As chairman of the board of the Long Island Angel Network – which has reviewed over 600 financing applications and brokered in excess of $5 million in investments – attorney Michael Faltischek is point man in the local effort to unite entrepreneurs and investors, a mission plainly focused on the Island’s future success and growth. He is earnest and good-humored about this mission, but be careful when you suggest the network has a “tech” focus….
The board of the Long Island Angel Network heard presentations from four aspiring companies on Friday and, for a change, not one of them was asking for money. Soliciting investments was not the main goal of this particular meeting, held at Stony Brook University’s Center for Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology. The idea, noted Michael Faltischek, the LIAN chairman, was “more a means of educating the board about what CEWIT has to offer, to…
By GREGORY ZELLER // Even Ashish Pandhi and James Knaus know it can’t be this easy. That’s why the entrepreneurs continue to tinker tirelessly on the functionality and marketing of Bettr, a social media-management platform that aims to “give people a voice and make a difference in the world,” according to Knaus. Bettr won’t officially launch until this fall, but the precursors to the final product, Queue+ and Archive Poster, have achieved enough success that the…
Hofstra students Nick Calderon and Kevin McCroary won the $50,000 top prize in the annual CPXi VentureTech student business plan contest on Wednesday for The Lift Stick, a device that alerts the wearer to improper posture that could lead to lower back injury. The pair have already begun sales of the Stick, but will get a significant leg up in production and marketing with their first-place winnings. Two teams tied for second place in the…
BY GREGORY ZELLER // A rock-solid Brookhaven National Laboratory commercialization prospect is ready for its close-up. SulfCrete, a stronger, more environmentally friendly alternative to traditional concrete, will share the spotlight May 8 with four other regional innovations at the Long Island Capital Alliance’s Technology Transfer Capital Forum, a showcase designed to attract investors to some of the Island’s hottest IP. The result of decades of BNL R&D, SulfCrete is the stage name of sulfur polymer,…
BY GREGORY ZELLER // Armed with a just-executed licensing agreement for a suite of anti-inflammatory drug therapies, two-year-old Traverse Biosciences is stepping up efforts to land the investors and strategic partners necessary for rapid product development. The licensing agreement with the SUNY Research Foundation gives Traverse rights to compounds developed by Stony Brook University faculty members Lorne Golub and Francis Johnson and known as — science alert — polyenolic zinc-binding agents. Their leading drug candidate,…
BY GREGORY ZELLER // A Hofstra University effort to combine industrial and educational forces is breaking the innovation mold. And intellectual property rights are only part of the sea change. Many universities now host “innovation centers,” noted Kevin Craig, director of Hofstra’s Center for Innovation, and Hofstra’s version does what most of the others do: accelerate development and commercialization of new technologies by fostering collaboration between industry, school faculty and students. And Hofstra carves itself…
Industrialist Ramuel Maramara may have reinvented the way oceanic energy is harvested. If his artificial jellyfish proves seaworthy. That’s the next big test for Maramara and Brimes Energy, the Stony Brook-based startup he incorporated in 2014. Already a successful businessman on two continents – well, one continent and an archipelago – the Filipino native and his team are planning ocean testing this summer for a “jellyfish” device that improves upon Salter’s Duck, the longstanding top…
Tech-based jobs rule the roost on New York State’s Jobs Express website, an online resource looking to connect the unemployed with companies in search of fresh blood. According to the state, the Jobs Express site has set a new record with over 115,000 private-sector positions listed – and a healthy portion of those jobs are technology-related, falling into categories such as “Computer and Mathematical,” “Healthcare Technical” and “Healthcare Support.” The Jobs Express site (www.jobs.ny.gov) sorts…
New York State has awarded $1.5 million to a new seed fund designed to invest in downstate companies commercializing research from local laboratories and universities. The fund will be administered by Accelerate Long Island and the SUNY Research Foundation and will handle investments on Long Island, parts of New York City and the Hudson Valley. The $1.5 million will be matched by the university system’s investment arm and with private money from local venture firms…
Shmulik Shahar, founder of the Seed Startup House, discusses software and app development at the Suffolk County Inventors and Entrepreneurs Club, April 21, from 7 to 9 p.m. Shahar has almost 20 years experience as a team leader, software R&D manager, CTO and CEO for companies large, small and starting up, both international and domestic. He holds a BA in computer science from the Open University in Israel. The meeting will be held in the Media…
BY GREGORY ZELLER LaunchPad Huntington has landed a $15,000 grant from Albany’s Workforce Development Institute to build out a 3D maker space prototyping facility. The grant covers the cost of a cutting machine, a dedicated computer loaded with CAD drawing software and a desktop-sized 3D printer, all being purchased now. The space should be up and running by late May, according to Phil Rugile, LaunchPad Huntington’s director. “This is a really significant 21st century opportunity…
BY GREGORY ZELLER Keith Cooper’s goal is not immodest: He’s looking to forever change the recreational boating world as we know it. The way the Long Island native and his partner, Amityville High School chum Todd Brice, see it, boaters have plenty of options – digital included – for reserving transient boat slips away from their home ports. But they mostly involve advance planning, which according to Cooper sails in the face of recreational boating’s…
Accelerate Long Island released its much-anticipated technology startups report this week, taking the first comprehensive look at the region’s emerging innovation economy. Regional economic development officials have long supported technology as the anchor of a post-defense Long Island economy, but the effort has never fully taken hold. Now, with the Regional Economic Development Council at the fore, and with such new programs as the state’s Start-Up NY effort, the dream of a future Tech Island…