When Dan Gigante pitched Startup Wednesday for a Springboard grant in 2025, his idea was rooted in something simple: people want to see each other succeed. Startup Wednesday adds structure to that spirit—creating a path for people to explore entrepreneurship without stepping away from their day-to-day lives.
Modeled after Startup Weekend, the month-long program connects participants with the resources, mentorship, and community needed to turn ideas into action. Brought to life by Gigante’s Buffalo-based strategic marketing agency, 19 Ideas, Startup Wednesday launched in both Buffalo and Rochester, where NextCorps hosted the inaugural cohort and tapped into a strong, growing network of local innovators.
More than 40 participants showed up for kickoff, alongside mentors, judges, and some supporters from Buffalo. Twenty-seven ideas were pitched and quickly narrowed to 14 teams.
Connor Peters, CEO of Locke (a NextCorps incubation startup) representing Upstate Venture Connect as a mentor at Startup Wednesdays, shared a shoutout on LinkedIn to the many community partners and startup champions in attendance: “We actually had to grab extra chairs, the room was so full… I can already see the teams forming, the ideas flowing, and the pivots looming.”
NextCorps brought additional experienced voices into the room. Director of Startup Incubation Matt Foley served as a mentor, while judges included Startup Community Manager Dustin Wilson and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence (EIRs) Zoe Koulouris Augustinos and Dr. Pavan Kumar.
Over four Wednesday evenings in June, participants refined ideas, tested assumptions, and built momentum. Ideas ranged from AR art walks and gamified financial literacy to gutter-cleaning robots and haptic guidance for the blind.
“What stood out to me was how much the teams sharpened their ideas in just a few weeks,” shared Startup Wednesday mentor Kendra Fee-McNulty, founder and chief strategist at Raveloe+Co. “They weren’t just building something. They were learning how to explain the problem, test what people actually cared about, and make the value clearer each time they got feedback.”
The winners of Rochester’s first Startup Wednesday cohort:
- 1st place ($2,500): Tenure – an AI-powered platform designed to help college clubs and organizations manage leadership transitions seamlessly from semester to semester.
- 2nd place ($1,000): Art Crumbles – a gamified geolocation app that allows artists and creatives to place, discover, and collect public art in a real-world experience.
- 3rd place ($500): OOOMommy – a nutritious freeze-dried snack made with simple ingredients to provide families with convenient, whole-food nourishment.
- Best Brand New Idea ($500): Nav-Band – a wearable, AI-assisted device designed to help individuals who are blind or visually impaired identify objects and navigate toward them with greater ease.
- Community Favorite ($500): AI Revenue Exchange – an AI-assisted platform that helps individuals and lenders close funding gaps through a proprietary algorithmic scoring model.
“One of the most impactful things I saw founders gain through this was a sense of community,” said NextCorps’ Dustin Wilson. “I saw multiple participants sharing their expertise, experiences, and network to anyone who needed it. This was a competition, but when you pull 40 likeminded people together, they can’t help but try to see each other succeed.”
Rebecca Crocker, senior department program specialist at the Ain Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation and a member of the second-place team, Art Crumbles, echoed that sentiment. “The talent, energy, and support in this group has been something special from day one. Just a room full of people who build things and actually care about helping each other get better.”
Why it matters for Rochester
Startup Wednesday is about more than prizes. It lowers the barrier to entrepreneurship and shows people that they do not have to build alone. The result was a strong reminder that Rochester’s startup scene is active, growing, and ready for more ways to engage people who have ideas but may not yet see themselves as founders.
“NextCorps’ recent State of Innovation report highlighted a challenge with Rochester’s entrepreneurial mindset,” shared Wilson. “Programs like this demonstrate there’s appetite to engage with our often-overlooked startup resources. It’s further proof there is activity here, and with the right combination of accessibility, community, and leadership, the safety net to take risk exists.”
View NextCorps’ State of Innovation Report
“What really stood out to me was the passion and commitment everyone put into the program,” Wilson said. “Four out of five founders I spoke with after the event planned on keeping their project alive, and I’m excited to help them on their journey.”
If you have a startup idea or you’re just curious what it takes to get started, register your interest for the next cohort at startupwednesday.org/rochester.