BUFFALO — SparkCharge, a Syracuse University startup company, captured the $1 million grand prize in the recent 43North business competition in Buffalo. 

It was one of eight finalists of the $5 million startup contest that were announced at the Oct. 4 awards ceremony for the 5th annual competition. 

SparkCharge offers a portable electric-vehicle (EV) charging unit. The company developed the “portable, ultrafast charging unit for electric vehicles that fits in the trunk of a car and charges at level 3 speed, giving users one mile every 60 seconds,” according to Syracuse University. 

“Tonight was an incredible demonstration of the continued validation of our competition’s commitment to quality of our applicants. I’d like to congratulate our eight tremendous winners, especially SparkCharge, our grand prize winner. We welcome them to Buffalo,” Eric Reich, chair of the 43North board of directors, said in a news release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office. 

Besides the cash prizes, 43North also awarded free incubator space in Buffalo for one year, guidance from mentors, and access to other business-incentive programs to the eight startups.

In addition to SparkCharge, 43North awarded seven competing startup companies a $500,000 cash prize for their efforts. The only other New York company was LegWorks from Buffalo, a “social enterprise revolutionizing access to high quality prosthetics for amputees” per Cuomo’s news release.

The 43North competition also hosted startups from Boston, Massachusetts; San Francisco, California; Gainesville, Florida; Boulder, Colorado; Waterloo, Ontario; and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The final round of pitching was a culmination of this year’s edition of the 43North competition, an application and judging process that began in March. A total of 18 finalists were reduced to 10 companies, which advanced and pitched before seven judges that ultimately determined the 2018 43North winners.

About SparkCharge

SparkCharge “launched” from the Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University to acceleration stage as part of Techstars in Boston.

The Blackstone LaunchPad is the school’s “innovation hub — open to all faculty, staff, students, and alumni who are interested in exploring ideas, creative entrepreneurship, and venture development,” according to its website.

Founder and CEO Josh Aviv developed and launched the company as a student at Syracuse. 

The firm’s research and development operations are based at the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems (SyracuseCoE), led by CTO Christopher Ellis and lead systems engineer Richard Whitney.

Besides its win in the 43North competition, SparkCharge also captured the grand prize in the 2017 New York State Business Plan Competition.

SparkCharge has raised institutional funding and is “now rapidly scaling,” Syracuse said. The company’s latest investment round closed in spring 2018.

Supporting SparkCharge’s growth is PJC, a Boston–based venture-capital firm that focuses on consumer and enterprise technology investments.         

SENECA FALLS — Seneca-Cayuga Bancorp, Inc. (ticker symbol: SCAY), the holding company for Generations Bank, on Oct. 1 completed the merger with Medina Savings and Loan (MSL) Association, located in Orleans County in western New York.

The banking company expects the merger to increase Seneca-Cayuga’s consolidated assets to $335 million, up from $291 million as of Dec. 31, 2017.

With the merger complete, Medina’s branch offices will now operate as branch offices of Generations Bank under the name “MSL, a division of Generations Bank” for “at least two years.” Additionally, two members of Medina’s board of directors will become members of the boards of directors of Generations Bank, Seneca-Cayuga Bancorp, and the Seneca Falls Savings Bank, MHC, the mutual holding company of Generations Bank and the 56.9 percent majority shareholder of Seneca-Cayuga. 

Under the terms of the agreement, depositors of Medina will become depositors of Generations Bank and members of the MHC, and “will have the same rights and privileges in the MHC, as if their accounts had been established in Generations Bank on the date established at Medina,” the release stated. 

Seneca-Cayuga will issue shares of its common stock to the MHC in an amount equal to the fair value of Medina as determined by a third-party appraisal. The banking company expects to issue these shares “concurrent with the completion of the merger.” 

Because the transaction is structured as a merger with a mutual entity, “no purchase price is being paid in connection with the transaction,” per the release. As a result, the transaction is not expected to be dilutive from a capital or earnings perspective to Seneca-Cayuga’s stockholders while increasing its earnings base. In addition, the transaction could be expected to add to Generations’ value should it ever implement another stock offering or a second step stock conversion.

“We are pleased to announce our partnership with Medina Savings and Loan. We are very familiar with Medina, its conservative approach to banking and its deep roots in the communities it serves. We are very excited about the future of our combined company,” Menzo Case, president and CEO of Generations Bank, said.

Washington, D.C.–based Luse Gorman, PC, served as legal counsel to Generations Bank and Binghamton–based Hinman, Howard & Kattell, LLP acted as legal counsel to Medina.