can be educated anywhere and startup team members can go through incubation wherever they’re located. To learn more about Wasabi Ventures, please visit our website at www.wasabiventures.com.
Wasabi Ventures Contact: Ignite NY Contact:
Paige Spivey Evan DeGennaro
paige@wasabiventures.com edegennaro@nystec.com
844 Elm Street 333 Broadway, Suite 350
Manchester, NH 03101 Troy, NY 12180