{"id":379474,"date":"2026-10-22T08:40:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/379474\/"},"modified":"2026-10-22T08:40:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-22T08:40:22","slug":"qtic-helps-local-entrepreneurs-launch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/379474\/","title":{"rendered":"QTIC Helps Local Entrepreneurs Launch"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you want to learn more about AI, branding, and financing? Would you like to meet other entrepreneurs? Are you looking for $20,000 to grow your Queens business or get a new one off the ground?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0The Queens Tech + Innovation Challenge 2027 (QTIC), a six-month instruction-and-funding competition, launches during a special kickoff event at The Local at 13-02 44th Ave. in Long Island City on Tuesday, Oct. 27, from 6 pm to 8:30 pm.\u00a0Admission is free, and attendees will learn that QTIC participants take courses on such topics as agentic AI, AI-assisted Go-to-Market Strategy, and Financial Planning while also receiving one-on-one consultations with experts. In late February 2027, participants will\u00a0submit\u00a0their online applications in one of four categories \u2014 Digital Innovation, Food + Consumer Products, Community, and Sustainability + Social Good \u2014 to a panel of experts, who choose several finalists in each category. Then in April, those finalists will make live pitches to a second panel as they compete for four grants of as much as $20,000 each.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0Register at www.queensstartup.org. Entrants must be 18 or older and be a U.S. citizen or legal resident. Businesses must be legally registered, tax-compliant, and\u00a0operating\u00a0with up-to-date licenses and permits. (Please direct questions to Michael Gillen at\u00a0mgillen@queensny.org.)\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of the longest-running startup competitions in New York City, QTIC began as the\u00a0StartUP! program in 2006.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0hosted by the Queen Economic Development Corporation in collaboration with Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.\u2019s Office and with leadership support from Resorts World New York City.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m extremely happy to kick off this year\u2019s QTIC,\u201d\u00a0stated QEDC Executive Director Ben Guttmann.\u00a0\u201cComing\u00a0off of\u00a0our biggest competition yet,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0exciting to welcome a new class of entrepreneurs into this long-running program.\u00a0It\u2019s thrilling to see all the innovative energy that these Queens entrepreneurs bring\u00a0each and every\u00a0year.\u00a0Thanks so much to Queens Borough President Donovan Richards Jr. and Resorts World New York City for their dedicated, long-term support.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no sector of our economy that is growing faster than\u00a0the technology\u00a0and innovation space, creating countless jobs in the process. Every year, we aim to harness that growth and the entrepreneurial spirit here in our borough with our Queens Tech + Innovation Challenge, in partnership with the Queens Economic Development Corporation,\u201d\u00a0stated\u00a0Borough President Donovan Richards Jr.\u00a0\u201cI look forward to hearing so many incredible pitches from startup founders across the borough in the coming months, as we ensure\u00a0these future business\u00a0leaders have the seed\u00a0funding\u00a0they need to grow their companies and create economic opportunities in their communities.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEntrepreneurial business is the bedrock of the borough\u2019s economy, and we are happy to provide continued leadership support for this unique and effective program,\u201d\u00a0stated\u00a0Michelle Stoddart, Senior Vice President of Community Development at Resorts World New York City.\u00a0\u201cDo you have a plan to make your mark on Queens? This is your chance to take the next, exciting step.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Queens Economic Development Corporation works to create, attract, and\u00a0maintain\u00a0jobs through small business development, neighborhood revitalization, entrepreneurship programs, and tourism promotion, helping expand economic opportunity throughout the World\u2019s Borough. More information can be found at\u00a0www.QueensNY.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Since its founding, QTIC has awarded more than $900,000 in grants to 95 entities chosen from a combined pool of 5,600 participants.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Do you want to learn more about AI, branding, and financing? Would you like to meet other entrepreneurs?…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":379475,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[9,24,63,122,124,123],"class_list":["post-379474","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-queens","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-queens","tag-queens-headlines","tag-queens-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379474","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=379474"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/379474\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/379475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=379474"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=379474"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=379474"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}