Binghamton University’s Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Partnerships seeks to foster entrepreneurship in the Southern Tier. As part of this mission, they began the Accelerator Program, an intensive three-month boot camp for local entrepreneurs with promising ideas.
Founded in 2017, the program allows for start-up founders to attend 8-10 classes where they can learn the ins and outs of planning, progressing, and launching their businesses. Along with the classes, each company has individual meetings with Eric Krohn, Director of Binghamton University’s Business Incubation Program.
“I love vetting ideas and then pushing them to be bigger than they are at first,” Krohn said. “I want to push them to the point where other people see the potential and allow them to come to fruition.”
The Accelerator Program is evolving just as quickly as the start-up community in the Southern Tier. For the second round of start-ups Krohn is hoping to make the program more fluid and educational.
“Due to high demand I will likely be opening up rolling admissions to the Accelerator,” Krohn said. “Our goal is to create a start-up community in Broome County — not just at the University or the Incubator.”
Meet the Winter 2019 Cohort:
HayDay is revolutionizing the farming industry with their 100% organic baling twine. Because HayDay’s twine is made completely of hay it is edible by farm animals and biodegradable if left in fields — preventing waste, vet bills and enabling farmers to gain Organic farming certifications.
Grace Doherty plans on creating an indoor invisible dog fence. Her product differs from the options currently on the market because it will eliminate the typical eye sores and annoying gates that are constantly in the way.
Cruz Outdoors provides the local Binghamton community with resources for outdoor recreation equipment, knowledge and experiences. They offer help through professional outdoor leadership, skill building, and affordable access to outdoor recreation equipment and experiences.
JQ Enterprises hopes to help first generation, low-income college students by teaching strategies and principles necessary to create a successful lifestyle through storytelling and musical performance.
Your Call Sports connects coaches, league organizers, and athletes with referees and allows for people to book referees nearly instantaneously. They providing athletes with an app where they can find, hire and pay verified referees that fit their needs.
-Julia Carmel
