43North Week
The Martin Group and Martin Davison Public Relations are proud sponsors of 43North Week, which began last Wednesday, October 21, and wraps up Thursday at Shea’s Performing Arts Center.
Beginning at 9 a.m. on Thursday, October 29 the 11 chosen finalists — out of 11,356 applicants — will pitch their ideas to a panel of expert judges for a shot at $1 million. In all, $5 million is up for grabs; the entrepreneurs could win the top prize of $1 million, one of six $500,000 prizes or one of four $250,000 awards. The 11 finalists will also relocate to Buffalo, receive free space at the 43North incubator on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus for a year, guidance from mentors in related fields and access to other business incentive programs.
The main event when the cash prizes are announced is Thursday from 6-7:30 p.m., at Shea’s: register here.
Most of 43North week is open to the public for free. The public is also invited to vote online to determine which finalist will win this year’s People’s Choice Award. The finalist with the most votes via http://vote.43north.org on October 29 will receive an additional $10,000 on top of their $250,000, $500,000 or $1 million prize. 43North’s People’s Choice Award is sponsored by Larkin Development Group.
43North week kicks off its first open-to-the-public, free event Monday from 5:30-8 p.m. with Think Big. This interactive reception will highlight women and minority 43North winners and local entrepreneurs, featuring KeepUp and triMirror, and Buffalo business owners Sharon D. Randaccio (Performance Management Partners, Red Siren boutique) and Louise Sano (Global Villages and Gloabal Chic clothing store).
Tuesday morning, The Martin Group President and Chief Creative Officer Tod Martin and Rich Honen, startup venture capitalist lawyer at TMG partner Phillips Lytle, will meet 1-on-1 with VoiceItt (an innovative platform enabling people with speech disabilities due to various motor, speech and language disabilities to communicate) to dry-run their pitch and give expert advice. Each of the 11 finalists meets with two local business leaders to fine-tune their pitch ideas. We’re honored to have Tod, TMG’s founder, serve as one of these mentors.
Tuesday evening, 43North and other Buffalo startup companies will compete head-to-head in the second annual Ping Pong Diplomacy Tournament. The first tournament was held in August.
On Wednesday, from 1:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., selected entrepreneurs will have one minute to pitch their ideas to investors and business leaders at Bright Buffalo Niagara. Keynote speaker, Daymond John, founder and CEO of FUBU clothing, star of ABC’s Shark Tank and world-renowned marketer, will share his expertise with a room of entrepreneurs.
And of course, Thursday is the long-awaited day at Shea’s. We hope to see you register for some of the exciting 43North Week events this week! Tag your social media posts and photos using #43North.