Networking Night Celebrates Entrepreneurial Ecosystem
On April 12th, the Rev: Ithaca Startup Works was buzzing with excitement and energy as it hosted Networking@Rev: Building Bridges for Ithaca Startups. The event was designed to showcase the diverse resources available to aspiring entrepreneurs in the region, while celebrating innovation and creating a platform for networking and collaboration amongst community members.
The event was attended by over 200 individuals from the Ithaca community, including students from Ithaca College, Cornell University, and Cornell Tech. The atmosphere was electric as attendees mingled over local bites and beverages from Word of Mouth Catering, before settling in for the presentation portion of the evening.
The founders of Rev member startups took to the stage to pitch their product ideas and share their journeys. The keynote speaker for the night was Rachelle McCray, founder of Wisely, Inc., a smart food storage startup. As a 2022 Prototyping Hardware Accelerator alumni company and member of the current Manufacturing Hardware Accelerator cohort, McCray spoke passionately about her journey towards hardware entrepreneurship and shared invaluable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs in the room.
“Try to give what you get,” she said. “Our ecosystem is only going to be as good as what we put back into it.”
Pitches also came from Vladimir Baranov, COO of SCOUT Space, Juan Guzman, CEO of Capro-X, and Ryan Li, CEO of ReVert Tech. Each shared their unique business concepts, recognized the resources that have supported their startup journeys, and made asks of the audience to help their companies grow and scale.
The night ended with more networking, where attendees got to make connections with the founders of other local startups that were tabling at Rev, including Rev member company Kingsley Quality Woodworking and local startups AI Learners and Via’s Cookies.
The event also served as a kickoff to the 2-day Entrepreneurship@Cornell Celebration, an annual conference that features panels, keynote speakers, pitch events and networking opportunities for members of the Cornell community and community participants.
Mark your calendars for Rev’s next Networking Night! Join us on June 15 for Networking@Rev: Women in Entrepreneurship, where we’ll celebrate the women within Rev’s ecosystem. RSVP to reserve your spot here.