Author: Robert Creenan
Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on July 15th the 113 semi-finalists for the 43North global business idea competition. This is part of Cuomo’s Buffalo Billion initiative and is the largest competition of its kind in the world. Nearly 7,000 business ideas were received at the project’s start.
“By attracting talented entrepreneur and promising businesses to Buffalo, the 43North business competition is helping to bring new life into the economy in Western New York,” Governor Cuomo said. “This competition is all about bringing the most innovative start-up ventures from around the globe to Buffalo, where they can tap into a world-class workforce and unparalleled environment to thrive for years to come. I congratulate these semifinalists on reaching this stage of the competition, and wish them the best of luck in the next phase.”
The 113 candidates are from Western New York, the surrounding area, and as far away as California, Washington, Israel, Switzerland, and India. The ideas entered represent nearly every economic sector.
Western New York Regional Economic Development Council Co-chair and President of the University at Buffalo Satish K. Tripathi said, “Governor Cuomo’s commitment to spur innovation and job creation in Western New York is clearly paying off. 43North certainly captured the attention of many in the global startup community, causing people to truly take note of the unique business opportunities that are growing in our region. The work of the impressive semifinalists who have made it this far in the competition is a perfect illustration. Their success shines a light on the great potential Buffalo holds for entrepreneurs as they explore new ways of doing business in our region.”
Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown said, “We are counting on these exceptional semifinalists in the 43North competition to keep the economic momentum going in Buffalo. Governor Cuomo’s support for developing the business idea competition has resulted in some of the best and brightest entrepreneurs and startups from around the globe being interested in relocating to Buffalo. With low residential and commercial property tax rates and a skilled and dedicated workforce, Buffalo is a great place to buy property, live, work and invest. I look forward to seeing the 43North winners turn their ideas into high growth enterprises that will provide more good paying jobs for the people of Buffalo.”
The breakdown for the rest of the competition is as follows. In September, the semi-finalists will provide further details about their proposals to the competitions judges. From there, 11 finalists will be announced. Each of the finalists will receive a cash prize, with the top prize being $1 million out of a total of ($5 million in cash awards).
On October 30th, the finalists will pitch their business to a panel of star judges. Other events will take place in the week leading up to the pitches.
A list of the semifinalists is available here.