DeWITT — A locally based social-networking site for owners of small and home-based businesses, called Brazzlebox.com, will launch on April 15.

The website, created and operated by DeWitt–based social-media firm Brazzlebox, Inc., intends to build connections between businesses and local communities. The website will initially target businesses located in upstate New York, including Syracuse, Rochester, Buffalo, Utica, Albany, and their surrounding suburbs. A nationwide launch will follow 45 days after the regional launch.

“It’s by small businesses, and for small business,” says Glen Zinszer, founder and CEO of Brazzlebox. “Our goal is to empower small businesses and help them grow.”

Brazzlebox, Inc., established in May, 2012, currently has five employees working in a 3,300-square-foot office at 7075 Manlius Center Road in DeWitt. It also hired a five-person technology team from Manhattan–based software-development firm InfoTech Solutions for Business Inc., at 135 East 57th St., New York. Zinszer says Brazzlebox maintains employment contracts with all five people and covers their payroll.

Brazzlebox has gathered about $500,000 in funding from 14 investors in Central New York, according to Zinszer. He declined to disclose the names of the investors and the exact amount each of them invested.

Brazzlebox has not started to generate revenue yet. Zinszer says the plan is to produce revenue through online advertising, including charging advertisers an “administrative fee” based on the number of clicks generated by an advertisement link.

About 2,000 users are participating in the prototype test launch of the website (www.brazzlebox.com), Zinszer says. He expects to have about 15,000 users in the first month of the official launch.

The company is preparing to hire 10 marketing and research associates. It is also looking for new office space in the Syracuse area. Zinszer, who believes “Syracuse is a great place for small businesses,” says Brazzlebox will continue to be headquartered in the area.

Owner’s background

Zinszer has been a small-business owner for more than a decade. In 2003, he founded Eagle Claim Services, a Syracuse–area firm that offered workers’ compensation and disability-claim administration services.  He sold the business in 2009 to Irvine, Calif.–based CorVel Corporation (NASDAQ: CRVL). Eagle Claim Services had 30 employees at the time. CorVel continues to have an office in the Syracuse region.

Zinszer was also the owner and operator of two small businesses in Cicero — the restaurant, Taste of Boardwalks, and the costume shop, Twilight Halloween. Zinszer holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental geology from SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse.

The idea for Brazzlebox, according to Zinszer, comes from the difficulties he faced, as a small–business owner, of building connections with the local community. Even though there are already a variety of social networks, like Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn, Zinszer feels that they cannot meet the specific needs of small–businesses owners and entrepreneurs. 

“Facebook is for families and friends, LinkedIn is for professionals, Twitter is for people to discuss their interests. But we want to create an exclusive social network just for small business.” says Zinszer. “People always want to seek opinions from their neighbors, and geography does matter when it comes to offering business suggestions.”

By leveraging PHP, a website server scripting language designed for web development, and geo-location technology, Brazzlebox will provide users instant updates on local market changes, information about community business events, and customized professional networks based on users’ locations and business types. Business owners will also able to build their business profile pages and websites through Brazzlebox. In addition, consumers can register on the site and get location-based coupons and discount information. All the services of the website are free, according to Zinszer, and he is not planning to charge users for any online services in the near future.

Brazzlebox is collaborating with several nonprofit and government organizations — such as local chambers of commerce, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and area Small Business Development Centers  — to better empower small businesses and entrepreneurs by providing policy and management assistance, according to Zinszer. The firm is also talking to some companies about providing affordable business services to the small businesses that use Brazzlebox. Zinszer says he has already gained commitments from three companies, including a shipping firm and a printing company, but he declined to disclose the company names.

One of the most important features of Brazzlebox, according to Zinszer, is a post-disaster recovery initiative that seeks to bring small businesses together to help support one another in the aftermath of natural disasters, like hurricanes or tornados. The post-disaster reconstruction process is always challenging, Zinszer says, noting that one-fourth of small businesses are unable to recover from natural disasters. By proactively creating a community-supporting network, Brazzlebox can assist struggling small-business owners in seeking new investments, insurance policies, and other related resources.

Contact The Business Journal at news@cnybj.com

SYRACUSE — Revenue at Syracuse–based Ensemble Video has doubled since 2011 and the company has been growing its workforce to keep pace.

Ensemble Video provides an online video platform aimed at the corporate and education markets. The firm added five people in the past year and now employs eight.

The company expects more growth this year with three more new hires likely, says Scott Nadzan, director of sales and marketing.

School districts, colleges, and enterprise customers use Ensemble Video’s platform to stream content over a variety of networks and devices, including computers, iPhones, iPads, and Androids, the company says. Its system integrates with a range of video and web technologies and allows institutions to secure video content and share internally or publish to any Web page.

Growing comfort with online learning and video content is helping to drive the growth at Ensemble, Nadzan says.

“Video allows them to communicate with an audience 24/7,” he says. “It allows them to engage with their audience.”

Although YouTube dominates the online video world, the service isn’t really made for use by large organizations, according to Ensemble. Nadzan says his company tailors its product specifically for schools and businesses.

Upgrading the system is a constant priority and another reason for the firm’s growth, he adds.

“We’re building a better car that more people are able to buy and want to buy,” he says. “Our software has gotten better.”

Online learning allows schools to add classes without adding buildings, he notes.

And online video is ideal for businesses looking to share training companywide. Business and education users both post video of routine meetings for later use, Nadzan says.

Ensemble deployed its software with close to 100 new organizations in 2012.

The firm has close to 200 customers total and nearly all are in education, Nadzan says. The firm is aiming to dominate the market for online video in both K-12 schools and higher education.

Nadzan says most of the growth in recent years has come on the education side of the business and he expects continued strength there in the future.

So far, the company has largely bootstrapped its growth, although firm leaders have talked occasionally with outside investors, Nadzan says.

“Our main goal is to try and do this organically,” he says.

Ensemble Video is based on work the company’s founder and CEO, Andy Covell, did while he was executive director of information technology at Syracuse University’s (SU) Martin J. Whitman School of Management.

Covell spent 27 years at SU and one of his major tasks was wiring the Whitman School’s new building, which opened in 2005. During that project, Covell confronted a host of different, disparate technologies and methods for collecting and sharing video across departments.

Covell, with the help of some members of SU’s School of Information Studies, eventually began working on what would become Ensemble Video as a result of facing that challenge.

Education customers for the company include Rice University, Temple University, Dartmouth College, Rochester Institute of Technology, nine State University of New York campuses, Baldwinsville Central Schools, Fayetteville-Manlius Schools, Cortland City School District, Westhill Central Schools, and Ithaca City School District. On the business side, customers include the New York State Association of Realtors, Inc., Squire Sanders Law Firm, and Syntax Communications.

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com