Endeavor Western New York has a new leader.
Alan Rosenhoch, previously entrepreneur selection and growth manager, was promoted this week to the role of managing director.
Known locally for his roles at Endeavor and previously Invest Buffalo Niagara, Rosenhoch said he is "thrilled and humbled" that the Endeavor Western New York board appointed him for the role.
"We believe that high-growth entrepreneurship is critical to transforming our economy," he said. "I'm extremely honored and excited to take on a leadership role and work alongside our partners to realize our vision of becoming a top destination for startups."
Rosenhoch takes over the role from John Gavigan, who stepped down to begin new roles as senior partner at Rocket One Capital and CEO of CrediVault. Rocket One is a venture capital group that is the lead investor in CrediVault, a blockchain-based fintech startup.
Gavigan, who previously served as 43North executive director, will continue to live and work in Western New York and plans eventually to build a CrediVault team here. He will remain on the Endeavor Western New York board of directors. The board is chaired by Harmac Medical Products CEO John Somers.
Gavigan called Rosenhoch a "steward of the community" who is ready to take on an elevated leadership role at Endeavor and in Buffalo.
"Watching Alan have his first crack at leading an organization that has an impact on a lot of lives — I don't think we could have found a better person for that role," Gavigan said.
In the meantime, the entrepreneurship bug was tugging again at Gavigan.
"My new role allows me to infuse community service with entrepreneurship," he said. "I get to grow and scale a company – getting their decks in order, building their go-to-market strategy – and I get to work with a firm that allows me to invest in early-stage companies."
Buffalo scored a coup when Endeavor established one of its 41 offices here in 2020 with Gavigan as its managing director. The chapter covers Rochester as well.
Endeavor runs a selective program around high-impact entrepreneurs, connecting them to business opportunities, funding and mentors. Eight entrepreneurs tied to Buffalo and Rochester have since become Endeavor entrepreneurs, including Squire co-founders Songe LaRon and Dave Salvant and Circuit Clinical CEO Irfan Khan.
Endeavor Western New York also participates in regional ecosystem-building projects. Gavigan said it has worked with more than 100 companies locally the past two years.
Next up: continuing the deep work with current Endeavor entrepreneurs while searching for new ones, and adding layers of service to the program.
"We seek to add value in every interaction we have with our entrepreneurs and we've really succeeded at that," Rosenhoch said. "We are going to continue investing heavily into the entrepreneurs we've selected."
He continued: "As they reach new levels of success, they will start to pay it forward to a new generation of entrepreneurs in a really big way."
