Working in an office that he shared with the entrepreneurs from the prize-winning companies of the 43North competition fanned John Gavigan’s entrepreneurial fire.
After leaving his post of three years as executive director of 43North, Gavigan in 2018 joined SomaDetect as chief operating officer for the Canadian startup that won the competition’s $1 million grand prize the year prior.
In 2020, he moved over to Endeavor Western New York to once again work with and create connections for startup companies – this time in their later stages.
But that fire he’s had in him since his teenage years to be involved in the inner workings of a startup venture never went out.
It spurred him last year to take on the challenge of building a U.S. presence for CrediVault. And after 18 months as CEO, Gavigan feels closer than ever to lifting the Buffalo startup to new heights, thanks to new product WireVault, which helps protect businesses from the significant problem of wire fraud.
It works best for law firms engaged in real estate transactions. Many times, the legal industry serves as the intermediary in holding funds and then releasing them upon the completion of a transaction.
“Of all the things I’ve done in my professional life, this is without a doubt the hardest, but it’s also the most rewarding,” Gavigan said.
It has taken plenty of help from local companies to get the startup closer to reaching its goals.
The idea of Western New York businesses working together to generate new opportunities that have the potential to produce prosperous returns for the entire community is certainly not lost on Gavigan.
That’s even more critical for startups, he said, because they require relationships with traditional companies to become scalable.
“If you want to build great companies, it starts in your backyard,” Gavigan said.
“I feel like I’m living that example – the process of building toward that – with this opportunity,” he…
Read the full article here
Leave a Reply