As part of the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund, FuzeHub will hold its fourth New York State Commercialization Competition on November 18 & 19, 2020. Companies will compete virtually to demonstrate the commercialization potential of their technology or product and can win up to $50,000. This competition is intended to help small and medium-sized manufacturing and technology companies strengthen their “go-to-market” strategies as they move from new product/production method to marketplace.

FuzeHub anticipates making up to six awards of up to $50,000 each. Award funds shall be used to improve a working prototype, which will enable the applicant to pursue additional investment and customers, leading to the commercialization of their product concept.

As a condition to receiving any award proceeds, competition winners will be required to enter into a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE).

Applicants will be required to create a SurveyMonkey Apply account in order to submit an application. There is a $50 fee for each submitted application. Application deadline is Monday, August 31, 2020 at 4:00PM EST.

You can save the application as a draft and edit it at your own pace up to the application deadline. To access your ongoing application, you may come back to this page or bookmark the link to SurveyMonkey Apply (recommended). Once you create an account, you will receive an email to verify the email address entered for the account. If you have any questions about the application platform or need technical help, please contact us at fund@fuzehub.com.

Company must have a physical presence in New York State. Companies will be required to provide articles of incorporation and/or registration to do business in New York state. There are several documents that can individually fulfill this requirement, including but not limited to: NYS articles of incorporation/ formation, NYS Certificate of Authority, NYS Department of State (NYS DOS) Division of Corporations and State Records filing receipt showing the company name and provided (NYS DOS) ID number. Companies must be incorporated/registered to do business in New York State at the time they submit an application.

• Company will need to be registered with Dun & Bradstreet, and have an eligible North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code – specific to manufacturing – identified in their D&B profile. The application will require your DUNS Number and the associated NAICS code. Applicants will need to evidence this information in order to present as a finalist. Please be advised that only certain (NAICS) codes are acceptable. Applicants should review the full list of eligibility requirements in the competition guidelines.
• Company must be pre-revenue (less than $100,000 in revenue)
• Company must be able to demonstrate a working prototype; for certain projects where a working prototype is not feasible, the company must be able to provide proof-of-concept trials with substantial evidence that yield high probability of success in a working prototype.

This is your opportunity to listen to first-hand experiences from competition winners Rhonda Staudt of Combined Energies (2019) and Juan Guzman of Capro-X (2018). In addition, Richard E. Honen of Phillips Lytle LLP discusses the use of the Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) investment tool and shares insight in working with past awardees. You can also learn more about the program and application platform as well as helpful tips to navigate the application process.

Re-Nuble was named the $150,000 grand prize winner in last year’s competition. An agtech company decarbonizing the global fertilizer supply chain, Re-Nuble uses organic cycling science and its proprietary nutrient delivery system to unlock water-soluble nutrients from food waste into industrial-grade organic fertilizer compatible for soilless farms. Funding from the competition is being utilized for case studies, farm trials, industrial design and production equipment costs. Due to COVID, the team had to rethink its production strategy in order to reduce manufacturing capex given the challenging state of the economic environment. Not largely impacted by COVID, Re-Nuble continues to work with soilless farms in New York, and plans to release their farm case studies later this year and make the product available to more farms outside of New York.

Past Awardees: Commercialization Competition 2019

In November 2019, five companies were awarded $50,000 each and one was awarded $150,000 in FuzeHub’s third Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund Commercialization Competition. Take a look at who took home awards.

Past Awardees: Commercialization Competition 2018

In November 2018, seven companies were awarded $50,000 each in FuzeHub’s second Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund Commercialization Competition. Take a look at who took home awards.

Past Awardees: Commercialization Competition 2017

In November 2017, five companies were awarded $50,000 each in FuzeHub’s first-ever Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund Commercialization Competition. Take a look back on who took home awards.