Upstate Venture Connect (UVC) Founders and Leaders
Jan 10, 2026 · 37 min · 12 segments
Patrick Bosek sits down with Michael Gursha (Point Curve CEO, UNY 50 member, and UVC board member) to explore how Upstate New York shaped his path as a builder. From launching Dream Water at Syracuse…
Michael GurshaGuestPatrick BosekHostAnd so Syracuse really was also the beginning of your entrepreneurial career as well.
You know, I think my mom and, you know, some of my relatives would tell you, I was, I was building a lot of stuff at a very early age.
So that was the, probably the actual start, you know, whether it's, you know, building Legos or setting up a store, you know, all that stuff when you're younger.
So I went to the Whitman School of Management and then the Newhouse School for Communications and did a dual degree.
And my intention by doing that was, you know, I really loved kind of the hands-on, the idea of hands-on learning, you know, at the Newhouse School.
And I really did have a substantial interest in, you know, media and communications.
And then, but I did really also want the business education and Syracuse has an incredible, you know, entrepreneurship program across this whole school, but the Whitman school from a formal academic perspective.
And so, you know, ended up going up with the intention of really digging in on both of those fronts and, and really trying to start, you know, building some stuff while I was there and ended up working on a couple of different projects.
While I was at Syracuse, the first one as a sophomore linked up with a team that was building, you know, a product called dream water, which was like a water-based sleep aid beverage that helps put you to sleep at night.
Kind of the opposite of a Red Bull, you know, before Zequel existed, you know, et cetera.
Anyway, I worked on that project for, for a couple of years while I was there.
which was which was a substantial amount of, you know, capital infusion for for an early stage thing at the time.
And then I started and worked on another company as a senior called vouch board, which was a, you know, kind of social recommendation technology business that I hooked up with linked up with another friend of mine, you know, at Newhouse, who was super interested in the space as well.
And we, you know, we just started playing around and building and Got some traction and, you know, ended up shutting it down after I think about a year and change, but we learned a crazy amount through the process.
So yeah, start of the journey was at Syracuse, really dug in a bit, you know, through, through those two projects and, and obviously just the normal academic stuff as well.
And so Syracuse really was also the beginning of your entrepreneurial career as well.
You know, I think my mom and, you know, some of my relatives would tell you, I was, I was building a lot of stuff at a very early age.
So that was the, probably the actual start, you know, whether it's, you know, building Legos or setting up a store, you know, all that stuff when you're younger.
So I went to the Whitman School of Management and then the Newhouse School for Communications and did a dual degree.
And my intention by doing that was, you know, I really loved kind of the hands-on, the idea of hands-on learning, you know, at the Newhouse School.
And I really did have a substantial interest in, you know, media and communications.
And then, but I did really also want the business education and Syracuse has an incredible, you know, entrepreneurship program across this whole school, but the Whitman school from a formal academic perspective.
And so, you know, ended up going up with the intention of really digging in on both of those fronts and, and really trying to start, you know, building some stuff while I was there and ended up working on a couple of different projects.
While I was at Syracuse, the first one as a sophomore linked up with a team that was building, you know, a product called dream water, which was like a water-based sleep aid beverage that helps put you to sleep at night.
Kind of the opposite of a Red Bull, you know, before Zequel existed, you know, et cetera.
Anyway, I worked on that project for, for a couple of years while I was there.
which was which was a substantial amount of, you know, capital infusion for for an early stage thing at the time.
And then I started and worked on another company as a senior called vouch board, which was a, you know, kind of social recommendation technology business that I hooked up with linked up with another friend of mine, you know, at Newhouse, who was super interested in the space as well.
And we, you know, we just started playing around and building and Got some traction and, you know, ended up shutting it down after I think about a year and change, but we learned a crazy amount through the process.
So yeah, start of the journey was at Syracuse, really dug in a bit, you know, through, through those two projects and, and obviously just the normal academic stuff as well.
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