The $1,000 Business Challenge is Live
Howdy friends,
Jason here with something we've been quietly building behind the scenes. Something fun and completely new. (Sneak peak: it gets everyone involved)
Introducing: The $1,000 Business Challenge
What could you actually build with $1,000?
Really: what business could you validate, launch, or take to the next level with just one thousand dollars?
We want to see your plan. Your budget breakdown. Your roadmap. Show us how you'd turn $1,000 into something real.
“Don’t you already do this?”
Yes—kinda. Every quarter we select new grant awardees.
But for the first time ever, you get to be the judges.
Every pitch submitted to this contest will be viewable by the entire community. You can browse through ideas, see detailed budget breakdowns, watch the pitch videos, and vote for your favorites. You’ll have a front-row seat to the entrepreneurial creativity happening right here in Western New York.
The Process:
📝 WNY founders submit ideas (open now!)
👀 Community browses and discovers all pitches (live on the site)
🗳️ Community voting opens June 22
🏆 LPs review finalists and select winner (early July)
💰 One winner walks away with $1,000
This isn’t about pitch decks. It’s about scrappy execution. Smart resource allocation. Real customer problems. The kind of businesses that start in dining rooms and spare bedrooms. After kid drop-off. On weekends. During your lunch break.
Key Dates:
Applications open now through the end of the month
Community voting opens June 22
GNF Limited Partners select a winner first week of July
(Can’t wait for voting? You can already browse pitches on the site and sign up to get notified when voting opens.)
And yes, our regular micro-grants are still happening. This challenge is a bonus round.
💻 New: Startup Tools + Knowledge Base
We also added something we’ve wanted for a long time to aid these new founders: resources.
The contest page includes a curated library of tools and a searchable knowledge base to help you turn your $1,000 idea into something real, whether or not you win a grant.
What we’re looking for (open to WNY founders):
The flower farmer who needs $347 for soil amendments and $653 for booth fees.
The photographer who’s ready to spend $200 on a website, $300 on early marketing, and $500 on business setup costs.
The app builder who can stretch $1,000 across hosting, tools, and early users.
Whether you’re starting something new or scaling a side hustle, if you're in Western New York and can show us a clear plan for $1,000—we want to see it.
You’ve been with us since the beginning. You’ve seen us back indie bookstores and cookie companies and custom golf ball creators.
Now you get to help decide who’s next.
Browse the submissions.
See what your neighbors are building.
Maybe discover your next favorite business before it launches.
Apply or explore: neighborhoods.space/showcase
Know someone sitting on a good idea? Forward this to them.
Let’s fund some new ideas. Let’s back people willing to try.
Talk soon,
Jason