The city will be crackling with energy ahead of the Bills home opener. Let’s redirect some of that collective belief into the region’s entrepreneurial future.
The opening of the new Highmark Stadium is the event of the decade in Buffalo.
It’s only fitting that the community’s economic future is part of the conversation.
This September, Western New York’s entrepreneurial community will gather around the Bills home opener for a conversation about startups, innovation and what comes next.
The inaugural Entrepreneurship Huddle, scheduled for Sept. 16-18, will bring founders, investors, business leaders, community partners and ex-pats together for three days of conversations, connections and, yes, football.
The event moves from the Buffalo AKG Art Museum to the Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship before culminating in Orchard Park around the Bills' home opener against the Detroit Lions. The Huddle is being convened through Springboard, a Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation-supported initiative focused on strengthening the network of organizations and people supporting entrepreneurs across Western New York.
The effort is also part of the broader WNY 2032 Strategic Vision, a community-developed strategy for building a more connected, inclusive and resilient regional economy.
Click here for the full schedule and to register
Springboard champion and ACV Auctions co-founder Jack Greco said the football theme is really a jumping-off point for a bigger conversation.
“Buffalo is going to turn heads on September 17th,” Greco said. “Our new stadium is an example of change in a stereotypical stagnant city. It's symbolic; a team and a community in the buckle of the Rust Belt had a dream and delivered. This is how you start momentum. Leaving the predictable feels weird. Growth is painful. But take the leap and BAM! One giant gorgeous new stadium proves reinvention is alive and well in Buffalo, New York. So what's next? What do we want entrepreneurship and opportunity to look like here? And how are we going to do it? That’s what we need to talk about. And about winning the Super Bowl.”
Springboard leaders also say this the first of what could become a signature annual event around entrepreneurship in Western New York.
The Huddle kicks off Wednesday afternoon with a reception at the Buffalo AKG. Thursday morning, the event moves to the Golisano Institute for a panel and discussion focused on the future of Western New York’s entrepreneurial economy.
Attendees will head to Orchard Park Thursday afternoon for a VIP tailgate at Highmark Stadium ahead of the Bills’ home opener against the Detroit Lions. The event wraps up Friday morning with a tour of the new Highmark Stadium and a closer look at one of the largest development projects in Western New York. Game tickets are not included, though registered attendees will receive access to purchase them.
The Huddle builds on years of activity through Springboard, which has already awarded more than $1 million to 38 early-stage initiatives across Western New York, selected from more than 700 applications. Those investments are helping strengthen the network of organizations, programs and people supporting entrepreneurs across Buffalo, Rochester, Niagara Falls and the Southern Tier.
Springboard is designed to strengthen the ecosystem around founders — linking organizations, funding new ideas and creating more opportunities for founders, investors, and other members of the community to connect. Its broader work has also included supporting venture capital talent through the Kauffman Fellows program and funding programs, events and organizations that connect entrepreneurs across the region.
For now, the goal is simple: bring some of the region’s entrepreneurial community together, build connections and use the energy surrounding the Bills home opener to focus attention on what comes next for Western New York.
“We have talented founders and investors here," Greco said. "We have universities, companies and organizations doing really good work. But we need more collisions between those people, and we need a greater sense of urgency about what comes next. “You build a community by bringing people together, creating some energy and then putting that energy to work. We need to do that over and over again.”
