A look at 43 North’s Cohert 7.
Joed Viera
That's what you call a cold intro.
43North's newest winners are settling into Buffalo just as winter truly takes hold along with our time-honored weather cliches (Insane snowstorm leaves more than a foot in some neighborhoods and less than a dusting in others? Check. Freezing temperatures during a Bills home playoff game? Check.).
At least they'll have a nice view of the changing seasons: 43North's incubator facility is situated on the 24th floor of Seneca One Tower and offers panoramic views of the city.
And it's the businesses themselves that are truly important. Local company Top Seedz won the $1 million grand prize during the October finale of 43North's annual pitch competition. Six other finalists – BetterMynd, Big Wheelbarrow, Infiuss Health, ShearShare, Verivend, Zealot Interactive – won $500,000 awards.
Business First photographer Joed Viera caught up with the gang at their new headquarters.
In the first row, from left: Melissa Bime, CEO of Infiuss Health; Tye Caldwell, CEO of ShearShare; Courtney Caldwell, COO of ShearShare.
In the second row, from left: William Brady, Top Seedz; Rebecca Brady, CEO, Top Seedz; Imtiaz Shams, CEO, Flox; Shaun Masavage, CEO, Zealot Interactive; John Tolly, CTO, Zealot Interactive; Jonathan Ebel, CTO, Verivend; Sam Eder, CEO, Big Wheelbarrow.
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Sam Eder, CEO of Big Wheelbarrow, is moving his company from Austin to Buffalo as it launches with a major local customer: Tops Friendly Markets. Big Wheelbarrow's software-as-a-service platform connects supermarkets to locally grown produce.
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Eder with Big Wheelbarrow CTO Evan Alter and COO Christina Wing at the company's new office in Seneca One Tower.
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Another photo of Wing and Eder as they settle into their office at the 43North incubator. Big Wheelbarrow is in the midst of a WeFunder campaign: https://wefunder.com/bigwheelbarrow.
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Melissa Bime, CEO of Infiuss Health, is building a software platform that connects pharmaceutical and medical device companies directly to the African patients undergoing their trials, allowing not just for medical updates but also feedback.
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It's been a whirlwind couple of years for Infiuss, which pivoted its business in late 2020, then closed a seed round in mid-2021 as it gained entry into Y Combinator and started onboarding customers in the United States and United Kingdom. Then came the 43North competition.
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Bime was born and educated in Africa, where she eventually worked as a nurse in five countries. Her startup business comes out of that experience.
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ShearShare co-founders Tye Caldwell (CEO) and Courtney Caldwell (COO) are moving to Buffalo from their longtime home of Dallas. The husband-wife team won't have to travel far to work: They are also living in a Seneca One Tower apartment.
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The Caldwells like to describe their business as the "HairBnB" of the beauty industry, connecting empty seats at salons to stylists and beauticians who need somewhere to meet their customers.
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Tye Caldwell spent years running his own salon in Dallas and was the first Black male last year elected to the Advisory Council for the Professional Beauty Association. Courtney Caldwell had a career in technology marketing — she served as Oracle's director of digital marketing strategy and innovation.
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ShearShare is in the process of launching a major software update and plans to begin hiring immediately in Buffalo.
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Rebecca Brady is the CEO of grand prize winner Top Seedz, currently based in Cheektowaga, and plans to use the cash to support the expansion of its production capacity. Brady has said the company's biggest chokepoint is making enough of its crackers to fulfill demand.
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Rodney Reisdorf, the CEO of Verivend, didn't have to move his office far. The company was founded by a group of experienced business execs in Buffalo, and had been headquartered in Serendipity Labs in Seneca One Tower until this month.
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Verivend is a cloud-based platform to manage business-to-business transactions – which are currently done via paper or email in many industries. The company raised $2.5 million from a cast of well-known local investors before taking home another $500,000 in the 43North competition.
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Verivend's technical side is led by CTO Jonathan Ebel, an early technology leader at ACV Auctions.
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Imtiaz Shams, the CEO of Flox, arrived in Buffalo this month by way of London. He said the company's hardware/software imaging platform can lead to improved lives for trillions of chickens – and help boost farmers' bottom lines in the process.
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Shams, whose company recently raised a seed round that included a contribution from ACV Auctions co-founder Dan Magnuszewski, said he was attracted to Buffalo because of the possible customers and partners around the Great Lakes and Canada.
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Zealot Interactive CTO John Tolly, CTO and CEO Shaun Masavage are building a company that seeks to partner with musicians and content creators to help people learn their songs.
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Zealot Interactive recently reached a major deal with Fox Entertainment – hosting official music lessons for people who want to learn songs from country music drama "Monarch."
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Zealot Interactive's flagship product is the Fret Zealot device, an LED strip that helps people learn guitar.
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BetterMynd CEO Cody Semrau was not present when Business First visited the 43North (this photo is provided content form his pitch during the 43North finals). BetterMynd provides online counseling sessions for college students. Semrau moved his company from Rochester to Buffalo in 2020.
Devin Chavanne/43North
