Buffalo's entrepreneurial spirit on display

Want to play locally developed video games?

How about hang out with about 30 local software developers — all of whom are women?

Perhaps eat a grilled cheese while watching some of the region's engineer-innovators demonstrate their 3D printing technology?

You can do all that in Allentown on Tuesday, Oct. 28, at Startup Scramble. That is part of a weeklong series of events that will begin this Friday, Oct. 24.

"43North Week" will run up to the Oct. 30 finale of the 43North, the state-sponsored business competition with $5 million in prizes.

The events range from "Startup Weekend Buffalo" — where teams will form in a 54-hour rush to develop a business idea — to the "Bright Buffalo Niagara Semifinalists Meet-Up", a networking event featuring 43North semifinalists and venture capitalists.

But the organizers of Startup Scramble felt the need for something different: recognition of a community that has evolved organically in recent years from a few core members to a wide network of urban-minded millennial who want to build a thriving startup culture in Buffalo.

"We wanted to celebrate the community that's been here and that's been building this culture," said Clark Dever, who led the organization of Startup Scramble. Dever co-founded Heads Up Display, which is currently situated at the Z80 Labs Inc. incubator, and works as a developer at Algonquin Studios.

The event will include several Allentown bars, but Dever said it's meant to be family-friendly and alcohol won't be the focus. To that end, formal events begin at 5 and end at 10 p.m.

They include a 5:30 p.m. keynote speaker, Stephen Kiernan II, president of Algonquin Studios, at Duke's Bohemian Bar. Kiernan's address will be part of the Startup Grind Buffalo series, and attendance will cost $10, which includes food and drinks.

Dan Miner is Business First's enterprise reporter. He also covers education and public companies.