Martin Babinec is a serial entrepreneur, venture catalyst and job creator. He founded TriNet, a publicly traded company that employs over 2,500 people across the U.S. that help small businesses with a cloud based Human Resources solution. He founded and Chairs IntroNet Corporation, a software platform that helps members of a group connect to resources and further grow the job creation environment. In 2010, Martin founded Upstate Venture Connect, a 501c3 nonprofit public benefit corporation dedicated to accelerating the creation and growth of emerging companies by helping entrepreneurs get connected to the resources who can help them. He serves as UVC Chairman and has volunteered full time without compensation since UVC’s inception. He’s also the co-founder of StartFast Venture Accelerator, which invests in and helps guide high-growth companies in Central New York. Through his Upstate Ventures portfolio, Martin has invested in dozens of New York based startups both directly and through several seed capital funds which UVC helped create to engage local business people in supporting Upstate startup companies.

Paul Allen is a life-long resident of Cortland County. He and his wife, Betsy, live in the Town of Cortlandville and have two children – Abby, a Nazareth College graduate, and Blake, who will be a Freshman at SUNY Brockport this fall. Paul has been employed by Eastern, a division of Xerox Corporation, for 24 years. He is a Production Print Specialist who sells digital printing equipment and solutions in the Central New York area. Paul and his wife co-own Cortland Press and Carbon Copies, an offset and digital printing company, and recently, Paul has opened Finger Lakes Plants & Trees, specializing in houseplants and hard-wood trees. Paul has an active background in politics. He has been a Cortland County Republican committee-person for 25 years and has worked on countless campaigns, including currently chairing the Committee to Elect David Alexander as Cortland County Judge. Paul was a member of the NYS Delegation (Alternate Delegate) representing the 22nd Congressional District for the 2016 GOP Convention in Cleveland. He served two terms in the Cortland County Legislature, where he ran on and instituted fundamental changes. He was a key leader who chaired 3 critical committees. Paul is a member of the NYS Open Space Commission, and has been very active on matters of land stewardship and land preservation. He served on the Board of Directors for the Lime Hollow Nature Center for 10 years, including 5 years as chairman. Other past community involvement includes service on the boards of JM Murray Center, Cortland County Community Action Program, Tioughnioga River Trail Commission, Salvation Army and Cortland County YMCA.