John Bruckner, President, National Grid New York, at CSI JumpStart Entrepreneurial Program

Three new tech companies, g-dii, Find My Everything Inc., and Rentah.com, will be the first to receive a boost thanks to a National Grid economic development grant to support the College of Staten Island JumpStart Entrepreneurial Program.

G-dii uses digital technology and neuroscience to create predictive business performance insights by empirically assessing the social and cultural factors that impact productivity and profitability. Find My Everything uses an app to help users trace important items and protect loved ones. Rentah.com facilitates easy and trustworthy rentals of goods and services between people near each other through its marketplace and mobile apps.

“What’s most exciting is the opportunity to test our assumptions with a world-class faculty and validate our science with one of the most diverse populations in the nation,” said Greg Reynolds, CEO and co-founder of g-dii. “Objective, reliable culture assessment is what differentiates us in the corporate marketplace.”

The CSI Tech Incubator is receiving almost $250,000 from National Grid’s economic development program to expand its hub to create the CSI JumpStart Entrepreneurial Program. The grant is the largest awarded to date by National Grid in the New York Metro area. National Grid’s Economic Development Program offers matching grants for eligible projects that help retain and create quality jobs, promote sustainable development, and incorporate energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies.

The CSI Tech Incubator will receive a two-year National Grid Clean Tech Incubation grant to fund a development program for 16 businesses over six-month periods. This development program will be supported by Entrepreneurs In-Residence mentors and Certified Business Advisors from the NYS Small Business Development Center at CSI. These resources will include support with marketing/branding, business plan development, human resources management, legal services, financial projections, market research, and other related business development services.

Commenting on the grant, CSI President William J. Fritz said, ““The College of Staten Island and the CSI Tech Incubator are honored to be the recipients of the largest grant that National Grid has awarded to date in the New York Metro area. This award will further solidify the Incubator’s role in the economic development of the North Shore and add vital legitimacy to the advancement of Staten Island as a growing technology ecosystem.”

“National Grid has a long-standing partnership with CSI, supporting STEM education which is key to economic growth and our support of the JumpStart Entrepreneurial Program expands on our commitment,” said John Bruckner, President, National Grid – New York. “Our economic development program helps businesses succeed, creates jobs and supports the local community.”

National Grid launched a new Economic Development Program in 2017. The program supports a menu of initiatives at various levels including:

• Urban Revitalization – an expansion of the long-standing, widely recognized Cinderella program, to support the redevelopment of vacant commercial and mixed-use buildings and revitalization of distressed commercial districts
• Infrastructure Assistance – a new capital investment incentive to help offset the cost of upgrading gas infrastructure for growing commercial and industrial customers
• Brownfield and Industrial Building Redevelopment – two new programs to support remediation and redevelopment of brownfield sites and vacant commercial/industrial buildings, respectively
• Sustainable Gas and Economic Development – designed to complement the company’s Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) demonstration projects in New York
• Manufacturing Productivity – productivity improvement and growth projects for small and medium-sized manufacturers that use gas in their processes
• CleanTech Incubation – an innovative grant program to support new incubator facilities and programs that promote start-up and growth of clean energy and other high-tech businesses
• Cooperative Business Recruitment– cooperative marketing initiatives between National Grid and economic development partners