The Koffman Southern Tier Incubator was proud to host the most recent “Breaking Down the Silos” networking event yesterday evening, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. A staggering 100 people filled the building, allowing those in attendance to make connections with other entrepreneurs and businesspeople throughout the duration of the evening.
After welcoming remarks from Eric Krohn, director of the business incubation program at the Koffman, Broome County Executive Jason Garnar briefly spoke and welcomed the crowd to the event.
“First of all, it’s great to see everyone here. The county’s really excited about sponsoring the return of the Silos event,” Garnar began. “I remember going to these events before COVID and it was great to just get a lot of different people in the room [to] connect together and work together, and it’s great to see that happening today. It’s just a great time to be involved with the community in Broome County with all the great things that are going on everywhere here. So, we’re really happy — on behalf of the County Legislature and my office — we’re honored to support the Silos event… because our community does great when we all work together.”
Following Garnar’s opening remarks, Krohn introduced two separate entrepreneurs working with the Koffman to speak about their respective businesses and experiences.
Isabel Agol, founder of fine leather goods company naRoho in Uganda, was the first to speak about her journey in discovering and taking part in the Koffman’s Soft Landing New York Program to bring her business into the U.S. market. She also hosted a table showcasing her quality products, which were available for attendees to purchase. As she recapped her month spent in the upstate NY area, she ended her overview by exclaiming that she believes her company will set up and have a presence in the Southern Tier of New York.
Following Agol was Martin Likewise, creator of the Locket app which allows users to parse through their phone’s photos and ensure they’re saving the most important ones. Likewise spoke about the creation of his company, including how the idea for it was born out of some painful life moments and wanting to ensure future moments were never lost. He added that ultimately it’s about us being able to start taking control of our devices instead of allowing them to control our lives. Locket directly engages users by adding images from their camera roll directly onto the platform, they can then swipe through and make a conscious effort to only keep the best moments to upload to the cloud. The Locket app is now available in both the Apple and Google Play stores.
Attendees ranged from a variety of different industries — with technology, research, education, finance and more represented. Among the crowd, people commented on how much they enjoyed being able to connect with others and network in a more casual setting.
The “Breaking Down the Silos” event occurs quarterly and is sponsored jointly by the Koffman Southern Tier Incubator, Binghamton University’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships, the City of Binghamton, Broome County and Tier Energy Network.
The next “Breaking Down the Silos” event is planned for August 16, 2023, with the location still to be announced. Stay up to date with this and more of the Koffman’s programs and events by joining our email list.
