Golisano Institute partners with GrowthX to teach higher level entrepreneurship skills

Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship kicked off its partnership with GrowthX earlier this month and welcomed the first cohort of The Revenue Accelerator.

The partnership brings sales coaching for regional tech startups and practical go-to-market knowledge, skills and job networking for Golisano Institute students, according to its collaborators.

Ian Mortimer, president of the Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship said, “This partnership brings real-world entrepreneurship activity into our beautiful campus center.”

“We teach business skills, and then we practice business skills. Partnering with GrowthX elevates the practice stage to levels that generate high levels of economic value.”

He added that bringing the businesses in will allow students to get involved and think about real-life sales challenges and strategies.

The 16-week B2B startup sales program has seen nationwide success, assisting nearly 250 businesses across 60 cities.

Through a competitive application process, 15 businesses from Western New York were selected to participate in this cycle, including SelectFi, Stepwise, Kredit Academy, Rees, Verivend, 3AM and Kickfurther.

During the program, participating companies have full access to Golisano’s campus center, including the soon-to-be-launched Innovation Hub, which integrates business and AI (Artificial Intelligence).

Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship students will benefit from the partnership by experiencing the challenges of commercializing innovation first-hand, participating in The Revenue Accelerator workshops and skills training to launch their own companies or help founders and corporate innovation teams take their products to market, leaders there said.

The long-term plan is for students to participate in The Revenue Accelerator with their own companies and develop a broader-reaching go-to-market licensure program through the Golisano Institute.

Tom Golisano, the school’s founder, recently spoke of the benefits of working with The Revenue Accelerator.

“The investment climate has changed significantly since the pandemic; the free-flow of capital to early-stage companies has, for the most part, been replaced by a more evidence-based need for revenue and sales to make a firm investable,” he said. “The Revenue Accelerator at the Golisano Institute will be unique nationally and should grow the venture capital input in Western New York.”

Rodney Reisdorf, CEO and co-founder of Buffalo-based Verivend, said he is excited about participating in the program, noting that the company, which offers a software platform that changes the way private capital is raised and deployed, has seen traction and leaders there want to find ways to amplify that.

“We’re looking at ways we can continue to accelerate our growth, which is why we’re participating in the GrowthX and Golisano Institute partnership,” he said.

The Golisano Business Institute — which was announced in November of 2022 and welcomed its first class in the fall of 2023 — is a not-for-profit two-year certificate program comprised exclusively of business-related subject matter aimed at reducing the time and cost of a traditional business school education.

Golisano said his desire to start such an institute was driven by the high cost of traditional avenues of education.

He fully funded and endowed the establishment of the institute, where tuition for the two-year certificate program is $8,900 per year, payable in two installments of $4,450. Tuition assistance and scholarships are available for eligible students.

The institute is now accepting applications for September. An open house is scheduled for July 30.

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