The Western New York Impact Investment Fund backs commercially promising businesses that are poised to make the region a better place to live, work and raise families.
This has steered the Fund’s portfolio toward ambitious entrepreneurs who are creating products and services that will redefine markets – while improving people’s lives in the process.
The creativity of those entrepreneurs has shown up in other ways as well. One of those ways is the creation of a stable, robust and diverse workforce in Western New York.
Here is a deeper look at companies in the Fund's portfolio who are using innovative workforce strategies to redefine their relationship with the community.
Viridi has emerged as one of the biggest business stories in Buffalo under founder and CEO Jon Williams. The company took a formerly abandoned auto factory on Buffalo’s East Side and turned it into an advanced manufacturing campus from which battery-powered generators are manufactured. Viridi isn’t stopping there as it created a subsidiary nonprofit, GreenForce, led by local workforce veteran Jeff Conrad. GreenForce is designed to recruit from the community but also to create a system of ongoing support for those people so that they have a long term and meaningful stake in the company’s success.
Check out more coverage of GreenForce (link)
Top Seedz is a nutritious snack food company with a new factory in downtown Buffalo and widespread national retail presence. Under the leadership of founder and CEO Rebecca Brady, its growth has been fueled largely by resettled refugees hired through Top Seedz’s partnership with Journey’s End and Community Services 4 Everyone. As the company moves into more automation, those employees will be retrained to support a fast-growing business in a modern manufacturing environment.
Article: WNY Impact Investment Fund backs Top Seedz ahead of downtown Buffalo move (link)
CaHILL Tech is a Buffalo-based tech company building its business around the concept of creating good-paying opportunities in the construction industry. CaHILL’s aQuire Academy partners with programs and communities to find workers looking for gainful employment, then quickly launches their career in an industry that is desperate for new talent. In industries (tech and construction) dominated by men, CaHILL is led by a woman, founder and CEO Carley Hill.
Read more on our recent investment in CaHILL (link)
Arbol is a Buffalo-based startup company creating a better system for financial services in higher education, allowing colleges and universities to deliver personalized guidance at scale. Arbol’s co-founders include CEO David Gonzalez and COO Favio Osorio, both of whom are Latino, another group that is extremely underrepresented in venture capital and high-growth tech. Arbol’s strategic hires have leveraged Buffalo’s strength in education and ed-tech – chief engineer Kevin Menegay has created ed-tech products at Mongoose and Campus Labs, while director of university success James Nowak has worked in leadership roles at several local colleges at the intersection of financial aid, student success and software.
Article: Arbol completes oversubscribed pre-seed round (link)
CleanFiber and Package Design & Supply are companies that have situated their factories in low-income communities, creating new employment opportunities for nearby residents. CleanFiber now owns its factory off Route 5 in Blasdell, the site of a former Bethlehem Steel operation, while Package Design & Supply is situated in the heart of Buffalo’s East Side.
Read more about support of CleanFiber (link) and PDS (link)
WNY Impact Investment Fund has raised $20 million since its inception, and has deployed $13 million into 14 regional organizations so far. The Fund is actively looking to make investments throughout its footprint, which includes the eight counties of Western New York.
Please visit the Fund's website (link) to learn more.
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