The New York State Innovation Summit will provide founders with exciting new ways to learn about and connect with venture capital. New York Ventures, the venture capital arm of Empire State Development, and Launch NY, a non-profit venture development organization, are both offering opportunities that startups who are seeking funding won’t want to miss.
NY Venture Events
As New York State’s early-stage venture capital fund, New York Ventures is organizing several information-packed sessions at this year’s Summit. Check out the descriptions below and decide now to become part of the action. Participation in each session is limited to approximately 15 founders and you must be registered for the Summit to request attendance.
VCs Shaping Reindustrialization
Hear from venture capital leaders about the investment opportunities shaping the future of reindustrialization and the role venture capital plays in supporting emerging industries.
Featured Speakers:
- Bryanna Samuels, Director, NY Ventures
- Zak Schwarzman, General Partner, MetaProp
- Jeanne Casey, Head of Nuveen Real Asset Ventures
- Lisa Morales-Hellebo, Founder & Managing General Partner, REFASHIOND Ventures
The Imperfect Pitch: Storytelling at Pre-Seed
At pre-seed, nothing is ever perfect. You’ll never have enough traction, enough team, or enough proof. That’s not a problem to fix before you raise money. It’s part of the journey. Typically, the founders who raise well aren’t the ones with the cleanest metrics. They’re the ones who know how to tell the story: what to lead with, what to leave out, and how to turn an honest weakness into a credible plan.
This interactive workshop is for pre-seed and early-stage founders who are building their pitch or getting ready to raise. You’ll work live on the two hardest parts of any early pitch: making your real strengths impossible to miss and repositioning your real weaknesses so they read as managed risk instead of red flags. Expect to pitch out loud, get direct feedback, and leave with language you can use in your next investor conversation, not just slides.
Justin Kang, Co-Founder and Partner, at Visible Hands is your presenter. Visible Hands is a VC fund with a 14-week, virtual-first fellowship program that supports overlooked talent in building technology startups.
The Metrics That Matter: How Investors Evaluate Seed & Series A Startups
Raising capital at the Seed and Series A stage requires more than a compelling vision. Investors increasingly look for evidence that a startup has identified the right growth engine and can demonstrate repeatable, efficient execution. Yet, many founders focus on vanity metrics rather than the handful of indicators that truly drive investment decisions.
In this workshop, founders will learn how investors evaluate early-stage companies through the lens of traction, growth, efficiency, and market potential. You’ll learn about the key metrics that matter most at Seed and Series A, including revenue growth, customer acquisition, retention, engagement, burn efficiency, and capital efficiency, while exploring how expectations evolve between funding stages.
Founders will gain practical insights into how investors interpret these metrics, common mistakes made when presenting them, and how to build a data story that strengthens fundraising conversations. Whether you’re preparing for your next round or looking to better understand investor decision-making, this session will help you focus on the numbers that matter most and confidently communicate your startup’s progress.
Ashley Ryder, Partner at VamosVentures, is your presenter. VamosVentures is an early-stage venture capital firm investing in diverse and underrepresented teams.
Rounding Out the Capital Stack
Featured Speakers:
- Moderator: Zack Pecenak, PhD, Director, Innovation, Venture Capital Fund, NY Ventures
- Melissa Withers, Founder and Managing Partner, RevUp Capital
- Ian Daigle, Investment Partner, Eastward Capital
Concept to Contract: How to Capture First Money & First Pilots in DeepTech
DeepTech startups face long R&D cycles, high capital intensity, and customer markets that demand proven technology before buying. Moving from prototype to commercial contract isn’t just about the science; it’s about early risk mitigation and smart customer acquisition.
This panel brings together investors and ecosystem builders from across DeepTech to share strategies for landing first pilots, securing early venture dollars, and building a commercial pipeline before a finished product is available.
Featured Speakers:
- Moderator: Josh Nelson, Senior Director, Pre-Seed & Seed Fund, NY Ventures
- Pete Mathias, Founder & Investor, Reveille VC
- Jon Schulhof, Managing Partner, Newlab Fund
- Andy Gollach, Partner, SOSV HAX
Ten Dysfunctions of a Startup
Hear from an entrepreneur who has built multi-billion-dollar companies from startup to scale—and now invests from the other side of the table. This session offers hard-earned lessons for founders building with focus, discipline, and conviction.
Explore ten common early-stage failure modes, including chasing volume before product-market fit, letting customers dictate the roadmap, overhiring, getting distracted by competitors, unclear pricing, and investing in roadmap work without commercial payoff. Learn how to replace these pitfalls with the focus and discipline that make companies stronger and more investable.
Dan Goldsmith, Co-Founder & Partner at Proofpoint Capital, is your presenter. Proofpoint Capital invests in early-stage Vertical AI.
LaunchNY Investor Connect
Launch NY Investor Connect is a service that connects startups raising equity capital with prospective investors. This is a valuable opportunity for startup founders to connect with investors who are interested in hearing about startup investment opportunities. Based on information you share about your company and current or near-term raise, Launch NY will make relevant investor introductions for you to follow-up with emails and scheduled meetings coordinated directly with the investor.
Fill out this form to participate
Are You an Investor?
We welcome you to join us at the Buffalo Convention Center in Buffalo, New York on October 27 – 28, 2026 and additional investor and founder only events. Please contact [email protected].