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Ithaca’s Startup Economy

On June 27th, Rev: Ithaca Startup Works hosted a summit to examine the current state of Ithaca’s startup economy and discuss potential future growth and challenges.

Tom Schryver, executive director of Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement, kicked-off the event with an overview of startup growth across the nation and drew comparisons in New York State and in Ithaca, NY.

View Schryver’s presentation and download the report on Ithaca’s Startup Economy 

Schryver explained that Ithaca prides itself on being different than Silicon Valley, drawing on the unique assets Ithaca has to offer. Some of these resources include university research and development, a wealth of highly-skilled potential employees, and specific programs designed to help startups take flight like Rev: Ithaca Startup Work’s Hardware Accelerator program. “We have no interest in becoming anyone else. We want to be the best ‘us’ that we can possibly be,” said Schryver, Cornell University ’93, MBA ’02.

Panels on real estate and funding included local and regional experts and discussed ways to attract and retain more startups in Ithaca. The final panel featured local entrepreneurs: Nick Nickitas, CEO of Rosie Applications, Gabriel Rodriguez-Calero, CEO of Ecolectro, Julie Baker, co-founder and vice president of URSA Space Systems, and Charlie Mulligan, GiveGab CEO. The entrepreneurs shared their biggest hurdles to growth and what makes Ithaca a unique, attractive place for startups.

Read more coverage of the event in the Cornell Chronicle.

View more photos of the event on our Facebook page.