Zealot Interactive is Among Three Upstate NY Startups and Two 43North Winners Currently Featured on Launch NY’s Investor Network

Zealot Interactive is among three Upstate NY startups and two 43North winners currently featured on Launch NY’s Investor Network

Buffalo-based company raising funds as interest explodes in Build-a-Band education product

Investor Network is a growing syndicate of investors who back high-growth startups in Upstate NY

March 13, 2025, Buffalo, NY – Launch NY is excited to feature Zealot Interactive as the latest limited time deal on its Investor Network.

Zealot Interactive moved to Buffalo three years ago, picking up local investors and then winning $500,000 in the 43North competition. The company’s initial consumer-facing product – a digital subscription to curated guitar lessons along with optional LED hardware – has shown impressive recent growth, with subscribers jumping more than 200% to 3,500 since November.

Along the way, another exciting opportunity blossomed. Last fall, Zealot Interactive unveiled an education product, its Build-a-Band Creative Music Production platform, to surging interest from the K-12 education market. The company is now in discussions with the six largest school districts in the U.S., with more than 3,500 schools in its active sales funnel.

“Launch NY’s Investor Network is stepping up for Zealot Interactive as it seizes a major opportunity,” said Marnie LaVigne, Ph.D., Launch NY president and CEO. “Our Investor Network continues to exemplify Launch NY’s commitment to supporting talented and driven entrepreneurs across the Upstate New York region. Zealot Interactive is a powerful example of the innovative companies we are championing, and it is just one of several promising startups hosted on our Investor Network. Not only have we supported Zealot with our investment funds, but also we’re connecting them to over 350 accredited investors through the only digital community exclusively featuring Upstate NY investment deals.”

The Investor Network is a growing syndicate of accredited investors who are motivated to back startup companies from Upstate New York. The network features primarily Launch NY portfolio companies who have already received capital from Launch NY’s funds, while eliminating the administrative legwork of traditional angel investing, allowing members to focus on analyzing the business. Led by active angel investor Jeanne Ernst, the Investor Network has grown to more than 355 accredited investors. There is no fee to join the Investor Network and no obligation to invest.

Click here to get involved in Launch NY’s Investor Network

Zealot Interactive isn’t the only featured opportunity on the Investor Network right now. Rochester-based Nudge Money, which received a $100,000 investment from Launch NY last year including $50,000 from the Launch NY Nonprofit Seed Fund and $50,000 from its for profit LP Fund II, is also currently raising funds through the syndicate. This funding includes participation of Empire State Development’s NY Ventures Community and Regional Partner Fund, supported by $52 million in State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funding, which was recently announced as awarding $5 million to Launch NY to advance high-growth entrepreneurship in Upstate New York. Led by cofounder and CEO Reagan Bonlie, Nudge Money is an AI-assisted platform that helps credit unions deliver financial wellness to their members at scale.

Also featured on the Investor Network for a limited time is BetterMynd, which first received a Launch NY investment in 2020 and went on to win a $500,000 award in the 43North competition in 2022. BetterMynd is transforming mental health support for college students through its scalable, high-growth teletherapy platform. With more than 160 college partners, 21,000 teletherapy sessions conducted in 2024, and a 91% client retention rate, BetterMynd is rapidly expanding in the $5.3 billion college mental health market. With rising demand for fast, accessible student mental health care, BetterMynd provides a cost-effective solution for colleges while scaling a sustainable, revenue-backed business model. These are not AI bots.  These are real counselors making a real difference in the lives of college students.

Launch NY previously backed Zealot Interactive between 2022 and 2023 with a collective $150,000 which includes $100,000 from its Nonprofit Seed Fund and $50,000 from LP Fund I. Zealot Interactive is currently raising a bridge round specifically for sales and customer success personnel to capture the opportunity with its Build a Band product.

Founded by CEO Shaun Masavage and CTO John Tolly, Zealot Interactive is headquartered at Buffalo’s Tri-Main Center, with four full-time employees locally and two more in Virginia. Through its experience with its consumer product, the team decided last year to explore a gap it saw in hands-on music education. They leveraged their connections to start conversations with a few school superintendents, and the level of interest blew them away.

The primary goal of the Build-a-Band product is for students to create an original piece of music over the course of a year-long program. The product includes a digital music studio with curated lessons (many of which are designed and delivered by professional musicians from Buffalo), along with recording software and instruments. The point is a turn-key solution for educators that allows them to choose which lessons to deliver without having to build curriculum from scratch, buy software and equipment and gain access to expensive licenses.

The company plans to establish a handful of high-value pilot projects in the fall, using that as a launching point for a larger funding round and more aggressive growth.

“From the moment we started speaking with educators about the promise of Build a Band, they understood that we’re focused on creating a special experience for students and their teachers,” Masavage said. “Our goal is to make this extremely intuitive and easy, and ultimately to be an important new tool in the delivery of music education. This is a huge opportunity made possible by local backers such as Launch NY, which is allowing us to use Buffalo as a launching pad for a global business.”

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About Launch NY
Launch NY is the only nonprofit venture development organization and U.S. Treasury-designated Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that serves and directly funds startups in Upstate New York. The core mission of Launch NY is to identify, support and invest in high‐growth, high‐impact companies and to catalyze the entrepreneurial culture of Upstate New York on behalf of job and wealth creation.

Since 2012 Launch NY has served over 1,750 companies which have gone on to raise more than $1.5 billion, generate more than $265 million in annual revenue and support more than 5,500 jobs. Aligned with Launch NY’s CDFI designation, more than 70% of its portfolio companies are located in low income neighborhoods. Launch NY delivers its mission via mentorship and capital access programs, starting with pro bono mentoring through its Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, Founders Go Big program for underrepresented and underserved founders, and Emerging Cleantech Opportunity (ECO) Incubator. These programs prepare entrepreneurs for investment capital from multiple sources, including Launch NY’s InvestLocal Financing Programs comprised of nonprofit and for-profit investment funds, and the Investor Network deals marketplace that features hundreds of accredited investors. Through these vehicles, Launch NY is the most active seed investor funding New York State companies and has been ranked among the top 5 nonprofit seed funds in the country.