ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement (CREA) will hold a virtual briefing on Aug. 31 at 9:30 a.m. EST to reveal the finalists of the 2022 Grow-NY startup competition, a food innovation and agriculture technology business challenge that attracts high-growth startups to the dynamic food, beverage, and agriculture innovation cluster located throughout Central New York, the Finger Lakes and the Southern Tier. The virtual briefing, hosted on grow-ny.com/virtual-
Applicants, members of the community, and media are invited to attend the virtual briefing by logging on to Grow-NY.com on the morning of Wednesday, Aug. 31 to watch the video feed live. Registration is also available in advance to save the event to calendars and receive reminders.
Jenn Smith, Program Director for Grow-NY will host the virtual briefing event and provide the audience with an update on the highly-anticipated pitch competition and Food and Ag Summit, which is scheduled to come to Syracuse this November. Smith will be joined by Brian Bauer, Competitions Advisor for CREA, who will share background on the criteria and process used to select the startups that are advancing to the business development phase. Together, they will announce the top twenty finalists, who will be paired with a dedicated mentor, connected with the region’s resources, and coached on presenting their pitches at the live competition. The two will close the virtual briefing by discussing further details on the Food and Ag Summit, and who will be speaking at this year’s Grow-NY Symposium.
Of the twenty startups announced at the briefing one finalist will ultimately be selected to take home the $1 million grand prize; two others will be recognized with $500,000 prizes and four with $250,000 prizes. The selection occurs during the live pitch in November.
The competition is funded through the Upstate Revitalization Initiative through the three regions—Finger Lakes Forward, CNY Rising, and Southern Tier Soaring. Cornell University’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement is administering the competition. Winners will be required to create a positive impact in the Grow-NY region, grow job opportunities, connect with local industry partners and contribute to a thriving Upstate economy.
Footage will be available on Grow-NY.com post-event. Med
–Empire State Development
Cornell Center for Regional Economic Advancement