BCW Introduces WIN Program’s Innovators to Business Leaders

As part of the continuing roll-out of the Westchester Innovation Network (WIN), on Wednesday, the BCW’s board members had their first virtual meeting with the nine innovator companies selected by WIN to partner with Westchester businesses so far.

The Founders of the WIN companies described their products or service and they outlined some of their goals; many of the partners expressed the desire to find new markets for their service or to validate their product concepts in real-world settings.

Launched in December, WIN is a program aimed at driving economic development and growth within Westchester County by reaching out to innovative companies from around the world, with the goal of helping them scale their businesses through real-world testing environments and prospective customer feedback. WIN’s Innovation Match Program launched with five partnerships, and last week the program announced four new partners.

The Stony Point-based CatchU is a mobile fall-risk reaction time tool designed for seniors that allows for multisensory-based interventions to alleviate disability and maintain independence. CatchU will collaborate with the Burke Rehabilitation Hospital.

The Mount Vernon-based Lessonbee is an online learning platform with courses and classes that enable users to find their path to health in grades K-12. Lessonbee will partner with the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers to extend its service to public housing residents.

Maryland-based Huntress delivers security to small- and medium-sized businesses. The service combines automated detection with human threat hunters to analyze suspicious activity, detect hidden threats and stop attacks that would otherwise go unnoticed. Huntress will partner with Progressive Computing in Yonkers.

Westchester-based ConConnect is a digital platform that connects formerly incarcerated people with services they need to find employment and build professional networks. ConConnect will partner with the Municipal Housing Authority for the City of Yonkers to help formerly incarcerated public housing tenants.

The virtual meeting advanced a number of WIN’s key promises to its stakeholders. The innovation partners were introduced to some of Westchester County’s most influential business leaders and had the opportunity to showcase their innovation. In addition, this was an opportunity for the business leaders of Westchester to ask questions of the entrepreneurs and spotlight how Westchester has created a culture of innovation.

The Innovation Match Program is focused on connecting local companies in Westchester with innovators to pilot or beta test their new products or services in a prospective customer setting. The Westchester company matches have the opportunity to co-create with the innovators and also get an early look at the path of innovation within their respective industries.

The BCW has already identified 75 potential innovator partners looking to be paired locally. For more information about being matched with an innovation partner, contact Luiz Aragon at win@thebcw.org