WCA Launches "Accelerate Westchester" Networking Group for Entrepreneurs, Startups

Accelerate Westchester to provide entrepreneurs with events and opportunities to learn, connect, share, and take part in Westchester’s entrepreneurial ecosystem

At a press conference Friday announcing the addition of six new early-stage companies to its BLUEPRINT Accelerator Network, the WCA’S BLUEPRINT for Westchester also announced the formation of a new networking group for its BLUEPRINT Accelerator companies, startups, and entrepreneurs who want to meet like-minded innovators. “Accelerate Westchester: Meetup. Startup.,”  will offer opportunities to share tips, address startup challenges, and attend forums where entrepreneurs can bounce ideas off industry experts.

Accelerate Westchester also builds upon the WCA’s long history of serving as an advocate for the business community, said Marissa Brett, executive director of the BLUEPRINT for Westchester, the WCA’s aggressive economic development initiative, driven entirely by the private sector.

“Westchester’s growing entrepreneurial economy has the potential to change our local economy, but they need support,” Brett said. “Today’s entrepreneurs must be equipped with knowledge, skills, and networking to succeed and scale their businesses—and the WCA wants to help provide those opportunities,” she added. “Ultimately, our goal is economic development and job creation. The BLUEPRINT Accelerator Network and Accelerate Westchester help businesses begin and remain in Westchester as they grow.”

The first event for Accelerate Westchester: Meetup. Startup. is scheduled for Wednesday, April 2, 2014, at 5:30 p.m., in the Executive Dining Room at 1133 Westchester Avenue in White Plains. Slated to speak is David Crane, CEO of Mobile Health One, a new member of the BLUEPRINT Accelerator Network, who will give a short talk titled “On My Sixth Startup: Confessions of a Serial Entrepreneur.” WCA representatives will be on hand to share information on the Accelerator program’s resources to help companies grow. Registration for the event is $15 and available at www.westchester.org.