Rev: Ithaca Startup Works Members Add 106 New Jobs in 2018
2018 marked the fifth anniversary of Rev: Ithaca Startup Works’ founding, and the incubator made significant strides in delivering on its core mission: providing resources for startup businesses as they create jobs and foster economic development in Ithaca and the surrounding communities.
“The demand for startup support at Rev has consistently grown each year the incubator has been open,” said Ken Rother, director of Rev and the Rev Hardware Accelerator. “Startups are getting the tools, mentorship, and investment introductions they need to grow strategically and their success is leading to an influx of capital and the creation of new jobs in the region. Ithaca, NY is becoming a top place for startups to set down roots.”
Capital, Revenues, and Job Growth
A key part of Rev’s mission is to support its member companies through mentorship, introductions to key partners, events, and educational workshops.
Rev member companies continued to grow and thrive in 2018:
- They generated $12.6 million in revenues
- They raised more than $44 million in capital to continue expansion, scaleup production, and hire more employees in 2019
- They created 106 new, high-quality jobs. These new jobs contributed to a total of 222 employees at Rev member companies
Overall Membership
In 2018, Rev continued to support more than thirty startups focused on a variety of industries in various stages of growth. Rev gained new members and witnessed members expand and move into larger work spaces. 2019 has already brought three new member companies to Rev, the most recent being Antithesis, a food development company making a delicious and healthy snack called Grabanzos.
More Mentorship
This past year, Rev added additional Entrepreneurs-In-Residence to guide companies as they structure financial deals, tackle new markets, strategize funding, and face other challenges. Max Henry, Elisa Miller-Out, Susan Fleming, Brandon Wright, Nate Cook, and Greg Thomson joined the team of Entrepreneurs-In-Residence serving companies at Rev and other incubators in the Southern Tier Startup Alliance, an association of regional incubators.
Events, Networking, and Workshops
In 2018, Rev continued to act as the entrepreneurship hub for the Southern Tier’s startup community. The state-of-the-art incubator space hosted dozens of events last year, including community networking nights, workshops, and trainings with our mentors and industry experts. Rev welcomed over 2,500 community members, students, and visitors to the region at its entrepreneurship events in 2019.
Rev’s Hardware Accelerator
Rev welcomed eight aspiring startup teams as they took their product ideas from concept to prototype during the summer Hardware Accelerator. With a focused curriculum, workshops with industry experts, and plenty of hands-on experimenting with the cutting-edge tools found in Rev’s prototyping lab, they transformed their sketch ideas into physical products while gaining entrepreneurship knowledge. Teams represented a diverse range of industries and different segments of the Ithaca Community—from an Ithaca High School team creating a better communication tool for crew coaches to a team of local experienced professionals creating a sulfur monitoring system to help cargo ships meet international maritime regulations.
Rev is actively reviewing applications for the 2019 Hardware Accelerator program.
Ithaca, NY: An Innovation Hub
In November 2018, Ithaca NY landed at number 13 on USA today’s list of the 25 Most Innovative Cities.The USA Today article highlighted Cornell’s Center for Regional Economic Advancement and Rev: Ithaca Startup Works for their efforts to support economic progress through innovation and entrepreneurship as well as the resources available to startups looking to grow their businesses.