49 Portfolio Companies – Meet the New Launch NY Portfolio Companies:
Circuit Clinical, 3D Usher, Halomine, Re-Nuble, and SunDensity
These new investments bring the total number of startups in which the Launch NY Seed Fund has invested to 49, and 18 portfolio companies in its for-profit Limited Partner Fund totaling 42 transactions for 2019 to date. Compared to Launch NY’s previous record year of a reported total of 22 investments in 2018.
Investor Network Webinar Series
Next Session: Tuesday, December 17 at 3:00PM
Heard of the new Opportunity Zone tax incentive allowing investors to reinvest capital gains to benefit their community with the potential to earn returns? Launch NY is offering the first of its kind in an operating business in WNY. For its second round of investments, Launch NY’s Investor Network, the region’s first and only on demand digital marketplace exclusively serving Upstate New York’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, is giving funders a chance to support another six startups, including its first Opportunity Zone-eligible company, 3AM Innovations.
Start on the path to investing locally by joining Launch NY’s Investor Network and take advantage of our free sign up through December 31st. To learn more, join one of our 30 minute webinar series which provides a brief overview and introduction for accredited investors.
Lindsay Karas Stencel Named Investor of the Year by Upstate Capital Association
This regional recognition for Stencel underscores her deep knowledge of seed funding structure and investment activity in the region. Since joining Launch NY in 2016, she’s helped to grow its Seed Fund to become the most active in Upstate New York and one of the most active in the country with a close rate of two to three investments per month.
In 2019, Stencel closed 42 investments through the Launch NY nonprofit Seed Fund and the new for profit Limited Partner Fund. Launch NY’s 49 portfolio companies have raised $26MM on the $2.3MM invested by Launch NY, with nearly 140 unique co-investors.
CDFI Fund Awards Launch NY $225K in Funding for Third Consecutive Year
For the third year in a row, Launch NY is receiving support from the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund.
This year’s $225,000 CDFI Fund award to Launch NY, one of 284 in the country and reaching a total of $188.7 million, is allocated for Launch NY’s nonprofit Seed Fund. The Seed Fund is designed to support investments in startups in what is known as an “evergreen cycle,” which recycles returns to the fund to continue providing capital to new ventures in the future. It’s fueled by grants and donations, and provides $25,000 to $100,000 in investment capital to companies who meet Launch NY’s criteria.
