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Hot Spot Profile: Patty Rechberger, Innovation Fund Manager at FuzeHub and Manager of the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund


Where did you grow up/tell me about your education and background?


I was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil. I went to school there and did a few years of engineering school, but I could see that where people landed professionally wasn’t a fit for me. I had an opportunity to come to the U.S.; I thought, what’s the worst that can happen? I took a sabbatical from school and came to Orlando, Florida. I love the United States—even if not necessarily Orlando!—there wasn’t a lot of opportunity there for someone with my science background. Eventually I had the opportunity to move to New York State, and I took the leap.

 

I moved to Glens Falls and I fell in love with upstate New York. I had grown up in a big city, but I’d already made that transition out of that kind of life after living in Florida. Eventually I went back to school, first getting my undergraduate business degree at SUNY’s Empire State College, and then my MBA in a night program for adults at University at Albany, SUNY. It’s a fantastic program and I was thrilled to participate in it. The professors were experienced but also approachable, and the class discussions were insightful. The flexibility of taking live classes after work was phenomenal. Purely online courses, as we all now understand better post-pandemic, take a lot of organization and self-drive. Plus, discussions in person tend to be more fruitful, in my opinion. So having this flexibility aligned with a quality program was just priceless.

 

 

What sparked your interest in entrepreneurship? How did you land at FuzeHub?

 

My mom had always been someone who pitched businesses. She would come up with ideas and try to launch small businesses. In Brazil, children’s birthday parties are a big business. My mom wanted us to make party decorations that people could rent for those parties. We even took a fun course together to make the decorations out of Styrofoam. We made a Cinderella carriage with horses. When I moved to Saratoga Springs, she wanted me to open a Brazilian-style café on Broadway. To be honest, I think that is a feasible idea, other than our both being terrible cooks! But that’s what sparked my passion. 

 

I was working for a general contractor while I was getting my MBA, I figured business was my thing as I was good at the accounting part. Initially my goal was to become a chief financial officer, but I eventually realized that wasn’t my passion. It’s so important to learn what you don’t want to do. I learned my heart wasn’t in finance; I wanted a career that would be more fulfilling for me. I always had penchant for social issues and working on the side of the underdog. I cast a broad net to see what opportunity I could get.

 

I interviewed for an opportunity with FuzeHub, knowing they had a program that supported small businesses and tech development. I found that exciting and interesting. I was hired to be a program coordinator with the Jeff Lawrence Innovation Fund. A few years later I became the manager. Within time I realized it was really a perfect fit for me—it’s the best job I’ve ever had and the best team I’ve ever worked with. I feel such a strong connection to my job and the economic development startup system in New York.

 


Can you tell me more about FuzeHub and what you offer?

 

FuzeHub is a nonprofit that supports small and mid-sized manufacturing companies in New York State. We have specific programs to support companies; the companies must be based in New York. We are funded at the federal level by the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which was created in the 1980s to support U.S. manufacturing. They’re the folks behind the Made in USA campaign. FuzeHub evolved into an organization with programs for manufacturing, but our bread and butter is technical matchmaking.

 

Let’s say you have a startup with an engineering challenge or a design challenge. How do they find the right resource that specializes in that issue? We create the match to get the work done and solve that challenge.

 

I manage the Jeff Lawrence Fund—we make sure they have the money to execute on that match. We have three tracks, there are different kinds of projects that we support. We support 20-25 projects annually, but typically I have over 40 open projects on any given day.

 

 

What question do you wish entrepreneurs asked?

 

Running a fund, I deploy financial support. I wish people asked themselves, “What’s the best way for me to use the money?” If they aren’t smart about how they use it, they can blow through it and there it goes. There are companies with millions that never become viable. There’s a lot to be said for business development if it’s done right. Often the person with the brilliant idea is technically savvy, but they need business acumen as well, and they might not understand how crucial that is. They might not even want to hear it! Particularly at a higher level, the deeper into the technology the person is, sometimes they don’t realize what they don’t know. You can’t be good at everything.

 


Can you share a market or customer challenge that you wish someone would apply with, perhaps unique to NY State? 

 

I’m seeing solutions for all kinds of things over past two years. Much of it is leaning towards medical solutions: therapeutics and use of less invasive treatments. For example, we had a company that developed an infrared device to stimulate part of brain of children with autism who were nonverbal. They became verbal, calmer, you saw children saying “I love you” to their parents for the first time. These are concepts with huge impact. Medical healthcare

AI is going to revolutionize the way we access healthcare and possibilities and our understanding of how our bodies work. 

 


What’s the biggest surprise you’ve experienced working with NY State entrepreneurs?

 

It’s been interesting to see how much people underestimate the value of customer discovery. Just because you are passionate about a potential product, that doesn’t mean that other people will be willing to pay for it. 

 

It was also a surprise to me how many people have developed solutions to so many problems. I love the amount of quality and ideas that come in through the door every day. It’s my favorite part of my job. And those are just the ones that I have access to. There are hundreds of new ideas being generated every day—from the mundane to medical lifesavers that can be truly life-altering products.

 

 

What do you wish NY State companies knew about FuzeHub?

 

First, I wish that they knew we are here! We are free, there’s no catch, no “gotcha.” There’s no cost in reaching out to see if we can help. Your success is our success. The more companies we help and succeed the more we succeed as well. Just reach out and let’s have a meeting, I can share what resources we have and how we can help. Most companies that come to us are startups. Most folks coming to us might be an inventor in the basement—they have a day job, they are not connected to the New York ecosystem, they are just starting to figure it out.

 

The other reason folks might not know about us or think about us is that when people hear manufacturing, they picture a factory, but manufacturing can be clean tech, it’s beer, it’s food. Sometimes people have an idea, but they do their manufacturing through an outside, contracted partner, so they don’t think of themselves as in manufacturing. But if they own the IP, it still fits our criteria. If you’re not sure if you’re a manufacturer, reach out! 

 


What do you think is the Hot Spot’s best asset?

 

There’s such a strong network of resources and supportive, knowledgeable people. I am working with the team at CUNY; we are constantly connecting and networking. Arber Ruci and Ariella Trotsenko have given us so much support. They give commercialization finalists feedback, which helps to improve pitches at the New York State Innovation Summit. And I am always referring people to I-Corps. We are always making introductions both ways.  

 


What advice would you give to entrepreneurs?

The best advice I can give is to take your time with customer discovery and understand the difference between the end user and who pays for it, as it’s not always the same entity or person. Sometimes, business plans we see don’t appreciate this.

 

People always come to me asking for sources of funding. I send them to sister competitions—NYSTAR funds seven business competitions in NYS, the New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC—for college students), ours (FuzeHub Commercialization Competition, for manufacturing and technology startups), Grow-NY (for food and agriculture-related businesses), Genius NY (for uncrewed aerial systems, robotics and IoT), NextCorps Luminate (optics, photonics, and imaging-enabled technology companies) , Griffiss Institute HUSTLE (AI/ML, cybersecurity, quantum, and uncrewed aircraft systems) , and 43North (high-growth startups). I also recommend resources for newsletters that are a source of funding, and staying up to date on those, as well as sites that let them know about grant application opportunities. These include:  https://nybpc.org/

 


Can you share a recent accomplishment?

 

I’m always trying to improve our program. I tweak the application process with every round to improve it. This year, we switched from written application to video, and we had overwhelmingly positive feedback. We also started to announce awardees on video, and we got great, positive feedback on that as well.

 


What are you reading (or hoping to read soon)?

 

I have a four-year-old son, and I’m reading a book of parenting advice called The Danish Way of Parenting. I highly recommend it! I recently finished reading The Shock Doctrine. It’s nonfiction and very political. It was a fantastic but hard read. 

 


What do you do to relax?

I like to crochet. I’ve been making hats, at family and friends’ requests. I’ve made many mats, and some pillows and decorations. I have a multitude of works in progress. I have a big backyard and love to hang out, have bonfires, and host. I love having people over all the time; it’s very Brazilian. I also love to travel with my family all over the Northeast.

 

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