One of the consistent traits among clients at The Accelerator is a drive to solve problems and fill a void in the market. Cindy Allyn turned her own need of wholesome skincare products into a company called Farmbody Skin Care, and the company is rapidly gaining momentum in the Hudson Valley. “I started the business out of necessity,” Allyn said. “I have a lot of allergies, and I’m allergic to nuts and certain preservatives that are used commercially. My skin was literally peeling, and I was getting really itchy hives. The amount of skincare on the market that is nut-free like my products and free of the preservatives I’m allergic to is a very narrow Read More

NEW WINDSOR — The wearing grind of a daily commute between Middletown and Rockefeller Center in Manhattan got Stephanie Falsetta to thinking about starting her own business. It was 2014 when Falsetta tossed her career as a paralegal at Christie’s New York and the near-four hour round trip it entailed, to launch a soap and lotions company, Goats in a Coat. Though she had her doubts, the encouragement of her husband, Michael, and her mother, Marianne Markey, won out. “I never thought I’d have a soap company,” Falsetta, a mother of three children, said at The Accelerator, Orange County’s entrepreneur incubator. “I figured I’d retire from Christie’s … But my mom told me to follow Read More

On May 5, our own Laurie Villasuso was a guest on WTBQ Radio’s “The Three Amigos” show, a morning show hosted by Orange County Legislators Barry Cheney, John Vero, and Paul Ruszkiewicz. As the Chief Operating Officer of The Accelerator and the Orange County IDA, Villasuso answers questions about the IDA, PILOT programs, The Accelerator and it’s shift to a manufacturing focus, The Accelerator Without Walls and much more! Listen below!

NEW WINDSOR – A different kind of enterprise has found a place in Orange County’s Business Accelerator. Unshattered is a not-for-profit organization aiming to give women a renewed chance at life as they overcome issues including drug addiction and alcoholism. It’s the brainchild of Kelly Lyndgaard of Hopewell Junction. She stepped off IBM’s executive ladder early this year to volunteer running a business using materials from used jackets and upholstery to make women’s bags. They sell for an average $65 online at Etsy, and at local craft fairs. “The market is women with a sense of fashion, but who also want to make a social impact with their purchase,” Lyndgaard said. “By buying a bag Read More

NEW WINDSOR – The Orange County Accelerator, which is overseen by the county’s Industrial Development Agency, was created to serve as a business incubator for start-up businesses. The IDA and the accelerator’s new management team, wanted to focus on specific categories of business, said Associate Executive Director Laurie Villasuso. “The accelerator’s goal now, rather than just offering office space is really broadened to include the production assistant, access to machinery, and workforce development, as well as education and mentoring for small batch, high-mix manufacturing,” Villasuso said. “Our first one is the fashion design and production pod, but as we move forward through the rest of our pods, we really aim to grab manufacturers and makers Read More

The Accelerator, the New Windsor incubator backed by the Orange County Industrial Development Agency that works to revive the mid-Hudson Valley manufacturing industry, will host an event this month promoting the reemergence of fashion manufacturing in the region at SUNY Orange in Middletown. The event, “Evolution of Fashion Manufacturing in the Hudson Valley: Past, Present, Future,” will be held Dec. 11 from 9 a.m. to noon at SUNY Orange’s Kaplan Hall, and will be hosted in partnership with FuzeHub, the Albany nonprofit that connects small New York manufacturers with resources and other services. The goal of the event, which will include a panel discussion on current initiatives and challenges in reviving the Hudson Valley’s fashion industry, is Read More

NEW WINDSOR – The mission of the Orange County Accelerator changed just months ago to narrow its focus to cottage industry manufacturing at its New Windsor offices. Orange County Industrial Development Agency Chief Operating Officer Laurie Villasuso said it has taken that new direction one step further with the Accelerator Without Walls program. “Where we can assist businesses in Orange County that are existing, not necessarily an incubator client who need to come to the incubator who need to come to the accelerator but need space, but companies that are already existing who might have a challenge they need to overcome or need some direction in terms of helping their business to grow or expand,” Read More