Page 27 - 2020 Westchester Economic Development Guide

sessions, pro bono professional services and fa- cilitated team building sessions.
“The biggest thing is the guidance mentors,” says Orane Barrett, the CEO of Kool Nerds Club regarding his experience with Element 46. “I got fresh advice from experts and also had weekly training programs,” he says, adding that he “didn’t have access to professionals like these” at the start of his career.
Another participant in the network is Marci Lobel-Esrig, founder and general counsel for . SilverBills, a nationwide concierge bill manage- ment service. The company receives, stores and scrutinizes clients’ bills and ensures they’re paid timely and correctly.
“Element 46 provided the SilverBills team with valuable support and introduced us to many impactful resources in Westchester,” says Lobel-Esrig. “We are grateful to have participated in the program.”
Biosciences Accelerator Network
The Westchester County Biosciences Accelerator is a program designed to provide entrepre- neurship education and regional networking to Biosciences-related seed-stage ventures. Learn more on page 52.
Westchester Angels
Westchester Angels is a group of angel investors
dedicated to helping entrepreneurs succeed, by mentoring and, according to co-founder and managing director Sandford Wollman, “having some fun along the way.”
About eight years ago, as part of the Small Business Advisory Alliance in New York, Wollman sought out “to help business owners avoid the same mistakes I made early on.” At that time, he realized “we are just a train ride from the most entrepreneurial city in the country and I was dumbfounded that there were no angel investor groups in Westchester.” Fast forward to today, and the Westchester Angels is “very close to top- ping one million dollars invested,” says Wollman, who led a presentation on angel investing to the first cohort of Element 46.
The key to successful angel investing, he ex- plains, is “investing in a good team and taking the time to get to really get to know and collaborate with them. After our investor meetings, we all gather at The Hudson Grille. Our due diligence process starts over a beer.”
Accel7
Accel7, or A7, is a technology and business accelerator focused on developing solu- tions from the Hudson Valley and driven to impact families, communities and businesses. A7 runs three-month cohorts throughout the year, six-month advisory projects and entrepreneurial bootcamps.
“For the first cohort of Element 46,” re- calls Managing Director Danny Potocki, “we hosted a full session on customer development to help companies identify their tribe or ideal client and generate more interest,” he says. “We always lead with building community - one that will be able to support and help grow your business.”
“As an impact accelerator focused on grow- ing local businesses,” says Potocki, “we are hyper-focused on Westchester and the Hudson Valley region. In fact, we just opened a new office in New Rochelle. We are committed to growing the ecosystem here.”
“County Executive Latimer is highly motivated to make sure businesses thrive in Westchester. He has my respect.” —Sandford Wollman, Founder and Managing Director, Westchester Angels
WESTCHESTER COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT GUIDE 25