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This free online resource is being offered to help Upstate New York’s startup community make connections with in-region and national resources and other long-term business opportunities. The tool is being promoted in conjunction with organizations committed to supporting and advancing entrepreneurship in the region including the Erie County Industrial Development Agency (ECIDA), the New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences at the University of Buffalo, Tompkins County Area Development (TCAD) and the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute (EII) of the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University.
“Upstate New York’s startup communities already have access to incredibly strong assets,” says John Seman, CEO, Launch NY. “IdeaCrossing can improve the visibility of those resources, allowing early-stage companies to more easily find the support they need.”
IdeaCrossing is a web-based resource designed to create connections that build businesses. Interested participants decide which description fits them best – entrepreneur, investor, service provider or business mentor. After completing a brief registration and business profile, users can immediately begin to participate in the online entrepreneurial community.
“IdeaCrossing is a natural complement to Buffalo’s entrepreneurial development efforts,” says Marnie LaVigne, Associate Vice President of Economic Development at University at Buffalo. “Connections and collaboration are critical elements to our region’s entrepreneurial success, and online resources are powerful because they have the ability to foster connections that might otherwise not happen because of time constraints or geographic limitations.”
Whether an entrepreneur is interested in being matched to new business mentors or potential investors, accessing a regional directory of service providers or inviting existing advisors to collaborate privately online, this free tool is designed to quickly expand entrepreneurial engagement with the startup ecosystem.
IdeaCrossing includes valuable features such as:
- A business profile generator that creates a downloadable, presentation-quality document based on the information submitted to IdeaCrossing. This Business Profile is automatically updated as an entrepreneur evolves his or her business description online
- Workspaces which are virtual collaboration areas where entrepreneurs can invite trusted advisors and request online feedback, securely share documents and obtain referrals to others who can help advance their business
- A proprietary matching engine that matches entrepreneurs with prospective investors and business mentors
- A searchable service provider directory of regional assets such as universities, economic development organizations, chambers, foundations and professional service providers
- A resource center containing an array of entrepreneurial support content and resources, including member-submitted articles, white papers, news stories and a geographically-searchable calendar of entrepreneur-related events
“IdeaCrossing is a robust entrepreneurial resource that’s completely free for anyone interested in this space to leverage,” says Heather Filiberto, Director of Economic Development Services at Tompkins County Area Development. “Investors can use IdeaCrossing to privately and securely find deal flow specific to their interests, while universities, economic development organizations, foundations, professional service providers, and other support services can showcase what they offer in one place, ensuring entrepreneurs can find them.”
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