Skip to main content
Clarkson University Logo
  • Visit
  • Apply
  • Request Info
  • Give
  • Alumni
  • Parents
  • Intranet
  • About
    • President's Page
    • Board of Trustees
    • Administration
    • History & Facts
    • Accreditation
    • Accolades
    • The Clarkson Brand
    • Maps & Directions
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate Programs
    • Graduate Programs
    • Continuing & Professional Education
    • School of Arts & Sciences
    • Lewis School of Health Sciences
    • Reh School of Business
    • Coulter School of Engineering
    • Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries
    • Institute for a Sustainable Environment
    • Institute for STEM Education
    • Academic Affairs
    • Student Achievement Services
    • Academic Calendar
  • Admissions
    • First-Year Admissions, Undergraduate
    • Transfer Admissions, Undergraduate
    • International Admissions, Undergraduate
    • Early College Program: The Clarkson School
    • Graduate School Admissions
    • Financial Aid
    • Apply Now
  • Campus Life
    • Office of Student Life
    • Student Clubs & Activities
    • Living on Campus
    • Campus Dining
    • Clarkson Ignite
    • Career & International Experiences
    • Explore the Region
    • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
    • Student Health & Counseling
    • ROTC
    • Office of the Dean of Students
  • Research
  • Athletics
  • News
  • Search

CU • News & Events

Clarkson University launches free program to provide resources and connections to new and early-stage businesses

Release Date
Tuesday December 6, 2022

Grant to Support Entrepreneurs in Upstate NY

Upstate Founders

Clarkson University’s Shipley Center for Innovation is now accepting applications for its Upstate Founders program launching in January 2023. This new program will create a massive support network for 400 entrepreneurs across Upstate New York. Participants will be connected to new educational resources, partner organizations, and other entrepreneurs.

A unique value of Upstate Founders is how it brings entrepreneurs together through participation in exclusive mastermind sessions. Masterminds are private behind-the-scenes groups in which participants are matched with other entrepreneurs to meet and support each other. These masterminds will give them access to groups of founders, like them, with whom they'll work together on accountability, problem-solving, and growth.

Participants will also have access to the exciting new Clarkson Entrepreneurship Training (CET) program, offered by Clarkson’s Shipley Center. The program includes access to nine microcredential courses that are designed to be completed at-your-own-pace, with many short videos and exercises, and no exams to take. Topics include marketing, accounting, taxes, business planning and more! All who complete these courses will get a Professional Certificate of Completion at the end of the program.

Additionally, Upstate Founder’s has partnered with over 30 organizations from throughout New York State to give participants access to additional resources like funding, mentoring, and so much more. Entrepreneurs who are already working with other incubator, accelerator, or mentorship programs are encouraged to join Upstate Founders at the same time as it will offer complementary benefits.

The program kicks off in January and will take place virtually for nine months, at the end of which all participants and partners will be invited to meet in-person for a graduation and celebration event in the fall of 2023.

All entrepreneurs in business for up to 3 years, including those who are still working on their idea, are invited to apply. The program is open to all business types or industries (except cannabis), from local small businesses to high-growth tech startups. The goal of the program is to support and connect as many people as possible across Upstate NY who are interested in starting or growing their own business.

Upstate Founders and the Clarkson Entrepreneurship Training courses are fully funded through a grant from Empire State Development with no cost to participants (a value of $7,500). This is a one-time offer as a post-COVID effort to support our economy.

Participants can register and learn more at www.upstatefounders.com.

The Shipley Center for Innovation at Clarkson University helps entrepreneurs turn their inventions into businesses. As an important entrepreneurial support hub in the startup ecosystem across New York State's North Country region, the Shipley Center helps founders commercialize new ideas and launch new ventures to address global challenges and opportunities.

As a private, national research university, Clarkson is a leader in technological education and sustainable economic development through teaching, scholarship, research and innovation. We ignite personal connections across academic fields and industries to create the entrepreneurial mindset, knowledge and intellectual curiosity needed to innovate world-relevant solutions and cultivate the leaders of tomorrow. With its main campus located in Potsdam, N.Y., and additional graduate program and research facilities in the New York Capital Region, Beacon, N.Y., and New York City, Clarkson educates 4,600+ students across 95 rigorous programs of study in engineering, business, the arts, education, sciences and health professions. Our alumni earn salaries that are among the top 2.5% in the nation and realize accelerated career growth. One in five already leads as a CEO, senior executive or owner of a company. To learn more about Clarkson University, go to www.clarkson.edu.


Photograph for media use is available at:
/sites/default/files/media/image/2022-12/upstate-founders.jpg

Photograph Size:
Width: 2048px
Height: 1365px

News directors and editors: For more information, contact Melissa Lindell, Director of Media Relations, at 315-268-6716 or mlindell@clarkson.edu.

Schools at Clarkson

  • Graduate School
  • School of Arts & Sciences
  • David D. Reh School of Business
  • Wallace H. Coulter School of Engineering
  • Earl R. and Barbara D. Lewis School of Health Sciences
  • Institute for a Sustainable Environment
  • Early College Program: The Clarkson School
  • Institute for STEM Education
  • Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries

Highlights of Excellence

  • Career Center
  • Honors Program
  • ROTC
  • Student Projects for Engineering Experience and Design (SPEED)
  • Student Success Center
  • Writing Center

Research & Innovation

  • Clarkson Center for Complex Systems Science (C3S2)
  • The Center for Advanced Materials Processing (CAMP)
  • Center for Air and Aquatic Resources Engineering & Science (CAARES)
  • Center for Identification Technology Research (CITeR)
  • The Center for Rehabilitation Engineering, Science & Technology (CREST)
  • NYS Center of Excellence in Healthy Water Solutions
  • The Shipley Center for Innovation
  • Clarkson Ignite
  • University Libraries

Clarkson University

8 Clarkson Ave., Potsdam, New York 13699 315-268-6400
80 Nott Terrace, Schenectady, NY 12308 518-631-9831
199 Dennings Ave., Beacon, New York 12508 845-838-1600
Take a Virtual Tour

Organizational Chart
© 2023 by Clarkson University | Web Accessibility Assistance

  • Human Resources • Giving • Bookstore
  • CARES Act Reports & Consumer Information Disclosures (HEOA)
  • Act on Legal & Moral Concerns