ABOUT THE FOUNDERS

Bringing New York’s builders together.

New York Silicon Valley is a statewide gathering place for people building what comes next.

Convened by Stephen Gilfus and Adalbert “Addy” De La Cruz, it connects founders, investors, educators, and ecosystem builders across New York—not to imitate somewhere else, but to make the work already happening here easier to see, support, and join.

Convener 01

Stephen Gilfus

Company builder · Board director · Platform architect

Stephen is a serial entrepreneur and company builder operating at the confluence of innovation, AI, cybersecurity, digital trust, and online learning. As a co-founder of Blackboard, he helped shape one of education technology’s defining enterprise platforms.

Across more than 30 years, he has worked with boards, investors, and leadership teams on product invention, enterprise growth, governance, and market creation. He supports the Upstate New York innovation ecosystem through Upstate Venture Connect and Upstate New York Silicon Valley.

Visit Stephen’s site

Convener 02

Adalbert “Addy” De La Cruz

AI product builder · Educator · Community leader

Addy helps people turn ideas into real products using emerging technology. He is the founder of RapidLabz and the creator of Vibe Connect, where he has taught more than 2,000 builders to use AI-assisted development, product strategy, and vibe coding.

His work brings together AI, education, product strategy, and ecosystem building, with a focus on making technical creation more accessible to founders, students, operators, and nontraditional builders.

Visit Adalbert’s site

The invitation

If you’re building here, you belong here.

Join the community