OLEAN — Date’d Diet, an Olean enterprise that makes nutritious natural snack meals, received the inaugural Laine Enterprise Accelerator’s Neighborhood Showcase at JCC’s Cutco Theater Tuesday night time.
The corporate, based by Sarah Hedegus and Jason Wright, acquired the $15,000 prime prize within the entrepreneurial competitors. They’re advertising and marketing nationally within the frozen meals part of markets. Their wholesome natural merchandise are gluten-free and sugar-free and embrace dates, therefore the identify.
Date’d Diet homeowners plan to make use of their winnings to buy new equipment to extend manufacturing of their merchandise. Wright mentioned they’ve projected annual earnings of $500,000 with new gear.
Hedegus mentioned she desires the corporate to be a part of Olean’s revitalization. “Think about what we are able to do with the Erick Laine Enterprise Accelerator prize,” she mentioned.
The enterprise will transfer from their present small quarters to the kitchen at Jamestown Neighborhood Faculty’s Olean Campus, Hedegus mentioned.
Wright promised that the enterprise would help the Laine Enterprise Accelerator’s program to assist different start-ups.
Every of the 4 different companies making their pitch for the highest prize acquired $5,000. They’re:
• Deon Gayton’s Go To Meals, producing wholesome meals if you don’t wish to prepare dinner.
• Hello-Y Farms, Little Valley, owned by the Golley household. The farm grows industrial hemp and has begun to market hemp-based merchandise by the New York State Hemp Pilot Program.
• Studio 4 East of Allegany, owned by Mark Riordan and Kara Fortuna. They’re the brand new homeowners of the Allegany customized attire retailer.
• Paragon Behavioral Well being Companies, owned by Kryn McClain, DHA, LPC and Paulina Colonna, LMFT. The corporate offers psychological remedy and autism companies at Olean and two Pennsylvania places and is seeking to increase.
The competitors started in August when 5 companies have been chosen to participate within the Laine Enterprise Accelerator program to assist sharpen their advertising and marketing, product improvement and administration abilities.
When the Laine Enterprise Accelerator named its 5 finalist companies in late August, the purpose was to make an influence on our neighborhood by serving to leaders of every enterprise sharpen their advertising and marketing, product improvement, and administration abilities, in keeping with director Tom Cullen, director of St. Bonaventure College’s Innovation Heart.
Jack Greco, co-founder of ACV Auctions, a 43 North winner, and former director of Techstars Buffalo, spoke of the advantages of mentoring start-up companies. Greco was one in all 4 judges of the competitors.
The accelerator is a partnership of native executives, entrepreneurs, Olean Enterprise Improvement Council, and St. Bonaventure College and Jamestown Neighborhood Faculty. This system organized weekly workshops and mentorship conferences for the 5 companies’ homeowners.
College students from St. Bonaventure College helped the companies construct their model and improve social media presence.
Dr. Daniel DeMarte, Jamestown Neighborhood Faculty president, spoke to the viewers of about 100 individuals, thanking James Stitt Sr., for his imaginative and prescient of the native support to entrepreneurship and the sources from the Cutco Basis to create the Erick Laine Enterprise Accelerator.
DeMarte requested the right way to leverage this system to have a fair higher influence. “Are we ready for the following alternative?” he requested.
