Startup Grant Opportunity

Stretch Your Runway. Sharpen Your Focus.

A growth service for early-stage startups in Upstate New York

Helping Upstate Startups Find Product-Market Fit—Before the Runway Ends

Startups don’t fail because founders stop working—they fail because they run out of money before they find traction.

If you’re building in Upstate NY, this service is here to help you move faster, spend smarter, and dramatically improve your odds of reaching product-market fit.

What This Service Includes

In just 2 weeks, you’ll get a clear, founder-focused action plan:

  • 🧭 Runway Efficiency Audit
    A full review of how your team spends time, money, and energy—with a focus on ROI.

  • 🧪 Product-Market Fit Acceleration Plan
    Tactical guidance on how to run lean experiments, test faster, and validate more effectively.

  • 🛠️ Team & Process Tune-Up
    Spot opportunities to simplify, unblock, and align your team’s efforts.

  • 💬 1:1 Founder Advisory
    Work directly with experts who’ve helped startups scale from seed to Series B and beyond.

💸 Cost: $0
This is a limited, no-cost pilot for Upstate NY startups.
We’re offering this service pro bono to test the model and better support the local startup ecosystem.

Built for Startups in Upstate NY

Whether you’re in Rochester, Buffalo, Syracuse, Albany—or growing out of a local accelerator—we’re here to help Upstate startups make it.

Ideal for:

  • ✅ Pre-seed to Series A stage
  • ✅ Founders pushing toward product-market fit
  • ✅ Startups with a working product or prototype
  • ✅ Teams that want to make their funding last without slowing down

Bonus: If you’re connected to a local incubator, accelerator, or university program, just let us know—we’re happy to coordinate with your advisors.

Why Trust Us?

This program is led by Kevin Sivic and John Leone, seasoned technology leaders, startup founders and advisors:

John has:

  • Led go-to-market for disruptive startups, including ACV Auctions, AireXpert, and HeadsUp.
  • Founded a successful e-commerce business recognized by major media outlets and as an official partner of New York Fashion Week (NYFW), (featured in Health.com, Glamour.com, MarieClaire.com, and Cosmopolitan.com).
  • Provided consulting and coaching in agile, flow, behavioral change, metrics, kanban, and technical practices across verticals like fintech and hospitality.
  • Helped clients balance speed, effectiveness, and predictability to grow with confidence.

🔗 Learn more about John at linkedin.com/in/jaleone

Kevin Has:

  • Helped startups and Fortune 50 companies alike drive agility, focus, and innovation
  • Led coaching and transformation work across tech, product, and operations
  • Delivered millions in accelerated revenue outcomes through better process design
  • Advised early-stage founders on aligning execution with funding realities

Kevin has served as a Director of Engineering, Agile Coach, and hands-on technologist. He brings decades of practical experience to help startups build smarter, move faster, and extend their runway.

🔗 Learn more about Kevin at jemsoftware.co

🕒 Limited Slots Available This Quarter

🟢 Apply Now — Let’s Talk About Your Runway to be considered for the next round—no cost, no strings attached.