NextCorps

10/13/2026

Raising capital looks different for every company. Join us during Roc Startup Week for a conversation on the potential paths founders can take, from venture capital and angel investment to grants, bootstrapping, and crowdfunding.

Our panelists:
🔸 David Brown, Impellent Ventures
🔸 Zachary Helft, InteliSpark
🔸 Matt Foley, NextCorps
🔸 James Senall, Rochester Angel Network
🔸 Sharon Samjitsingh, Health Care Originals, Inc.

📅 November 6 | 3:30–6:00 PM
📍 NextCorps
🍻 Stick around for happy hour with the Rochester startup community!

Space is limited. Register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/five-ways-to-raise-capital-for-your-startup-tickets-2002158475898/

Check out the full Roc Startup Week lineup: https://rocstartupweek.com/

10/07/2026

What if you could scale your team without adding headcount? AI agents can do more than answer one-off questions. They can take on recurring work, support marketing efforts, and even tackle technical tasks.

Join JJ Englert, community builder at Tenex, for a free lunch & learn on how to build AI agents around the work you already do. Using Claude Cowork as the primary example, JJ will demonstrate how to create role-based agents and apply the same concepts across tools like Claude, Claude Code, and ChatGPT.

No prior experience with AI agents or paid AI tools is required.

Lunch is on us! Space is limited, so register by 10:00 AM on Monday, October 19: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/scaling-your-team-of-one-with-ai-tickets-1999281183840

09/22/2026

Your calendar called. It wants a drink. 🍻

Startup Drinks is this Thursday, September 24, and you still have time to join us for an evening of good conversation and new connections with Rochester’s startup community. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/startup-drinks-at-nextcorps-september-2026-registration-1995156989263

09/18/2026

The countdown is on! Luminate Finals 2026 is just around the corner. 👀
Get your tickets below for in-person or online!

Less than three weeks until Luminate Finals 2026!🥳

Be there as the deep-tech startups of Luminate cohort 9 take the stage for their shot at up to $1 million in follow-on funding. Meet the teams, see the breakthroughs, vote for your favorite to help them win $10K, and feel the pulse of progress in downtown Rochester.

🎟️ Join us in person or online on September 30: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/luminate-finals-2026-tickets-1996117570387?aff=social

09/17/2026

Not sure if you should apply to NextCorps’ Manufacturing Accelerator? Join the September 23 info session with leaders from the accelerator to learn about the free virtual program and if it’s right for you.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/manufacturing-accelerator-informational-session-fall-2026-tickets-1995986050006?aff=socials

🗓️Applications are due September 30: https://manufacturingaccelerator.org/?utm_source=nextcorps&utm_medium=socials&utm_campaign=Fall2026Cohort

09/14/2026

There’s an opportunity to build stronger connections between Upstate innovation and New York’s life sciences ecosystem.

At a recent NextCorps lunch & learn, Jancy Nightingale-Burch of NewYorkBIO shared how founders and researchers can access statewide resources, connections, and expertise to help move their work from research toward commercialization.

Our latest recap explores what that could mean for Rochester and the broader Upstate region. Read the blog: https://nextcorps.org/upstate-innovation-has-a-larger-role-to-play-in-new-yorks-life-sciences-future/

09/10/2026

AI can help you build faster. Open-source can help you build smarter. But do you know what you’re actually allowed to use?

Join NextCorps for a free lunch & learn on software licensing, copyright, and compliance considerations for founders and product teams, especially as AI-generated and third-party code becomes a more ubiquitous part of the development process.

Steven L. Smith, CEO and co-founder of Perdix Software, will break down the basics, common pitfalls, and how to better track and evaluate the code your team is using.

Come for lunch, stay for the licensing knowledge. Registration closes at 10:00 AM on Tuesday, September 15: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/steal-this-code-what-entrepreneurs-need-to-know-about-software-licenses-tickets-1992655957610

09/09/2026

Social media was meant to make sharing your life with friends feel easy. Rolla is bringing that feeling back.

The NextCorps incubator startup is creating a more authentic way to document the places you go, the photos you take, and the moments you want to remember.

“We wanted the app to feel fresh, a break from the clutter that social media has become,” said Brian Smith, CEO and co-founder of Rolla.

From an idea with no code to an app now live on the App Store, Rolla has come a long way. Get to know the team and the story behind the startup in our latest spotlight: https://nextcorps.org/inside-the-incubator-spotlight-on-rolla/

09/02/2026

🏭 What does manufacturing support look like across New York State?

The latest New York Makes publication highlights how the NY MEP network is helping small and mid-sized manufacturers innovate, strengthen their workforce, adopt new technologies, and scale.

As the Finger Lakes NY MEP Center, NextCorps is proud to be part of that statewide effort, connecting manufacturers and entrepreneurs with resources that support technology commercialization and business growth. Since 2018, our work with local manufacturers has contributed to $593 million in new and retained sales and facilitated the creation or retention of more than 7,000 jobs—yielding $1.2 billion in economic impact.

Explore the report to see the impact of NY MEP centers across the state:https://newyorkmep.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/NYMEP-2025Pub-Digital.pdf

FuzeHub

09/01/2026

Open-source software and AI coding tools can help teams move faster, but they also come with licensing and compliance risks that are easy to overlook.

Join Steven Smith, CEO and co-founder of Perdix Software, for a free lunch & learn covering the basics of software licensing, copyright, and open-source compliance. Learn how to evaluate third-party licenses, track code usage with SBOMs, identify common licensing risks, and navigate AI-generated code.

Lunch is on us! Space is limited, so register by 10:00 AM on Tuesday, September 15: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/steal-this-code-what-entrepreneurs-need-to-know-about-software-licenses-tickets-1992655957610