A Year of Momentum for Rev’s Members and Makers
42 startups were supported by Rev: Ithaca Startup Works in 2025, marking another successful year for their founders, employees, and investors. Some forged new partnerships, many secured seed funding, and others earned notable awards.
No matter the industry, Rev’s founders continued to grow their companies and strengthen their impact throughout the Finger Lakes and beyond. Over the course of the year, Rev member startups collectively created 90 jobs, secured $13 million in investment, and brought in $13.5 million in revenue. Rev also expanded its community by welcoming 13 new member startups in 2025.
“Staying connected to the broader ecosystem and tapping into New York State’s many entrepreneurial programs gives our founders a real advantage, whether they’re building their teams or raising capital,” says Deanna Kocher, Associate Director of Hardware Programs at Rev: Ithaca Startup Works.
Our Rev members hit many milestones last year:
- ClearLeaf, which offers farmers an effective and safe alternative to traditional pesticides, raised $3.5 million in seed funding.
- Simplifed, a maternal healthcare platform, raised $4 million to broaden access to critical support for expecting and new mothers.
- Levelle Nutrition is transforming the sports nutrition industry by focusing on the specific physiological needs of women athletes and was awarded the 2025 Nutritional Business Journal Leadership & Growth Award in the Emerging Company category.
- Seen Nutrition, a pioneer in women’s health supplements, won $500,000 at Grow-NY, an international food and agriculture business competition.
“One of my favorite experiences was following Seen Nutrition’s journey from pitching at a Rev networking night to standing on stage as a Grow-NY prizewinner, a truly proud, full-circle moment,” says Summer Dracup, Program Coordinator for Rev: Ithaca Startup Works. “Seeing our members succeed makes the work we do feel personal and rewarding.”
In 2025, Rev continued to guide early‑stage startups as they validated their business ideas and built the skills needed for long‑term success through Rev’s Prototyping, Protofacturing, and Manufacturing Hardware Accelerators. 2025 marked the inaugural Manufacturing Pitch Competition, where participants of the Manufacturing Hardware Accelerator cohort pitched for a $10,000 stipend and continued mentorship and developmental support from Rev’s hardware team.
“The pitch competition is an exciting resource opportunity to help companies cover those early manufacturing costs that are such a barrier for hardware founders,” says Kocher. “In addition to receiving funding, the winning teams get engineering support to help them finalize their designs and make sure they are manufacture-ready before making that investment.”
Rev: Ithaca Startup Works draws over 1,000 attendees to our networking events alone each year. Rev welcomed the community into its space through monthly Networking@Rev events, serving as a place for Ithaca’s diverse community to gather and connect through entrepreneurship. Of the networking nights, the most popular was Networking@Rev: Food & Ag Innovation in October, which attracted over 300 attendees.
Over the past 11 years, Rev has been dedicated to providing invaluable resources, including mentorship, workspaces, content sessions, and networking opportunities, which have been instrumental in the growth and success of the startups we support.
Interested in getting involved in Rev’s entrepreneurial ecosystem? Learn more about upcoming events, workshops, and entrepreneurial opportunities on our website, open to founders and community members. Join us on June 11th, from 6-8:30 PM, for our upcoming networking night, Networking@Rev: Powering Energy Innovation, focused on battery storage and energy innovation in Upstate NY.