Grow Your Business
Accelerate your Start Up Company in Buffalo Niagara
Increase in Startup Funding Accessibility
Streamlined funding processes and expert guidance have led to a significant 75% increase in startup funding accessibility in Buffalo Niagara, empowering entrepreneurs to secure the capital they need to fuel growth and innovation.
Expanded Coworking Spaces
With a 50% rise in amenity-rich coworking spaces, startups in Buffalo Niagara now have access to tailored workspace solutions that cater to their evolving needs, fostering creativity, collaboration, and productivity.
Enhanced Collaboration
Thanks to the collaborative ecosystem in Buffalo Niagara, startup success rates have seen a remarkable 60% boost. By fostering a culture of collaboration and providing tailored support services, the region has become a hotspot for entrepreneurial growth and innovation.
FIND START UP FUNDING FOR YOUR FUTURE
Live your Best Startup Life in Buffalo Niagara, an Entrepreneur’s Dream Culture
Empowering Success
Startup Dreams Take Flight
Toolkit
Our resources and services make it easier than ever to start a business here.
Invest Buffalo Niagara serves as a single point of entry for economic development inquiries and offers a comprehensive suite of client-driven project management services to companies and consultants evaluating the market area.
Startup Podcasts
You’re in good company and surrounded by strong startup resources. Hear from leaders in the startup ecosystem. We can make introductions.
Demographic Analysis
Explore our Buffalo Niagara demographics dashboard plus our Manufacturing and Technology specific data. We can also provide custom data.
Well-education Workforce
Buffalo Niagara benefits from 19 colleges and universities graduating 20,000+ annually. Discover your sources of talent.
Site Selection
Generate property data reports, and search commercial real estate listings. Our team can run a custom search for you and schedule tours.
Incentives
On top of the already low cost of doing business in Buffalo Niagara, the region offers qualifying businesses growing in WNY a number of incentive opportunities. We help companies through the application process.
Service Providers
Our region boasts a robust transportation infrastructure and benefits from strong utility partners who we are happy to introduce you to.
Startup Funding
You have the next big idea, but do you have the financial resources to make it happen? Our region works hard to connect entrepreneurs with the startup funding needed to bring their concept to fruition. The Buffalo Niagara entrepreneurial ecosystem has found a perfect balance between local funding resources and attracting outside venture capital. Plus, the region’s affordability – both for businesses and employees – helps to lengthen your runway. Here are some local startup funding resources:
Incubators & Accelerators
In Buffalo Niagara, these organizations vary in size and specialties, catering to the needs of diverse startups. Many have affiliations with local colleges and universities, offering access to research partnerships, funding opportunities, and campus resources. Some are even designated as START-UP NY spaces, providing a 100% tax-free incentive for a decade.
Coworking Spaces
Coworking spaces offer diverse amenities tailored to your needs including plug-and-play options for flexible office spaces, reliable WiFi, vibrant atmospheres, and ample coffee. Buffalo Niagara knows the importance of amenity-rich and community building spaces – and we have plenty of options.
Success Breeds Success
ACV Auctions became Buffalo’s first software unicorn, with a valuation over $1 billion, more than 1,000 employees, and a successful IPO on the NASDAQ in 2021. Another local tech company – Tackle.io, closed a $100 million Series C round of venture capital funding, bringing the company’s valuation to $1.25 billion as Buffalo’s second unicorn. 32 local startups raised private, growth-oriented capital in 2021.
Hear from Sallie Reid & Greg Borowski of ACV Auctions in a brief video. We discuss their growth and success, what advantages Buffalo offers them, and the WNY talent pool.
Resource Guide
Your success is our success, we don’t stop until you win!
From bustling retail hubs to cutting-edge tech centers, experience unprecedented growth unlike anything seen in over 50 years. Our comprehensive guide provides essential insights including transportation access, demographics, workforce trends, real estate comparisons, industry-specific data, and beyond. Dive into the excitement and uncover a world of opportunity in Buffalo Niagara.
HOW WE HELP
We've made it simple and painless to grow your business in Buffalo Niagara.
The team of professional economic development consultants at Invest Buffalo Niagara provides free and confidential services to companies considering the Buffalo Niagara region.
Book a Discovery Call
Determine if your company is right for Buffalo Niagara.
Let us Manage your Start up Expansion Project
From research to ribbon cutting -- we’ve got you covered.
Find Success in Buffalo Niagara
Our services don’t end there. Upon expansion or relocation, we are here to provide connections to hiring agencies, media contacts, and more to help ensure your success.
Wins & Success Stories
See Buffalo Niagara Success Stories
Success Story
John Bead
Founded in 1953, John Bead is now under direction by its third-generation owner. Headquartered in Toronto, the company assembles specialty bead and craft kits sold wholesale to large retailers, DIY jewelry makers via a retail outlet, and everyone in between. The company had long considered a U.S. expansion to capture further market growth and avoid logistic delays. John Bead’s leadership team wanted a U.S. location in close proximity to its Toronto headquarters, as well as a strong workforce that would allow its family-oriented values to permeate through the new operation.
Incentives: Empire State Development Excelsior Jobs Tax Credits
Success Story
New Flyer
New Flyer is the largest manufacturer of heavy-duty transit buses in North America with 3,800 employees and thirteen facilities across the U.S. and Canada. As part of the capital plan to upgrade public transportation in the New York City area, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) awarded New Flyer a contract to refresh the entire system’s bus fleet. The contract required a portion of the final product be manufactured in New York State.
Instead of contracting the work, New Flyer decided to establish a manufacturing facility in the State to build transmission and axle sub-assemblies. These high-value parts would then be shipped to St. Cloud, MN for final assembly. To minimize costs associated with shipping parts to the Midwest, the New Flyer facilities team wanted an assembly plant as far west in NYS as possible. By locating in the most southwestern area of the state, the company determined it can save at least $250 per truckload in shipping costs to Minnesota.
Success Story
AML RightSource
AML RightSource is the nation’s leading firm solely focused on Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) and financial crimes compliance solutions. The company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, currently has more than 1900 employees around the globe, with a growing presence in the Buffalo area. The company’s rapid growth across the globe and specifically in the U.S. northeast created the need for expansion. AML’s CEO Frank Ewing is a University at Buffalo law school graduate, entering Buffalo Niagara into the location search.
Expansion Project:Â 75 jobs |Â $3M investment
Incentives: Excelsior Jobs Program
Success Story
SWS Warning Lights Inc.
SWS Warning Lights Inc. (SWS) is a Canadian-based advanced manufacturing company that assembles safety warning lights for the construction industry. Their product is often found on snow plows, construction vehicles, and road construction signage. As SWS grew, they saw significant opportunities in the U.S. market, especially since their raw materials were being sourced from the U.S. An expansion to the U.S. would also help the company penetrate the larger U.S. market, establish a Made in the USA product, and reduce overall operating costs.
Success Story
Prompt Logistics / Bronco Distribution
Prompt Logistics is a Canadian-headquartered family logistics business with additional operations in New Jersey, focused on freight brokerage and logistics services. The company employs between 15 and 20 employees between those locations. In 2017 Prompt Logistics began to explore the opportunity to establish a third-party warehouse operation in the U.S. in addition to its New Jersey operations. Buffalo Niagara was very appealing for this operation because of its location near the U.S.-Canadian border, as this third-party warehouse would ideally offer brokerage services as well.
Success Story
Sparq
Sparq (formally Rural Sourcing) provides outsourced software development services to build, deploy and optimize critical online applications. The company operates eight sites through the United States and was seeking additional market expansion to fulfill current business obligations and capture additional market growth opportunities. The company was interested in investigating a potential region’s IT ecosystem, workforce and higher education, operating costs, and quality of life benefits.
Blog
Top stories & updates in the Buffalo Niagara region
Four Things I’ve Learned Since Starting my Career in Buffalo
InBN Insights with Tom Kucharski, Celebrating 25 Years
WNY’s Dairy Heritage: Stronger Than Ever
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3 Reasons Food Processors Thrive in Buffalo Niagara
The Robots are Coming!: Buffalo Featured in Top Publication
Prioritizing Company Needs for Business Growth in Buffalo Niagara
Businesses in Buffalo Niagara Benefit from a Thriving Can-Am Partnership
Canadian Citizens Engaging in Business Activities in the U.S.
Upstate New York Receives Tech Hub Designation, Funding
Get started and discover why Buffalo Niagara is the right choice.