The startup ecosystem received a lift in seed capital funding.
Through its Investor Network, Launch NY has raised $220,000 that will go toward a funding round for 2021 43North winner ShearShare and 2021 43North finalist and Launch NY portfolio company Ognomy, as well as EMPEQ, a Launch NY portfolio company.
The 43North companies were featured during the first two quarters of 2023 on Launch NY’s Investor Network as part of a collaboration between the two entities announced earlier this year.
Since its first investments in 2020, Launch NY’s Investor Network has provided more than $1.69 million in funding and commitments to 16 upstate New York startup companies in 19 transactions.
Ognomy offers care services and treatment for obstructive sleep apnea, including telemedicine, coordination of home sleep tests and the facilitation of sleep therapy devices like positive airway pressure machines and dental appliances.
ShearShare, a Black-owned Buffalo company, is a mobile marketplace that allows licensed beauty and barbering professionals to access business-building resources on demand, starting with space to work. It was recently featured on NBC’s “Today” show, with co-founders Tye and Courtney Caldwell sharing their founding story and vision.
In the same period, Launch NY’s Investor Network members also funded EMPEQ, which offers a cloud-based, AI-enabled platform that automates building energy surveys, digitizes HVAC equipment inventories and arranges financing options – all through a smartphone app.
