SYRACUSE — Rounded Development (Rounded) and the Woodbine Group recently announced a joint venture called Edison Insight. “We chose the name because Thomas Edison was more than an analytic thinker,” said Eric Candino, a founder at Rounded. “Edison used data-driven decision making, but it was based on customer experience … He was one of the […]
SYRACUSE — Rounded Development (Rounded) and the Woodbine Group recently announced a joint venture called Edison Insight.
“We chose the name because Thomas Edison was more than an analytic thinker,” said Eric Candino, a founder at Rounded. “Edison used data-driven decision making, but it was based on customer experience … He was one of the first design thinkers who met user needs by enhancing the human experience.”
Edison Insight is a Web-based application designed to revolutionize the hospitality industry by providing a tool that gathers and analyzes customer satisfaction, keeps track and evaluates housekeeping and other hospitality functions, and streamlines maintenance requests, all in real time. “No more pen and paper, no spreadsheets, no phone calls to get something done,” adds Thomas J. Fernandez, Woodbine’s director of business development. “There is no need for time-consuming follow-up or missed communications.
“I originally came to Rounded to develop a customer survey. Customer satisfaction is very important to [our properties]; it helps to differentiate us and gives us a competitive advantage. Rounded listened and suggested a solution that went well beyond my original request,” notes Fernandez.
“After listening to Tom, we went to the next level by adding other modules and by creating a mobile application that was easy to navigate,” says Steven VonDeak, a partner and founder of Rounded. “We also were concerned with providing analytics that would give the Edison Insight users real-time monitoring of the [hospitality functions]. Both parties soon began to realize that this application would have broad appeal to the boutique, independent hospitality industry, not to just to Woodbine properties.”
Fernandez and Swanson, president and owner of Woodbine Group, created a new entity called Swanson Fernandez Enterprises, LLC (SFE). SFE then joined with Rounded, a company formed by the merger of Rounded and AppFury. Rounded is primarily responsible for the software development and support while FSE focuses mainly on sales and marketing. The two companies split the revenues 50/50, each paying its related expenses from their share of the income.
“There is no real competition at this time for the small, independent hotel owner,” says Fernandez. “We are currently compiling a database of ‘one-off’ hotels and small chains, and we hired two internal sales reps. The marketing is focused on phone calls and emails, using the Internet to demonstrate our Web application … We now have three modules to sell a la carte on a subscription basis, each at $99 per-month per property. For those who prefer to pay an annual fee [up front], we offer a discount.
“Our initial focus is on the Northeast,” continues Fernandez. “The database currently has 1,100 entries … Our sales projection for the first year calls for 150 contracts, but our goal is 300.”
Rounded is headquartered in the Tech Garden at 235 Harrison St. in Syracuse. The firm employs 12 people who develop desktop or mobile websites, Web applications, and content-management systems. The Woodbine Group, a privately held, commercial real-estate holding and development company, employs 300 and is headquartered at 505 E. Fayette St. in Syracuse. Founded in 1978, Woodbine, which owns and manages more than 1.3 million square feet of retail, warehouse, industrial, and hospitality space, generates $19 million in annual revenue.
Contact Poltenson at npoltenson@cnybj.com
