ACV to Receive 2021 Deal of the Year Award
Jack Greco Recognized with David Ahlers Master Ecosystem Builder Award
October 5, 2021–For Immediate Release
Upstate Venture Connect (UVC) announced that Buffalo based ACV will receive the 2021 Upstate Venture Ecosystem Deal of the Year Award. The 2021 David Ahlers Master Ecosystem Builder Award will go to Jack Greco for his long-standing efforts to connect and grow the Upstate NY startup ecosystem. The 2021 Upstate Ecosystem Awards will be presented on October 7 at the Unleashed Founders Retreat in Cooperstown NY.
The Deal of the Year Award celebrates a company whose exit created wealth for investors, founders and employees, as well as making the company a stronger contributor to the Upstate NY economy. “ACV’s success is the perfect example of how an ecosystem can support the rise of a new generation of companies that can regrow the regional economy,” said UVC founder Martin Babinec.
The 2021 David Ahlers Master Ecosystem Builder Award will go to Jack Greco for his long-standing efforts to connect and grow Upstate NY’s startup ecosystem. “Jack is always ready to help entrepreneurs with connections, advice and funding. He exemplifies the pay it forward mindset that Dave Ahlers practiced all his career,” commented UVC co-founder and CEO Nasir Ali.
More about the 2021 Winners
ACV’s spring IPO put the symbol ACVA on the NASDAQ board and placed Buffalo’s emerging tech ecosystem on the national map. The company was born when three people (Joe Nieman, Dan Magnuszewski, and Jack Greco) coalesced around a big idea. Jack and Dan
were active drivers of the startup ecosystem in Rochester and Buffalo and they won early support from more experienced founders and Upstate investors like George Chamoun, LaunchNY, Z80 Labs and Armory Square Ventures. ACV’s blitzscaling strategy resulted in a seven year journey that raised $351 Million in equity funding, built a national staff of approximately 1,700 and, in its latest quarterly earnings call, reported transacting $2.1B of GMV and over 150,000 vehicles on its digital marketplace. Spurred by the company’s success, WNY has seen a number of funding rounds that are bringing in both capital from Tier 1 VCs and increasing activity from local angel investors. So far this year, more than twenty Buffalo area startups have announced funding rounds, the highest number of any Upstate metro. UVC interviewed Dan and CEO George Chamoun in 2019 for the Upstate Founders Playbook.
Jack Greco is a native of Canandaigua, NY and a University of Rochester alumnus. Early in his career, Jack was an Associate at Trillium Group, a VC fund in Rochester. While at Trillium, Jack began connecting founders and investors across the I-90 thruway. He co-founded ACV Auctions, moved to Buffalo, became a driver for Western New York’s Startup Community through the Buffalo Open Coffee Club. After ACV, Jack joined Techstars as Executive Director of Ecosystem Development and became Buffalo’s first Super Angel with over 100 investments in early stage companies across Upstate, Canada and the US. Jack is a worthy recipient of this award because he always seeks to give first and derives true pleasure from assisting under-represented founders and under-invested communities. Jack is active on multiple non-profit boards and earlier this year joined the board of Upstate Venture Connect. He also writes the Buffalo Bridge weekly newsletter.
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About Upstate Venture Connect
Upstate Venture Connect (UVC) is a 501c3 public nonprofit creating an entrepreneur-led startup ecosystem for Upstate NY. Our mission is to empower and connect Upstate NY entrepreneurs to the people and resources needed for building high-growth companies. To these ends, UVC hosts the Upstate Ecosystem Awards that celebrate the region’s founders and entrepreneurial community leaders. UVC also hosts a region-wide events calendar and a communications platform that reaches over 16,000 founders and startup supporters. The UNY50 Leadership Network is another signature resource. Membership is invitation-only for individuals who have experienced the startup world roller coaster, and who are committed to paying it forward. Learn more at UVC.org.
Contact
Nasir Ali, CEO
nasir@uvc.org
