Celebrating a decade’s worth of success while scaling Buffalo’s economic growth through entrepreneurship and tech.
This October, the work of the 43North business competition and accelerator will reach its zenith with the final competition. It will be a moment for the community to celebrate and reflect on an incredible 12 years, during which Buffalo has proven that it can punch above its weight in the world of high-growth tech.
During that time, homegrown startups have become unicorns and achieved multibillion-dollar exits. Large software corporations have made significant investments in Buffalo as an operations and tech hub. And existing businesses have chosen to make major investments in innovation and technology here.
Think about this: More than 25,000 companies from around the world have applied to build their businesses in Buffalo since 43North started, and following this year’s event, a total of 84 of them will have received funding. 43North winning teams have been diverse — 46% founders of color, 26% women-led — created about 1,000 local jobs and led to headlines around the world pondering Buffalo, NY, as an emerging engine of innovation.
43North is going out on a high note. But that’s only because we believe our strategies must be as innovative as the companies we seek to support. Rather than risk complacency, it’s time to adopt new strategies that can make our city the next American growth story in entrepreneurship and tech, taking our place among cities like Pittsburgh, Indianapolis and Salt Lake City.
That work lives on with the 43North Foundation, funded by the proceeds of successful 43North companies and committed to investing $100 million over 10 years.
The 43North Foundation board and a collection of civic leaders spent several years purposefully studying successful entrepreneurial ecosystems across the U.S. and comparing their strategies with Buffalo’s own experience.
We found that places capable of generating meaningful economic growth from within consistently have several specific things working together: a consistent engine of innovation and commercialization, an engaged corporate community, an ambitious talent pipeline and a strong sense of community belief around what is possible.
Using those cities as a template, the 43North Foundation has put four new economic development strategies into motion in Buffalo.
Radial Ventures is building cutting-edge companies rooted in Buffalo. TechBuffalo is developing a high-caliber talent pipeline and direct pathways to exciting careers in innovation and tech. The 43North Ambassador Network is connecting the region’s established business community to its entrepreneurs. And Series B is bringing a bullhorn to the grand vision of Buffalo’s high-tech future.
Creating four interconnected efforts has required significant investment, experimentation and support. But as we approach the end of 2026, all four are beginning to produce the early signals we hoped to see.
Today, with those four focus areas and the strategies to develop them in action, we’re ready to make two important announcements about where this work goes next.
An audacious impact goal
The 43North Foundation has pledged to invest $100 million into Buffalo over 10 years.
Now we’re putting a number on what we intend that investment to produce: $5 billion in economic impact, measured by the regional effect of company growth and job creation.
There’s no dancing around this number. Getting there will require a significant uptick in local companies scaling, creating jobs and driving meaningful economic growth.
Fortunately, we know those stories are possible because we’ve watched them happen.
Grow our own startups: ACV Auctions started with three local founders, went public at a $3.8 billion valuation in 2021 and still employs more than 600 people locally.
Attract new companies: Odoo opened its Buffalo operation with one employee in 2020. Today, more than 400 people work from its downtown headquarters.
Unlock major investments from established companies: As M&T Bank grew into a major top-20 U.S. bank, it made a strategic bet on downtown Buffalo, including $82 million in signature facilities at Seneca One and Lafayette Court and about 1,500 tech jobs. More recently, Fortune 50 firm Ingram Micro moved roughly 1,200 employees downtown while publicly laying out plans for growth.
A company start, scale and stay here, disrupting industries and becoming significant employers. A growing company chooses Buffalo for its next major office. An established employer makes a consequential new investment in talent, technology and place.
We know what’s possible when Buffalo puts its collective effort toward an ambitious goal. Now the pieces are in place to run that playbook again and again, creating the kind of company growth and investment that can change the trajectory of a regional economy.
A leader built for this moment
The Foundation appointed Sarah Tanbakuchi-Ripa as CEO in January 2025 with a two-year mandate: turn an ambitious economic development thesis into an operating platform.
With those pieces now in place, the Foundation has selected the leader who will take them into their next phase.
Colleen E. Heidinger has been appointed the next CEO of the 43North Foundation, effective Jan. 1. Heidinger, a 43North employee since year one, has served as the organization’s president since January of 2020 and has dedicated her career to making Buffalo a dynamic, inclusive and ambitious place for entrepreneurs to build.
The 43North startup competition and accelerator will hold its final Finals on October 8, closing a remarkable chapter that helped change the way Buffalo thinks about entrepreneurship and what is possible here.
The next chapter is designed to build on that legacy at a much larger scale.
That has always been the point of the 43North experience: prove that great things are possible here, evolve the strategy as Buffalo evolves and keep raising the bar for ourselves and our community.
Tanbakuchi-Ripa and Heidinger will remain in their current roles through the end of the year before the transition takes effect Jan. 1.
43North Foundation in action
Heidinger will inherit a Foundation with significant momentum across each of its four strategies.
Radial Ventures, our innovation arm, brings Buffalo entrepreneurs, engineers and designers together to rapidly create and test new technology companies rooted in Buffalo. Its first company, Makeoff, recently signed the seventh-largest construction company in the U.S. as a customer for its electrical estimating platform. Ten more Radial products and company concepts are now in early sales or approaching the market. Meanwhile, Radial-supported startup BobaCharge is nearing 200 sales in a single month for its EV chargers, which allow short-term rental hosts and small businesses to charge drivers for EV “fill-ups.”
TechBuffalo, now a formal 43North Foundation affiliate, is expanding the pipeline of people prepared to participate in Buffalo’s tech economy. Its flagship PowerUp Tech internship program just wrapped a record year with 243 participants — 60% of the program’s participants now live and work in Western New York, and the sights are set even higher for next year. Its Innovation Fellows program reaches into the K-12 system to expose educators and students to STEM careers and entrepreneurship. TechBuffalo has played a crucial role in creating employment pathways for two major Buffalo tech employers, Odoo and Ingram Micro, which are working with the Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship on educational pathways leading to internships and job interviews.
The 43North Foundation Ambassador Network, launched in June, already includes more than 150 senior Buffalo business leaders, including Bill Brandel, EVP and president of North America at Ingram Micro; Rich Ferranti, CEO of Rich Products; Matt Graczyk, president of military aircraft at Moog; and many more. Its focus is now shifting from awareness to action: creating more opportunities for established regional companies to mentor, invest in, pilot with and open doors for Buffalo startups.
Series B, the Foundation’s media and marketing arm, has attracted more than 125,000 active users to its website since launching in January, while nearly 4,000 people have signed up for its weekly newsletter. It has created a consistent drumbeat of stories about companies starting, scaling and staying in Buffalo, while introducing a growing audience to the founders, investors, executives and community members driving that momentum.
None of these strategies will create $5 billion in economic impact on its own.
But that was never the idea. The 43North experience has always been about galvanizing the community, learning what works, and following the strongest signals. That’s how we evolve together with Buffalo’s needs and opportunities.
The past 12 years gave us plenty of reasons to believe. They also gave us a clearer picture of what comes next.
We’re not interested in standing still.
.png)
