Eligibility
The Grow-NY competition is for startups with growth potential in food and agriculture.
To be eligible, an applicant must be an established business entity in the food and agriculture space that meets New York State’s criteria for being “in the formative stage”, which is two or more of the following criteria:
- Less than seven years from date of formal organization
- Has its first product or service in testing or pilot production
- Pre-revenue or early revenue
- Has a leadership team and investors working toward commercialization and profitability
If the business is a spin-off from an existing business that does not meet the above criteria, the new entity must be pursuing a substantially new technology or business model.
The “food and agriculture space” includes food and agriculture companies at every point in the agri-food value chain that are working to serve a growing population, while striving to employ sustainable, environmentally conscious, and/or healthy methods. Examples of food and agriculture startups include, but are not limited to, companies that:
- Research and design new crop varieties
- Offer new methods and/or tools to support the efficient growing, monitoring, and harvesting of crops and livestock
- Offer new and/or improved methods for producing, preparing, and packaging food and beverage products or ingredients
- Represent high-growth opportunities for new and innovative food and beverage products or ingredients
The following businesses are NOT eligible for the competition: investment vehicles that invest in the securities of other entities, residential real property and retail businesses, sports venues, gaming and gambling businesses, places of overnight accommodation, past Grow-NY cash-prize winners, or entertainment-related establishments. For this purpose, “retail business” means a business that is primarily engaged in making retail sales of goods or services to customers who personally visit such facilities to obtain goods or services. In addition, generally excluded are the following: buy-outs, roll-ups, real estate syndications, tax shelters and franchise-based outlets.
