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KeyCorp (NYSE: KEY) on Thursday announced that Donald Kimble will join the banking company as CFO beginning June 3. The move follows the May 10
Dolgon: Crunch playoff run good for Syracuse economy, market visibility
SYRACUSE — The Syracuse Crunch is still dropping the puck on what has been, so far, an undefeated hockey post season. The Crunch on May 17 earned a berth in the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Eastern Conference final, completing a four-game sweep of the Springfield Falcons. The team had earlier swept its first-round opponent, the
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SYRACUSE — The Syracuse Crunch is still dropping the puck on what has been, so far, an undefeated hockey post season.
The Crunch on May 17 earned a berth in the American Hockey League’s (AHL) Eastern Conference final, completing a four-game sweep of the Springfield Falcons.
The team had earlier swept its first-round opponent, the Portland Pirates, in three games.
The Crunch on May 21 announced that Syracuse will either face the Providence Bruins or the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins beginning Saturday May 25.
The Game 7 matchup between Providence and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton was scheduled for the evening of May 22 after the weekly press time for The Central New York Business Journal.
A Bruins series victory would mean Syracuse would start the Eastern Conference final on the road, while a Penguins come-from-behind series win would give the Crunch home-ice advantage.
The entire organization is “ecstatic,” says Howard Dolgon, owner of the Syracuse Crunch, an affiliate of the National Hockey League’s Tampa Bay Lightning.
“To get to the playoffs, it’s an entirely new season, and certainly to date, our players have stepped up their game,” Dolgon says.
The team’s success is good for the local economy and good for the visibility of the market, Dolgon adds.
The team has even adopted the phrase “All In,” which is meant to encourage the community to support the squad during its playoff run.
“Didn’t matter if you’re a five-year-old girl, or a 90-year-old grandfather, we wanted you to be ‘All In’ in support of our playoff run,” Dolgon says.
Between the buttons, posters, and merchandise the team is selling, Dolgon says the phrase has been “well received.”
Despite the team’s success, Dolgon wasn’t happy with the fan support at the Onondaga County War Memorial following Game 3 against Springfield on May 15 and expressed his displeasure publicly. The game attracted a paid crowd of only 3,267 fans.
“I was disappointed, and I was just very honest about it,” he says.
The fans displayed their ability to “bounce back” in the clinching game against Springfield on May 17, he says. That game attracted 5,090 fans, and the crowd was loud.
Dolgon believes a vocal fan base at the War Memorial gives the Crunch a home-ice advantage. Despite his ownership, Dolgon has always perceived his squad as being the community’s team.
Dolgon admits that qualifying for the playoffs doesn’t mean an automatic commitment from the team’s season-ticket holders for purchasing playoff tickets.
“So you’re starting out with a much smaller base of [pre-sold] tickets,” Dolgon says.
When asked if he thought television coverage might affect attendance at the War Memorial, Dolgon believes fans can use it as an excuse, but it’s not necessarily a reason for not attending the games.
When Crunch games are televised, Dolgon says the team is exposing its brand for three hours and he hopes fans realize what they’re missing by not attending the games.
Dolgon would tell Crunch fans that 30 AHL teams started the season with hopes of winning the Calder Cup.
“Now, your team is one of four remaining, and that’s pretty special,” he says.
He also addressed ticket prices for Crunch playoff games that include a $1 surcharge the AHL mandates.
“Beginning in the second round and through the finals, the league receives the majority of the ticket revenue,” Dolgon says. The AHL allocates the money generated to the player pool for playoff payments, players’ travel, officiating, and other expenses, Dolgon says.
“We’re not, as a team, receiving even half of that ticket price in our revenue,” he adds, noting that’s same situation for all AHL teams.
Citing its status as a private company, the Syracuse Crunch doesn’t release its revenue information.
“We have been a profitable organization for all but probably two of our years,” Dolgon says, noting those years were the in the late 1990s
The Syracuse Crunch, in partnership with Onondaga County and SMG, announced in July 2012 that the team reached a long-term agreement on a lease extension for home games at the War Memorial through 2024.
SMG, a West Conshohocken, Pa.–based firm that provides entertainment and convention-venue management, is in charge of managing the War Memorial.
Dolgon and Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney negotiated the agreement, which extends the current lease for an additional five years through the 2023-2024 season.
The team didn’t disclose terms of the extension, its monthly rent to play its games in the arena.
“It was a fair deal for both parties,” Dolgon says.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
State Comptroller: New York tax collections rise 25 percent in April, likely temporary
The New York state government hauled in $8.6 billion in tax collections in April, up 25.2 percent from the year-ago period. Collections were also almost
StartFast Venture Accelerator announces teams for summer program
SYRACUSE — The StartFast Venture Accelerator has announced the five teams that will participate in its summer program beginning May 28. StartFast is a program
Samolises buy Wells & Coverly building, launch new venture
SYRACUSE — The owner of a local event-planning company and her husband have acquired a building in downtown Syracuse and have plans to launch an additional, separate venture. Nicole Samolis, president of The Events Company at 230 Harrison St., and her husband, Kevin Samolis, the firm’s chief of staff, have acquired the Wells & Coverly
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SYRACUSE — The owner of a local event-planning company and her husband have acquired a building in downtown Syracuse and have plans to launch an additional, separate venture.
Nicole Samolis, president of The Events Company at 230 Harrison St., and her husband, Kevin Samolis, the firm’s chief of staff, have acquired the Wells & Coverly building on South Salina Street.
The Samolises purchased the building for $350,000 from its previous owner, Michael Ades.
They will serve as landlords for the retail stores operating on the building’s first floor, including Downtown Jewelry, Payless ShoeSource, and Bergan’s Men’s Clothing.
The Samolises are planning a $3 million construction project to convert the structure’s 10,000-square-foot second and third floors into space for hosting events like weddings, the couple says.
The new venture is called SKY Armory, but they emphasize that nothing is changing at their original business.
“This is 100 percent separate from The Events Company,” says Kevin Samolis, vice president of SKY Armory.
Since its inception in 1996, The Events Company has evolved into an event-planning and production company, says Nicole Samolis, who also serves as president of SKY Armory.
“And so this really becomes a natural transition into another opportunity for us to continue growing,” she says.
Founded in March, SKY Armory will have 47 employees, including 15 full-time workers.
The Samolises declined to provide a revenue projection for 2014, but if they’re able to open in December as planned, they’d like to host 10 to 20 events before the end of the current year and a total of 80 events in its first full year of operation.
Pursuing a space for events
The Samolises have been watching what others in the event-planning industry have done around the country “in taking non-traditional spaces and creating them into event spaces,” Nicole Samolis says, noting that Syracuse has limited ballroom space for those organizing events for 250 to 300 people.
About five years ago, they started wondering about the possibility of having their own venue. Their goal was to remain in a downtown setting, and find a space that would be, as she described it, an “urban, chic, refabbed, repurposed, kind of industrial space.”
Nicole Samolis learned about the building’s availability while attending the annual State of the City address in 2012, where she spoke with Richard DeVito and Robert Doucette of Paramount Realty Group.
“At that time, we were looking actually to lease a floor in a building,” she says.
Paramount’s leasing director, Steve Case, showed the Samolises some spaces with available floors, including the Wells & Coverly building.
They weren’t interested at first, but eventually decided to pursue the buying the entire structure.
The building wasn’t on the market for sale, but Case approached Ades about the potential transaction.
“We were able to make the sale happen,” Nicole Samolis says.
The Samolises were searching for a place with the capacity for holding big events, along with the necessary parking.
The upper floors of the Wells & Coverly building have that space and the parking availability.
“This particular building has a parking garage that has a pedestrian bridge that attached right to its second floor,” she says.
The structure currently has three addresses on the South Salina Street for the retail locations operating on the first floor. But the Samolises are hoping for an address on the South Clinton Street side.
Kevin Samolis on May 20 submitted an application to the Onondaga County Planning Commission for a new address because they plan to build a new entrance on the Armory Square side of the structure.
“It’s not atypical for a building to have separate mailing addresses,” Kevin Samolis says.
Acquisition, construction plans
In the acquisition transaction, The Wladis Law Firm of DeWitt represented the Samolises in the deal, and attorney James Messenger, Jr. represented Michael Ades, the couple says.
The acquisition closed on April 30, according to Kevin Samolis. The couple used a loan from M&T Bank to fund the acquisition, he adds.
They’re anticipating the construction project will cost about $3 million. Zausmer-Frisch Scruton & Aggarwal, a design-build firm in Syracuse, is handling the construction project.
Besides developing the building’s second and third floors, the construction will include building an addition that will serve as the entrance with a “grand stair case and elevator,” according to Nicole Samolis.
Construction crews will “gut” each floor, exposing the structure’s original brick, she adds.
“The second floor has hardwood floors that we can salvage, so we’re going to refinish those,” she says.
The third floor will have some exposed brick and columns which will require some treatment. The work will also target the ceiling rafters, exposing the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems, which will be replaced.
“Each floor will have a catering kitchen on it,” she says.
In a May 16 blog post on their website (www.skyarmory.com), the Samolises wrote: “We think bridal couples are going to love SKY Armory for weddings. Our first potential bride is coming in tomorrow for a sneak peak at our plans.”
The building also needs a new roof, Kevin Samolis adds.
The Samolises plan to attach the name “Wells” to the second-floor ball room, and “Coverly” to the ball room on the third floor to keep the building connected to its retail history.
“If you’re from Syracuse or you’re of a certain age, people have fond memories of Wells & Coverly,” Nicole Samolis says.
Prior to its closure in the early 1980s, Wells & Coverly was an upscale men’s department store, which would make suits “from scratch,” according to Kevin Samolis.
M&T Bank, KeyBank, and others will be among the banks serving as lenders for the construction project. The Samolises are also pursuing a 504 loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
An SBA 504 loan may be used for the financing of fixed assets like real estate or equipment, according to the SBA’s website. Certified-development corporations administer that program, including the Greater Syracuse Business Development Corp.
The hope to have the financing secured in early June, Kevin Samolis says.
“We’re trying to run this whole project like an event,” Nicole Samolis says, snapping her finger and adding, “Specific deadlines.”
The Samolises will use mostly bank loans and some of their own personal assets to help pay for the project. They don’t plan to use any finances from The Events Company to help pay for the project.
And even though the two ventures, The Events Company and SKY Armory, are separate, the Samolises will have shared offices for both entities, the couple says.
When asked about the name, the Samolises say they’ve been working with Cowley Associates, a website design, marketing and advertising agency in Syracuse, to handle their marketing.
They chose SKY Armory because “the sky has no limits,” Nicole Samolis says.
“And at our venue, there are no limits,” she adds.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
SWK Technologies pursues possible new CNY acquisition
SALINA — SWK Technologies, Inc., a Livingston, N.J.–based business-software reseller with an office in Salina, is working to add to its presence in the Central New York market. But the firm isn’t yet to ready to divulge all the details. “We are actively looking and we have one we’re actively starting negotiations with in the
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SALINA — SWK Technologies, Inc., a Livingston, N.J.–based business-software reseller with an office in Salina, is working to add to its presence in the Central New York market.
But the firm isn’t yet to ready to divulge all the details.
“We are actively looking and we have one we’re actively starting negotiations with in the greater Syracuse area to take over their client base,” says Crandall (Chip) Melvin, CFO of SWK Technologies, Inc.
The targeted firm in question has about 125 clients, he adds.
Growth through acquisition is how SWK Technologies has expanded in upstate New York.
SWK entered the Central New York market by acquiring Melvin’s company, AMP-Best Consulting, Inc. in 2006. The firm grew its presence with the acquisition of certain clients from
DM Systems, Inc. of Syracuse the following year.
SWK is a reseller of accounting, human-resources, and customer-relationship-management applications from Sage Software of Irvine, Calif.
SWK, a subsidiary of SilverSun Technologies, Inc. (OCTBB: SSNT), is also a certified developer for Sage, meaning it can modify and customize Sage applications and even create new programs based on Sage code.
The software-reselling industry has gone through a series of consolidations over the years, Melvin says.
The SWK business model is to “go out and acquire smaller resellers that either … don’t have the resources to take it to the next level … don’t have the expertise to take it to next level, or … maybe [are] looking at retiring and sun-setting their practice,” Melvin says.
About SWK Technologies
The firm focuses on business-to-business transactions and has about 250 clients in the Syracuse area.
“Our specialization is in light, specialty manufacturing,” Melvin says.
SWK’s clients are mainly mid-market companies, which it defines as ranging in size from $5 million in annual revenue to more than $150 million.
Over the past 15 to 20 years, the Central New York economy is moving toward specialized manufacturing, Melvin contends. The smaller firms are replacing the big manufacturing companies, such as New Venture Gear, Chrysler, and General Motors, he says.
“This is also a transportation and distribution hub,” he says, noting the Syracuse’s location at the intersection of two Interstate highways, 81 and 690. “Our software fits very, very well into that sweet spot of light manufacturing and wholesale distribution,” he says.
Many SWK clients also have operations in Rochester, Buffalo, and Albany, so the company refers to the upstate New York markets as the “Thruway Corridor.”
“We view the Syracuse market as being kind of all of Upstate,” he says.
SWK Technologies, Inc. operates a local office in a cobblestone house at 6834 Buckley Road in Salina. Melvin owns the approximately 10,000-square-foot home, he says.
Jeffrey Roth serves as CEO of the software reseller.
The firm employs about 75 full-time workers, including nine in the Salina office. The employees include two sales executives, two field consultants who provide on-site visits for clients, three people who serve in administrative roles, and an employee who handles telephone support, according to Melvin.
SWK anticipates increasing its employee count to more than 100 by the end of the year, including five additional employees in the Salina office, Melvin says.
The Salina office is the center of the firm’s accounting and administrative functions, Melvin says. SWK Technologies operates in 18 states and has clients in all 50 states and in foreign countries, including Canada and nations in Latin America, Melvin says.
SWK generated more than $13 million in revenue in 2012, and Melvin projects the firm will produce revenue of $17 million in 2013.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
Cuomo launches tax-free zones near college campuses to attract start-ups
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on May 22 unveiled Tax-Free NY, an initiative intended to “transform” university campuses statewide into tax-free zones that attract start-ups, venture capital, new business, and investments from around the world. Tax-Free NY offers new businesses the chance to operate completely tax free, including no income tax for employees and no sales, property,
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Gov. Andrew Cuomo on May 22 unveiled Tax-Free NY, an initiative intended to “transform” university campuses statewide into tax-free zones that attract start-ups, venture capital, new business, and investments from around the world.
Tax-Free NY offers new businesses the chance to operate completely tax free, including no income tax for employees and no sales, property, or business taxes, while partnering with the higher-education institutions in the State University of New York (SUNY), Cuomo’s office said in a news release.
Tax-Free NY targets all SUNY campuses outside New York City and designated private colleges north of Westchester County will also be tax-free. The release did not elaborate on the involvement of the private colleges in this initiative. The zone will include up to 200,000 square feet surrounding a given campus.
The initiative also stipulates that employees of businesses that open in Tax-Free NY zones are exempt from paying income taxes.
Under Tax-Free NY, New York’s private universities will have three million square feet of commercial space available, and New York will also designate 20 “strategic state assets” as tax free as well, according to the governor’s office.
Businesses that are eligible to pursue inclusion in a Tax-Free NY zone include companies with a relationship to the academic mission of a given university.
In addition, businesses creating new jobs are also eligible, including new firms, out-of-state businesses that relocate to New York, and existing companies that expand their New York operations while maintaining their existing jobs.
Over the past two years, New York has cut middle-class tax rates to their lowest rates in 60 years, cut taxes for small businesses, and invested “like never before” in our institutions of higher education, Cuomo said in the news release.
“Under Tax-Free NY, communities across Upstate will become a magnet for new businesses, new startups, new venture capital, and new jobs, taking our economic development and job creating efforts to a level never seen before,” Cuomo added.
Tax-Free NY seeks to “replicate” the economic success of the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) in the Capital Region, according to the governor’s office.
By partnering with the University at Albany and the state, CNSE grew to become a research college for nanoscale technology, attracting billions of dollars in private-sector investment, the office said.
Reaction
This “innovative,” public-private partnership will improve New York’s business-tax climate, Brian Sampson, executive director of Unshackle Upstate, said in a news release.
“We’re hopeful that Governor Cuomo’s plan will yield similar results in other Upstate communities,” Sampson said, referencing the job growth CNSE has spurred in the Albany area.
At the same time, state leaders must also approve additional tax relief and regulatory changes for all businesses across the state, Sampson adds.
Unshackle Upstate is a coalition of more than 80 business, trade, and economic-development groups representing more than 70,000 employers. Most are based in upstate New York.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
CNY unemployment rates decline in April
Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Binghamton, and Utica–Rome regions fell last month, compared to a year ago. The New York State Labor Department on May 21 issued the preliminary local-area unemployment rates for April 2013. The jobless rate in Syracuse was 7.7 percent, down from 8.2 percent in April 2012. The rate in the Utica–Rome
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Unemployment rates in the Syracuse, Binghamton, and Utica–Rome regions fell last month, compared to a year ago.
The New York State Labor Department on May 21 issued the preliminary local-area unemployment rates for April 2013.
The jobless rate in Syracuse was 7.7 percent, down from 8.2 percent in April 2012. The rate in the Utica–Rome region decreased to 8.2 percent in April, from 8.4 percent in the same month a year ago.
The unemployment rate in the Binghamton region fell to 7.8 percent, from 8.2 percent, according to figures from the state Labor Department.
In comparison, the unemployment rate in the Albany region fell to 6.5 percent in April, from 7.2 percent a year ago. In Rochester, the rate declined to 7.2 percent from 7.8 percent 12 months earlier. And in the Buffalo region, the jobless rate dipped to 7.7 percent from 8.3 percent a year prior.
The data isn’t seasonally adjusted, meaning the figures don’t reflect seasonal influences such as holiday hires.
The New York counties with among the highest unemployment rates include Lewis at 10.9 percent and Jefferson at 10.3 percent, according to the data. The county with the lowest unemployment rate is Tompkins at 4.8 percent. The jobless rate there fell from 5.4 percent a year ago.
The rates are calculated following procedures prescribed by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to the state Labor Department.
The state’s private-sector job count rose by 137,500 between April 2012 and this past April. The state Labor Department on May 16 reported the state’s unemployment rate at 7.8 percent in April, down from 8.2 percent in March, hitting its lowest level since March 2009.
The unemployment rate as determined by the federal government is calculated primarily on the results of a telephone survey of 3,100 households (out of more than seven million) in New York.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
Support provider Tech Geekery gets a reboot
SYRACUSE — Tech Geekery, Inc., which provides technical-support assistance and training on computers and iPhones, is a startup that’s a reincarnation of a business one of its co-owners had launched back in 2009. With downtown operations based at the Syracuse Technology Garden, Tech Geekery is a mobile service that provides assistance that could include installing
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SYRACUSE — Tech Geekery, Inc., which provides technical-support assistance and training on computers and iPhones, is a startup that’s a reincarnation of a business one of its co-owners had launched back in 2009.
With downtown operations based at the Syracuse Technology Garden, Tech Geekery is a mobile service that provides assistance that could include installing a point-of-sale (POS) system or wireless Internet service.
“We like to say everything from getting your phone set up all the way up to building an enterprise solution for you,” says Amy Wyant, co-owner of Tech Geekery.
Wyant and her husband, co-owner Michael (Mike) Wyant, Jr., also have an office for Tech Geekery at their home in the village of Phoenix.
Besides technical assistance, the young firm also provides training in personal or group sessions.
The business training might be an option if a small business has a new piece of software on which the owner wants all employees trained at the same time, Amy Wyant says.
“We can customize curriculum and come into your space to help get everybody where they need to be,” she adds.
Restarting the company
Mike Wyant first launched Tech Geekery in 2009 after returning to the Mohawk Valley from California.
“There was a lack of Mac [Macintosh computer] support in the Herkimer–Mohawk area, which is where we were at the time,” Mike Wyant says.
The Wyants had been living and working in the San Francisco area for a few years after their graduation from Alfred University, located in New York’s Alleghany County.
Wyant says the Richfield Central School District, which is located in Otsego County, sought his services for needed technical support for its MAC computers.
“So I decided to start up a consulting firm to see if I could help out with that,” he says.
Wyant began pursuing other clients, but eventually realized he wasn’t finding enough clients with a need for service within a 90-minute driving range of Richfield Springs.
At that point, Wyant decided to look for either another job or a way to relocate his consultancy. He eventually landed at the Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) retail store at Destiny USA.
“I applied for a genius spot. Then they offered me their supervisor spot instead,” Mike Wyant says.
A “genius” at an Apple retail store is member of its technical-support team, according to the Apple website.
Three years later, Wyant decided it was time to move on.
“I wanted to be able to say, okay, I can come to your house. I can finish setting this up for you,” Mike Wyant says.
He says “that extra part” wasn’t included in Apple’s offerings for customers.
Wyant left the Apple store in January and relaunched Tech Geekery, as an incorporated entity, in April, he says. Amy Wyant, who had also been working for the same Apple store as a certified trainer, left to join her husband in March, she says.
Future plans
The Wyants next January plan to apply to join the Apple Consultants Network, an international database for technicians or firms that are certified in an area of Apple technology, Mike Wyant says.
As a former Apple employee, Wyant has to wait for a year to join the consultants’ network, he adds. That’s one of his goals for the firm in its first year of operation.
“That’s the last piece of credibility that we’re missing … is that we’re not on the Apple Consultants Network, even though we should be,” he says.
Tech Geekery also hopes to open its own office sometime in early 2014. The Wyants are currently operating in the Syracuse Coworks space at the Tech Garden for $125 per month.
“It gives us access to a large lecture hall for our trainings and for large meetings,” Amy Wyant says. It also provides a place to work in downtown Syracuse, she adds.
Syracuse Coworks is working space that the nonprofit organization 40 Below created for entrepreneurs, virtual workers, independent employees, freelancers, and designers, according to its website. 40 Below is an organization of young professionals with a “passion for local revitalization in Central Upstate New York,” the website says.
Mike Wyant also contends a firm needs its own office to add another layer of credibility.
“I’d love to have a storefront where people could come in and just chat with us,” he says.
Tech Geekery also hopes to have hired at least one full-time employee by that point, Mike Wyant says. The employee would be a technician responsible for handling on site computer repairs in homes or businesses.
“It’s really driven by need and comfortability with us,” he says.
Mike Wyant declined to disclose a projection for the amount of revenue Tech Geekery might generate in 2013.
Even though Tech Geekery has no employees as of now, the firm does work with five independent contractors. One such contractor handles development of iOS, an advanced mobile platform, Mike Wyant says. Another specializes in PHP (general purpose scripting language for Web development) Web-design programming, he adds.
In its early stages, Tech Geekery has 10 recurring clients, including Richfield Springs Central School District and Kinani Blue, LLC, a social-media marketing company.
Kinani Blue handles Tech Geekery’s day-to-day communications projects. The Wyants credit Kinani Blue, itself a Coworks inhabitant, with introducing them to the Coworks working space
The Wyants met while attending Alfred University. Mike graduated in 2004 with a dual bachelor’s degree in history and English, and Amy graduated in 2006 with a bachelor’s degree in both biology and history.
Mike Wyant was in charge of the student-run information-technology (IT) organization, which handles all first and second-tier support for the school. Amy also worked with the IT organization, she says.
“Our work-study jobs became our careers,” Amy said.
Mike Wyant didn’t own a computer until he was a sophomore in high school, and is now operating a company that he hopes will make his clients more comfortable with technology.
“By building this company and making it something that we can use to change people’s lives in a tiny way, that’s why we’re doing this,” Mike Wyant says.
Tech Geekery on May 18 held a training session on using the iPhone at the State Street Café in which it charged $10 for a training session, coffee, and a snack, according to the firm’s website.
“We literally geek out over technology when it looks cool and it works [how] you want it to. It’s really fun,” Amy Wyant says.
Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com
Glyphr launches reality shopping
Glyph: A symbolic figure engraved or incised; a symbol that imparts information non-verbally. — American Heritage Dictionary SYRACUSE — “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” The quip is attributed to John Wanamaker, a department-store mogul considered to be the father of modern advertising
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Glyph: A symbolic figure engraved or incised; a symbol that imparts information non-verbally. — American Heritage Dictionary
SYRACUSE — “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is I don’t know which half.” The quip is attributed to John Wanamaker, a department-store mogul considered to be the father of modern advertising and a pioneer in marketing.
Glyphr has the answer to Wanamaker’s dilemma: the half not spent on 3-D reality shopping is wasted. Glyphr is a d/b/a for Augmented Reality Concepts, Inc., a C-corporation created by high-school classmates Devin Dennis Daly and Michael Anthony Quigley. The firm, a startup located in the Technology Garden in downtown Syracuse, has developed a mobile application that uses three-dimensional, augmented technology to help advertisers engage their target audiences.
The shopping experience is simple. An individual, in any location, scans a printed piece with a smart phone or tablet. The application converts the image into a digital hologram that can be manipulated on screen. “This leads to higher levels of engagement,” says Quigley, a founder and chief operating officer of the company. “Research indicates that a shopper spends, on average, six minutes and 45 seconds with branded print content using augmented technology.”
“Our primary focus is on companies with strong brand [recognition], retailers, consumer-packaged goods [producers], [advertising] agencies, and publishers,” says Daly, Glyphr’s CEO. “The big three vertical markets include fashion, autos, and home goods … We launched our marketing in March [2013] at the MAGIC Project Show in Las Vegas [a show that attracts retailers and the press to explore relevant brands], demonstrating advertising for one of our customers — Weatherproof. Since the show, we have secured about a dozen clients, including names like Weatherproof, Keen Footwear, and OnCore Golf. We also are working with major advertising agency partners such as Eric Mower & Associates, The Richards Group, and Direct Agents.”
Daly projects a client list at year’s end that numbers 25, increasing to 75 in 2014, and 200 in 2015.
Glyphr uses a conventional business model for its revenue streams. “We charge our clients a fee to create the content,” says Quigley. “It’s based on the number of SKUs (stock-keeping units). We also charge based on customer engagement, which represents the number of views.” Daly adds that “the PPE (price per-engagement) is between $10 and $15 … In addition, Glyphr charges a hosting fee … Our clients have access to rich analytics which we provide as part of the bundled price.”
Daly and Quigley formed the company in March 2012. That spring, they raised seed capital from five investors. By October, Glyphr attracted two “angel” investors from the Washington, D.C. area in a venture-capital round, designed to complete the product development and to attract clients. The principals did not disclose the amount of either investment or the names of the investors. “At this point, I don’t think we’ll need a future round of capital [investment],” says Daly.
“We don’t have any real competition,” Quigley contends. “There are novelty marketing gimmicks, but no one has focused [on our niche] … “This gives us time to develop our client base and … [ramp up] new product development. We are considering an e-commerce plug-in to license to a big, online retailer … It can be viewed in your browser without having to use a scanner … [That way], the customer could browse organically on a site using our 3-D content.” Daly adds that “… new development could also let the customer plug into tablet magazines without the need to download an application.”
Principals’ Background
Daly, 23, and Quigley, 24, both attended Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse. Upon graduation, Daly matriculated at St. Joseph’s College in Philadelphia, majoring in finance and economics. He then worked for two years in the Washington, D.C. office of Cambridge Associates, conducting due-diligence. Quigley attended New York University, majoring in economics and interned with several online, interactive companies.
“While I was at Cambridge,” observes Daly, “I saw the huge growth in mobile advertising. Mike and I stayed in touch after graduation (2011) and talked about the potential [of tapping into this market by really engaging viewers] … We needed a chief technology officer and found Gabriel Thomas Wiley Marques, who is also a principal.” Marques, 25, graduated Rutgers with a major in computer science and worked for Halbred Match, a defense contractor, before joining Glyphr.
On May 28, Glyphr will join the StartFast accelerator, located at 499 S. Warren St. in Syracuse. “StartFast will be invaluable in helping our team take this company to the next level,” Daly says. The 12-week program is designed to help startup companies be successful by providing funding and mentoring. StartFast is backed by private capital and co-chaired by Charles Stormon and Nasir Ali. The program received 600 applications of which only 10 to 12 are selected.
In addition to the principals, Glyphr employs one person in sales and one in design. The business currently employs five total. Daly projects nine employees by 2015.
“We are at the intersection of business, media, and technology,” Quigley says. “It’s a very exciting time.” Daly adds that he and Quigley think that Syracuse is “… the perfect place to launch this company. “[We are surrounded] by talent from Syracuse University, Cornell, and RIT. Our foray into publishing is [bolstered] by the presence of the [Newhouse] communications school … People are very helpful [in this community] … They share their thoughts on how to run a company better… The Tech Garden has helped us to scale up quickly, … and we have relied on [other tenants like] Page 44 Studios (now owned by Zynga) to help us with 3-D development.”
Glyphr retains the services of Bousquet Holstein PLLC (Syracuse) for its legal work, including intellectual-property protection. The firm also retains Testone, Marshall & Discenza (Syracuse) for its accounting.
Glyphr has gone from an idea between friends to a company with a product and revenue in just 18 months. If John Wanamaker were here, he would be Glyphr’s first customer.
Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@cnybj.com
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