April 28, 2020

April 2020 Newsletter

Q1 Investments: Launch NY Quadrupled the Amount of Seed Funding Invested in a Quarter

Launch NY brings Q1 investments total to $620,000, quadrupling over the last 3 quarters. Companies receiving Q1 investment include: Agapé, CaHill, Ecolectro, Gian Corporation, Gclip Row, GRASPIE, Iterate Labs (OrthoFit), Memory Fox, Ru’s Pierogi, VPG Medical, and Walkabout Workplace. And there’s good news among 2019 portfolio companies, including ShrubBucket, who was quoted in the Wall Street Journal April 26, “(ShrubBucket) delivers plants to 17 states, says it had 2,023 orders last month compared with 57 in March of last year. ‘Any time there’s an economic downturn, gardening goes up,’ says Heidi Mortensen”.

Want to #InvestLocal from the Convenience of Your Laptop?

Join Webinar Session: Monday, April 27th at 1:00pm

Today more than ever, our community needs investors to support startups providing some of the most powerful new products and services addressing challenges in the market, while boosting our economy. Launch NY’s #investlocal Financing Programs include its new Investor Network offering accredited investors a no cost, no obligation sign up to see investment opportunities in Launch NY portfolio companies. As we prepare to introduce a new round of companies in May, now is the time to join our 100+ online investor community, and check out our April 27th 30-minute webinar featuring a demo with Tuzag. Hear interviews with 3AM Innovations who is Opportunity Zone tax incentive-eligible, Eagle Hawk, and Sun Density.

The Future of Startup Funding?

In Buffalo Business First article, Launch NY President and CEO, Marnie LaVigne, shares her insight on startup funding in a COVID-19 world and why Launch NY did twice as many deals in March than it has done in previous months.

Upcoming Webinars

Monday, April 27

InvestLocal Investor Network Webinar Series Feature tuzag

Tuesday, May 5
IMDDA: LP’s Investment Concerns and Plans during the time of COVID-19

Thursday, May 7th
NECEC: One-on-One with a Seed/Series A Investor

Monday, May 11
New Wave Impact – Founders of Color Showcase: Virtual!

Wednesday, May 20
#LaunchHour – Launch NY TwitterChat

#LaunchHour TwitterChat Tips

#LaunchHour TwitterChats are monthly virtual chats featuring important topics for startups, entrepreneurs, investors, and ecosystem stakeholders.

The Importance of Cybersecurity for Start-Ups – Now More Than Ever

What are the very first steps a company should take when developing a cyber-security plan?

@MAChirico: Companies should take a crawl-walk-run approach on their journey to securing their environments. Realize that this endeavor is a process & not a destination. Understanding an organization’s cyber-maturity is a critical first step. In our world we call this a risk-based approach.

Since many of the work force has shift to working remotely, what are steps organization should take to protecting their information?

@MAChirico: Many ask how their home environ. is putting their workplace at risk. A bad actor has the ability to install spyware such as a keylogger on your home computer, could potentially capture pers. info such as email creds or name&address, or sensitive bus info or IP.

Read the whole #LaunchHour here & past TwitterChats in our archive.

Join us for our next #LaunchHour TwitterChat on May 20th, 2020.

Cyber Security for Startups Webinar

Missed our Cyber Security for Startups Webinar with Michael Chirico?

Watch it here!

Launch NY and Our Companies are Open For Business

At Launch NY, we are dedicated to providing the resources startup companies need to continue business during this uncertain time. We have created a resource page with the latest information and articles to help small business get the support they need to keep offering innovative solutions.