Buffalo Startup Week returned this spring with a larger program and a wider view of the region’s startup economy—from students testing early ideas to founders preparing for capital, growth and new markets.

Held April 15 to 23, the 2026 event brought together hundreds of founders, students, mentors, investors and ecosystem partners for nine days of pitches, panels, live podcasts, career programming and networking events across Buffalo. 

Hosted by UB Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships (UB BEP) and the Western New York Incubator Network (WIN), the program doubled in size from last year and ran on two tracks: a Talent Track for students and early entrepreneurs and a Professional Track for active founders and investors.

Where early ideas took shape 

The first part of Startup Week focused on the people still finding their way into the startup world: students looking for roles, early founders testing ideas and teams learning what it takes to turn a concept into something pitchable.

At Seneca One downtown, recruiters and hiring managers from some of Buffalo’s fastest-growing startups and tech companies met with hundreds of job seekers during the 43North Compass Career Fair—the only career fair in the city built around connecting talent to the local startup scene.

This year also marked the first time the Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition was part of Buffalo Startup Week—bringing one of UB’s signature student venture competitions into the broader regional program. 

Five student-led teams took the stage for the finals, where LAZZCO Rocketry—a consumer and educational model rocketry company co-founded by two UB computer engineering undergraduate—took first place. The competition also introduced a new $5,000 technology award sponsored by UB Business and Entrepreneur Partnerships. The inaugural winner was EchoWell Health, an AI-guided ultrasound platform designed to help patients perform standardized breast scans at home using a wireless probe. Read more about all Panasci winners. 

The weekend turned to hands-on building with Buffalo Startup Weekend WNY48, a 48-hour sprint where teams formed on Friday night, prototyped through the weekend and demoed working concepts by Sunday with mentor support along the way.

What founders face next

The second half of Startup Week turned to the questions that shape young companies after an idea starts to take hold: how founders raise capital, build teams, use new tools, enter markets and decide what kind of growth they are pursuing.

At Seneca One, investors and ecosystem leaders opened with panels on regional investment, capital strategy, operator lessons and deep tech. The day closed with a live recording of Right to Invest, a reverse pitch podcast built around an unusual premise: Investors, not founders, make the pitch. This episode featured Kevin Siskar, CEO of Finta—a UB Cultivator graduate company and current incubator tenant at the CBLS—listening as investors made their case for the chance to co-invest.  

Mid-week sessions got into the mechanics of early-stage growth: scaling infrastructure, reading term sheets, using AI-assisted coding tools, and pitching, marketing and selling with small teams. Hate Your Deck put founder pitch decks on the big screen for live critique, while early-stage investors walked through how they evaluate companies and make decisions.

The final day returned to Seneca One for a broader look at how Buffalo is building the conditions for startup growth, from innovation districts and regional development to the networks helping companies start, stay and scale here. 

A CPG founders panel moderated by Flossie Hall of Nasdaq Business Center brought together Ree Dolnick of JECA Energy Bars and Leslie Woodward of Edenesque—both UB Cultivator companies—with Rebecca Brady of Top Seedz and Sharon Cryan of Foodnerd for a conversation on how local food brands move from early traction to larger markets.

A draft-day close 

Startup Week closed with a timely keynote from Eric Wood, former Buffalo Bills Pro Bowler and current color commentator, who shared his perspective as a startup investor as the NFL Draft got underway. Playing off the day’s theme, Wood “drafted” local companies to the Series B team, recognizing entrepreneurs building in Buffalo—including several ventures that have worked with BEP.

The week wrapped at Other Half Brewing Company Buffalo, where founders, investors and startup partners continued to carry the conversation into the rest of the year.

The network behind the week

Buffalo Startup Week was presented with support from Series B(uffalo), Ernst & Young Global Consulting Services, Newmark Ciminelli, Serendipity Labs and BootSector, with sessions hosted throughout the week by WIN partners including 43North, Launch NY, The Exchange at Beverly Gray, the UB Startup and Innovation Collaboratory, WNY48 and Buffalo Angels. 

Thank you to the sponsors, partners, panelists, founders, investors and attendees who helped make the 2026 program possible. We’ll see you next year.