Heat Inverse Named Finalist in $1 Million Business Competition

Earlier this month, Rev member company Heat Inverse was announced as a finalist in the 2021 Grow-NY Food & Agriculture Competition. The tech startup will compete alongside 19 other food and ag companies for $3 million in prize money — including a $1 million grand prize.

Currently in its third year, Grow-NY consists of a business competition and summit that seeks to bring innovative food and agriculture startups — and the jobs and dollars that come with them — to the Central New York, Southern Tier, and Upstate New York regions. Finalists work with mentors over a period of several weeks, culminating in the Grow-NY Summit where founders will deliver their business pitches and the winners will be announced live.

Heat Inverse’s innovative thin-film cooling technology, which gets cold with no energy input or heat waste, has revolutionary potential for use in agriculture and food production. In November, founder and CEO, Romy Fain, will present a pitch to judges at the Grow-NY Summit in Syracuse, New York.

This recognition is another landmark in Heat Inverse’s startup journey, which has also included participation in NSF I-Corps, the 76West Clean Energy Competition, and Rev’s Manufacturing Hardware Accelerator. Fain credits much of her success to Ithaca’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

“I realized what a fantastic place this is to start a business,” she said in 2019. “Loads of smart people, affordable real estate, Cornell resources close by, manufacturing in the region, lots of New York state money going into clean tech and economic development, and the quality of life just can’t be beat. And Rev: Ithaca Startup Works is such a great location to work.”

The Grow-NY Summit will be held both in Syracuse and online on November 16-17, 2021. Virtual access is free, and all-access registration is $45 ($25 for students). More information and registration for the summit can be found here.