Every great business development can be traced back to people, process, or technology — and The Beacon exists to keep you learning and growing at the intersection of all three. Each episode, we'll sit down with people who are tackling big challenges and shaping what's next for Western New York.

Our leadoff guest is Dan Miner, one of Buffalo's most recognizable voices in business journalism and storytelling. Dan is VP of Storytelling at the 43North Foundation and the editor-in-chief of Series B(uffalo), the Foundation's content and storytelling platform.

Dan and host Joe Ray talk about how stories create real human connection, why Buffalo's legacy industries are still at the heart of so much new development here, and how a platform like Series B can move beyond content to become an engine for decision-making that drives lasting change.

Thanks for joining our newest content series at Lighthouse Technology Services, The Place for Technology Talent. Subscribe at GetTheBeacon.com to get all our newsletter and podcast episodes straight to your inbox.

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0:00 - Welcome to The Beacon!

0:45 - Introducing our guest

1:54 - Dan's beginnings as a journalist

5:08 - The thesis behind Series B(uffalo)

8:04 - Giving grassroots storytelling a home

10:54 - Stories as connection-builders

12:17 - Dan's Buffalo boomerang story

16:07 - New companies in legacy Buffalo industries

24:13 - How stories can shape decision-making

28:25 - Connect and start your own story

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Join the charge and check out all that Series B(uffalo) has to offer.

Follow Series B(uffalo) on LinkedIn.

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Connect with Dan on LinkedIn.

Learn more about Lighthouse Technology Services, The Place for Technology Talent.

Follow Lighthouse on LinkedIn.

Connect with Joe on LinkedIn.

Welcome to the beacon where we shine a

light on the businesses, builders and

2

leaders making our region stronger.

3

On this show, we'll talk with individuals

running companies in Buffalo and beyond.

4

You'll hear stories about decisions,

projects, and strategic moves they've

5

been part of: the technology investments

that paid off, the hires that changed

6

everything, the moments that define

their careers, and the principles

7

that will matter for years to come.

8

The leaders we talk to on this

show have walked the walk.

9

They're coming here to show you

the steps they took along the way.

10

At Lighthouse, we believe technology

and talent are the things that

11

drive every business to success.

12

You can usually trace any

great development to people,

13

process, or technology.

14

Joining us at the Beacon is one way

you can keep learning and keep growing.

15

The Beacon is a place for sharing

stories and when I thought about what I

16

wanted the show to be, I looked to our

core values, namely be a lighthouse.

17

It asks us to create clarity for

others, to help them on their way

18

and to be a place of steady guidance.

19

Few have been guides for

our local business community

20

the way that Dan Miner has.

21

That's why I wanted to

have him on the show.

22

He's seen what Buffalo's business

community has been, and now he's

23

charged with telling the story

of what we are today so we can

24

shape a better future ahead.

25

That's one of the main goals of the

43 North Foundation, and where this

26

initiative takes place is on Series

B, the foundation's media platform

27

that's really become a community

hub for stories of growth,

28

innovation, and community building.

29

Dan and I talked about how stories create

connections, how legacy industries in

30

Buffalo are still at the heart of so

many new developments here, and how

31

a platform like Series B can become

an engine for decision making that

32

creates lasting change in our community.

33

Dan's one of Buffalo's preeminent

interviewers, and it was no surprise that

34

he did a great job as an interviewee.

35

Hope you enjoy our conversation, and

if you want to get more, make sure

36

to subscribe at GetTheBeacon.com

37

to see all of our newsletter

and podcast episodes.

38

Welcome in everybody to the show.

39

I'm glad to be here with Dan

Miner today from the 43 North

40

Foundation and Series Buffalo.

41

How you doing, Dan?

42

I'm doing great.

43

Thanks for having me.

44

Glad to have you here.

45

And, uh, I think a lot of folks who, uh,

know Dan are gonna be watching the show.

46

They might know Dan from Buffalo

Business first, or through the

47

work with the 43 North Foundation.

48

That'll be interesting to

kind of dive in a little bit.

49

You've been in the journalism world

for a while and you know, really

50

become a really great storyteller

for this business community.

51

How did that journey start for you?

52

So I love reading books and so I

decided to be a lit major at Geneseo.

53

Nice.

54

But I, what I didn't like was, um.

55

Going to college classes.

56

And so, uh, and I wasn't

sort of a natural student.

57

Okay?

58

So when you are a lit major at a SUNY

college, you're, uh, your, most of your

59

journeys head towards more education, um,

becoming a teacher, becoming an attorney,

60

um, and none of those, by the time I

was done with college, none of those

61

pathways looked attractive to me at all.

62

I never wanted to take

another class in my life.

63

Sure.

64

Um, and I've tried to stay true to that.

65

What was left in the communications

field was dabbling my toe in

66

journalism and at the time really

associated journalism with writing.

67

And, uh, the Jimmy Breslin,

the, the kind of lyrical way

68

that people describe the world.

69

Thought that would be a, a cool

way to sort of, honor my, my.

70

Literary interest.

71

So I started to jump into

a couple of internships.

72

I interned at a very small but well-known

newspaper in San Francisco called The

73

Point Res Light, uh, interned at the

Columbia Journalism Review, and then at

74

a newspaper in Erie, Pennsylvania before,

uh, I got a couple of jobs, um, for local

75

newspapers, both the Twanda News, rest

in Peace, and then the Niagara Gazette.

76

my career kind of unfolded from there.

77

What I found was, uh, that.

78

The writing was only a small percentage

of what made, made, uh, what the

79

craft journalism actually was.

80

Yeah.

81

And what made it valuable.

82

And, uh, what I ended up really

falling in love with was the

83

experiential nature of the job.

84

So it is the anti academic side of, of

the communications world, um, where, I

85

mean, you spend all your time generating

feedback from people, asking them

86

questions and trying to match what

their, uh, you know, what, what their.

87

Uh, personal experiences are with, the

audience groups that, that represent

88

whatever your media outlet you're, uh,

working for sure and trying to, um, sort

89

of just like provide that translation.

90

Basically collecting people's

stories became a, a passion

91

of mine almost by accident.

92

Yeah.

93

And, um, and over the course of

16 years through urban affairs and

94

beat reporting all the way through

Buffalo Business first, where I was a.

95

A business, uh, journalist.

96

I, I, I just, um, always loved the

act of listening and always took

97

very seriously the responsibility

of, um, how you present people's

98

stories to your, to your audiences.

99

Yeah, and and a great point there

too about the, the ability to tell

100

those stories and to find those

stories is the work that you do

101

when you're out in the community

and not behind your desk writing.

102

You're out there finding the stories.

103

I, I know you're somebody who's in a

lot of the rooms where a lot of these

104

conversations are happening, finding

people who are doing interesting things

105

in Western New York, and, and clearly

you're doing a lot of that with, 43 North

106

Foundation and Series Buffalo right now

and kind of being the conduit and the

107

storyteller for a lot of what's going

on in the startup and tech community.

108

Maybe that's a good jumping off

point into congratulations on three

109

months of, of having the platform

up as we're, recording this today.

110

Yeah, thank you.

111

And, um, talk to us a little bit about

Series Buffalo and what the thesis

112

is around that platform and, and

what it is and what it's becoming.

113

Absolutely.

114

So for my journalism career a couple

years ago, I stepped off of that platform

115

and worked for UB for three years.

116

And then last June I was hired

by a foundation called the 43

117

North Foundation to create.

118

A new storytelling initiative,

uh, on behalf of Buffalo's high

119

growth, um, innovation economy.

120

What we were hired to do was to

acknowledge what really, what across

121

the country is an emerging paradigm in

storytelling as economic development.

122

And to kind of Buffalo-fy that.

123

To take the best practices, bring them

here, and then do something that's even

124

better than what the best practices are.

125

And so our answer to that was to

create our own media marketing

126

platform called Series B.

127

I'll describe that metaphor in a second.

128

Basically it's an omnichannel

platform that, uh, that tells

129

constant stories about the great

things that are happening in Buffalo.

130

High growth startups are the beating

heart of our narrative, but the aperture

131

is actually much bigger than that.

132

This is really about, um, the great things

that are happening in Buffalo right now

133

and the opportunity that represents for

the next generation Joe, for our kids.

134

Yeah.

135

And so series B itself, for those who

aren't familiar, when a startup company is

136

raising, uh, money, it general generally

represents their future, their growth.

137

So when a, a company is at the point

where it's raising its series B round

138

of funding, it usually means they're

taking what's working and they're

139

ready to, to, um, drive national or

international growth based on the

140

strong signals they've learned early.

141

Gotcha.

142

Okay.

143

So for us, the series B, the figurative

language there, um, is indicating is that

144

buffalo has accomplished great things over

the past 15 years through 43 North, and a

145

lot of the other resource providers and a

lot of the great companies that have come.

146

It's a way different.

147

I hate the word ecosystem, but a

way different atmosphere, um, way

148

different economy than it was in 2012.

149

Okay.

150

Where we had almost none of that.

151

Uh, and so what we did was we, we

really proved that, uh, high growth

152

companies can start here, they can

scale here, and that they can stay here.

153

Mm-hmm.

154

And so we wanna take those early

signals and basically say it's

155

time for the community's Series B.

156

Yeah.

157

Love that.

158

So it's not just a segment,

it's the entirety of the

159

future of buffalo's economy.

160

And like, it's, it's time

for our new growth round.

161

So series B.

162

It.

163

It's a cool principle too, and this is

the thing I always tell people when I

164

look at the work that 43 North does,

and a lot of what's going on in Seneca

165

one more broadly too, is that it's

a really cool combination of folks

166

who have seen, you know, whether it's

business models or actual types of

167

businesses or now, like we're talking

about this storytelling mechanism.

168

We're bringing ideas from other parts

of the country, other parts of the

169

world that have been proven out, and

bringing them into Buffalo and combining

170

them with like our grit, our spirit.

171

You know, how Buffalo does things and

that's what I've loved watching about the

172

platform too, that it feels really true to

who we are as a city, but it feels bigger

173

than anything that's been done here too.

174

It's a really cool concept.

175

Thanks.

176

Yeah.

177

Conceptually.

178

There's a little bit like the 43

North Foundation is an institution.

179

Yeah.

180

We're bringing this to the

community and so, but these stories

181

are very kind of grassroots.

182

Like we are, what we're, we're looking

for is not to shove our narrative

183

necessarily down people's throats.

184

We are there to be a venue for the

great things that are happening.

185

What we did when we, when

we studied, um, Buffalo's.

186

Story relative to the other places.

187

Silicon Slopes.

188

Mm-hmm.

189

Tech Point, technically all

these other people who are doing

190

storytelling as economic development.

191

Buffalo really didn't have any of that.

192

It had disparate nodes of marketing,

people marketing their own products, their

193

own services, their own support entities.

194

Mm-hmm.

195

And so, um, so we are just basically.

196

Since we know that this works, we're

just basically creating the venue Yeah.

197

For it to work here.

198

One of the reasons that it works the

door is wide open for people who have

199

their own stories to come to us and, and

say, how do I tell it through series B?

200

So some of our contributors are.

201

other entities throughout Buffalo.

202

Mm-hmm.

203

The launch of New York's, the UBS of

the world and, and, and, and more.

204

And by the way, I should say, um,

before we dig deeper into storytelling

205

tactics and stuff like that, um,

the 43 North Foundation is investing

206

across four strategic pillars.

207

Mm-hmm.

208

Storytelling is just one

of them based on the.

209

Uh, research that they've, that, that

they had done, that storytelling is

210

a necessary part of other communities

that have improved from within.

211

But there's three other very important,

um, in, uh, investment pillars

212

that the foundation is enacting.

213

Um, so we're investing in creating

new companies that are rooted in

214

Buffalo through our venture studio.

215

Radio Ventures we're investing in, uh,

the creation of a world class talent

216

pool in Buffalo through Tech Buffalo.

217

And we're creating the first, um,

structured corporate connectivity

218

or an engagement, um, program

around high growth innovation.

219

Uh, all these things are designed to

be integrated and really work together.

220

So, um, mm-hmm.

221

Series B.

222

Is like a limb.

223

Uh, and like sure, okay.

224

It needs all these other parts to,

to, for, for the body to thrive.

225

You know, it's part of a, a bigger

vision for the 43 North Foundation.

226

That makes a lot of sense.

227

And I look at it, you know, being

in the marketing world too, and, and

228

looking at what that is, is it's a,

it feels like a, like a, like a limb.

229

I like that analogy too.

230

But almost like a connective tissue

too, of, like you said, people, people

231

like Greg Quer, like Sydney Sanders

from across the ecosystem who are

232

contributing, uh, Lauren Washington at ub.

233

I know I've seen on there as well.

234

Um.

235

But just that being a

vehicle for people's stories.

236

And you mentioned one thing in your

three month retro, looking back at

237

Series Buffalo, the principle of helping

people identify with a narrative, like

238

clearly you've done a lot of work.

239

The 43 North Foundation has done a

lot of work to identify what that

240

narrative is, that notion of helping

people connect with it, helping them

241

see themselves in the ecosystem, seeing

what other people are up to and saying,

242

Hey, you know, that could be me too.

243

Uh, that's a really powerful thing.

244

And, and that feels like

a big part of then how.

245

You attract talent here,

talent gets connected.

246

What Tech Buffalo is doing, startups

potentially come here, connect

247

with what 43 North is doing.

248

Like this really feels connected to

everything that that's going on there

249

in Seneca one and more broadly around.

250

Buffalo through the fourth

three North Foundation.

251

Yeah, thanks.

252

Connective tissue is a

good way of describing it.

253

So we're doing all these great things.

254

Mm-hmm.

255

And now we wanna give people a sense of

the, uh, movement that they're part of.

256

If you're in Buffalo, you're part of it.

257

Mm-hmm.

258

Or if you're a buffalo proximate.

259

If you're an expat Yeah.

260

Or a, or a, a regional college student.

261

Um, or possibly just a national

investor who's looking for opportunity.

262

Um.

263

All those constituencies

want to be part of something.

264

Mm-hmm.

265

And we're giving them a sense of what

it, and we're trying to create that

266

movement, or we're trying to explain

the movement that's already underfoot

267

in a way that isn't being done Right.

268

It hadn't been done before.

269

Mm-hmm.

270

So that they can feel part of what's

happening in Buffalo because, um,

271

the great thing is that I don't have

to manufacture the idea that, that

272

we've had success, that companies

right now are having success and that

273

Buffalo is gonna be a really robust

innovation economy in the future.

274

Mm-hmm.

275

All of those things are objectively true.

276

All we're trying to do is justify.

277

Um, all that activity, by giving it the

appropriate narrative platform, it's

278

moving well past key Buffalo's secret,

everybody came to know the billboard,

279

but I think, I think we're past that

phase for sure as a business community.

280

I like that one.

281

One thing you said in there too,

um, touching on the Buffalo expats

282

and maybe people who were here went

away, maybe not, might not be aware

283

of what's going on here and now.

284

Might look at the stories on Series

Buffalo, see what's going on with

285

43 North in the tech community.

286

Maybe they'll think

about coming back here.

287

You mentioned it yourself, that

you're a Buffalo Boomerang too.

288

You went to Geneseo for college and then

went away for the start of your career.

289

Uh, was it always kinda the plan for you

to come back to Buffalo or was there.

290

Something that brought you back

here or total, total tangent, but

291

I feel like everyone's always got

a good Buffalo boomerangs story.

292

I was working, uh, as a city hall reporter

for the Utica Observer Dispatch is one of

293

the best journalism jobs you could have,

uh, because of the bare knuckle political

294

town and just launch some great careers.

295

Yeah.

296

Uh, but, um, my wife and I were

looking to start a family Nice.

297

And the, as we were entering our

thirties, the um, like our perspective

298

was shifting on our experience

in, in Buffalo, and we went from.

299

Uh, trying to build lives outside

of it, to really, um, being

300

interested in being part of the, you

know, of the community, uh, yeah.

301

For our lives.

302

And, um, this was all happening at a

303

Buffalo was starting to kind of get

back on its feet a little bit and, uh.

304

You know, revitalization efforts,

were sweeping, um, ne neighborhoods.

305

Were in Larkin V right now.

306

Mm-hmm.

307

Um, like it's, it's easy to

forget that Larkinville wasn't

308

a thing until 20 years ago.

309

Exactly.

310

And that, that story's been replicated

throughout, throughout Buffalo.

311

So, uh, historic revitalization,

the resurgence of downtown, and then

312

the emergence of the startup scene.

313

I, you know, as a journalist

who used to work here, I was

314

really attuned to all that.

315

You know, I'm a representation of what

happens when you, when you are aware

316

of the fact that Buffalo is a wonderful

community with professional opportunities

317

to go as high as as you want.

318

And so the last thing I'll say is

that we were looking to start a family

319

and, um, grandparents save lives.

320

I sure do.

321

And so, uh, absolutely.

322

We went from having, uh, uh, we moved back

to Buffalo and had our first child and

323

then had two more, uh, two years later.

324

So we had three kids in two years.

325

And, um, being near to our, our family

was a big part of, uh, of moving

326

here and being part of that support

infrastructure so that we could all

327

kind of be part of the future together.

328

Yeah, those roots are important.

329

There.

330

Shout out to grandparents, the real MVPs.

331

Indeed.

332

Um, I do imagine there's a lot of

people either, you know, whether they're

333

working in the business world, that

they're, you know, a tech executive,

334

maybe they're kind of, you know, mid

to senior career, but also at that

335

stage where they are starting a family.

336

They wanna look at Buffalo as a place

where they could, could experience

337

that, but then also grow their career

with all the opportunities that are

338

happening here in the tech community.

339

With startups, things like that.

340

Yeah.

341

Um, I imagine there's a lot

of people Yeah, go ahead.

342

Um, it's just amazing when you actually

do the objective market research and Sure.

343

But whether it's like, uh, broader kind

of quantitative research or whether you're

344

collecting anecdotes from people who have

moved away, these people that are, we're

345

talking about or target audience here.

346

Yeah.

347

And for us, we're involved

in this every day.

348

It just seems obvious to us that

there's a lot going on in Buffalo.

349

Sure, sure.

350

Um, as soon as you step out of

that s uh, out of that bubble, um.

351

It's really shocking that people still

think that, um, Buffalo is the Bills,

352

chicken wings, and, uh, lunch at chefs.

353

Right?

354

And like there it is really not well

understood, like how much has changed,

355

uh, for people who are just going

about their lives with their sort of

356

immediate proximity of concern, uh,

that doesn't involve their hometown.

357

That was just a nice place

where they used to to be.

358

That has been a challenge.

359

Mm-hmm.

360

That, um, these people that you assume.

361

Know what's going on and

are still staying away.

362

Actually, uh, aren't aware of it, but

it's also, this is why it's such a

363

storytelling is economic development

is such a low hanging fruit.

364

As an opportunity because all we have

to do is employ this tactics and the

365

strategies to make them aware of this.

366

And, um, it's really easy to create

awareness, uh, of what's happening

367

in your hometown and to shift

perception and because there's

368

just so much opportunity there.

369

Yeah, and maybe there's an interesting

example in a story that I remember

370

reading on Series Buffalo too.

371

I think.

372

I think when we look at Buffalo and

the reputation of like the chicken

373

wings, the bills, all that, the

reputation in the business community,

374

for a lot of people who maybe aren't

familiar with what's going on here.

375

Might still be rooted in a lot

of the manufacturing and the blue

376

collar work, and probably a lot of

it that went away from Buffalo too.

377

But there is all this amazing work in tech

and startups and all these things that is,

378

that are really burgeoning and starting,

and the story's starting to get out there.

379

Um, there's, you know, companies that are

in lots of different industries, whether

380

it's financial, whether it's healthcare,

uh, I think about a company like,

381

um, Lin that got acquired by Majesco,

that's in the insurance tech space.

382

Uh, and then a lot of folks who are

executives there are now building

383

a startup called Insure Pay.

384

Which was really fun to, fun to, um, to

read that story on Series Buffalo too.

385

But a cool example there of an

industry that is really legacy to

386

Buffalo now becoming part of this

tech startup innovation economy, just

387

seemed like a really cool example of

how Buffalo could grow in the future

388

with companies that are rooted in

what's been, you know, historically

389

impactful, uh, economies in Buffalo.

390

Yeah, sorry, sorry, sorry.

391

I just dumped a lot there, but No, no, no.

392

I mean, because you, we uh, you kind of

put your foot in a couple of different

393

kind of interesting conversations that

happens in the economic development world.

394

Here is one is what should

be the area of focus?

395

Should we be, Focusing on one

specific software vertical.

396

Uh, should we be really trying

to, to leverage our, excellence in

397

manufacturing to be the advanced

manufacturing hub of the future?

398

Should we be, uh, like, um,

leveraging all the exciting CPG food

399

stars from food nerd to top seeds?

400

Um, and, you know, I.

401

I kind of like come in and out

of pretending I'm an economist.

402

Sometimes it's easy to just back

off and say like, uh, you guys talk

403

about that, and I'll just write

the stories, uh, as they come.

404

alternatively, are all

of these things good?

405

Can we do all this at the same time?

406

And like, I think that's an interesting

kind of, uh, an interesting discussion in

407

Buffalo, whether we Yeah, whether we're.

408

Diverse, or we have beautiful diversity

or whether we're not specialized

409

enough when it comes to like really

investing in our economic future.

410

But, in terms of insure pay, um, like

this is a good example of what I'm talking

411

about in terms of like, uh, unearthing

stories that should be more well told.

412

It was a very successful.

413

The guys that ran insure pay were, uh,

used to work at Lint, like you said.

414

It was a very successful software

415

about 2021, they raised more than $10

million institutional venture capital.

416

And then, um, had a huge exit.

417

Like, I mean, it wasn't a, maybe it

wasn't a billion dollar exit, but

418

it was a healthy market, multiples

exit, a really healthy exit.

419

Investors were happy.

420

It was in 2021.

421

The executives all have, you know,

uh, like generational wealth.

422

Yeah.

423

Um, the employees.

424

Did, did well.

425

It was the example of the economic, uh,

power of high growth startup companies.

426

Yeah.

427

And how it recirculates

through the economy.

428

A couple years later, they're

now all doing it again.

429

Mm-hmm.

430

So not only, um, did they create a

whole bunch of economic activity with

431

their last company, but that success

generated that sort of circular.

432

That circular movement where they're,

uh, coming back through and, and doing a

433

startup again, raising more money, growing

a new team in Buffalo, and, um, really

434

kind of multiplying the effect just based

on the fact of, of their initial success.

435

And, um, that's just

happening over and Elmwood.

436

Mm-hmm.

437

Like PE people should know that we've got

like commandos in the InsureTech space.

438

You know, guys that are really good

at this, guys that have already

439

become wealthy, that are building

a new business based, more or less

440

based in Buffalo, um, in 2026.

441

Mm-hmm.

442

And like, growing really quickly.

443

And like, uh, that is just an anecdote.

444

You could, uh, throw a rock and hit

these, and hit these stories and just

445

like, they're just not well understood.

446

And I think that bringing them out,

really the, the volume of them.

447

For sure is the, is

the lesson in series B.

448

There's so much of this happening.

449

Mm-hmm.

450

Um, and once you take a, once

you just, uh, word the venue for

451

the market research, like Sure.

452

Yeah.

453

Once you just, once you just digest,

hey, there's a place where all these

454

things are happening and a true

objective, authentic stories on series B.

455

Um, you'll, you, you just, uh, it's hard

to escape the fact that like there's just.

456

A lot of activity here.

457

A lot of activity represents a lot

of opportunity, and that's what

458

we want people to think about.

459

Buffalo.

460

A lot of activity and a

lot of different activity.

461

To your point too, about the different

industries and you know, I look at that

462

as like a, a yes and mentality of like,

Buffalo can be all these different

463

things, all these different companies.

464

And then when we look at the different

types of companies that come in through

465

43 North every year, thinking about

recent winners, obviously there's

466

lots of software companies, but then

looking at somebody like Food Nerd

467

who you, you know, Sharon is a, is a,

you know, Buffalo homegrown founder.

468

Uh, great company with a great mission

to, you know, support people and, you

469

know, people and families in early

childhood development and providing

470

proper food and things like that.

471

But then startup that comes into 43

North runs through their cohort year

472

raises a series A opens massive facility.

473

Um, I think they just launched

in, in a new, uh, chain.

474

Sprouts.

475

Yeah, sprouts.

476

So, um, just the momentum seems

to be really building there with a

477

consumer products company, which is,

which is a really interesting thing.

478

Yeah.

479

Yeah.

480

Um, I mean there we have a really exciting

collection of consumer products companies.

481

It's particularly in

the healthy food space.

482

Yeah.

483

Um, and it's interesting.

484

Uh, so you've got food, uh, food

nerd 4 43 North winner that's now,

485

um, gonna be 800 retail stores

across the country and innovative.

486

Like, uh, technology protected

platform from how for their, uh mm-hmm.

487

R and d and their manufacturing.

488

Yeah.

489

Something defensible,

something unique there.

490

Yeah.

491

Um, and you've got, uh, top seeds,

which is already, uh, uh, grown just,

492

uh, massively from, not just from its

early days, but still year over year.

493

Significant growth in other 4 43 company.

494

Yeah.

495

And you've got a Jet Energy bars, which

is also, uh, has opening up major retail

496

accounts and is also like a really.

497

You know, health, interesting sort

of tech enabled, like from their, for

498

sure, for, uh, where I should say, um.

499

Uh, like the, their, uh, protected.

500

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

501

It's a unique product that technology

necessarily, but, um, yeah, it's a

502

unique product with a defensible,

uh, from its manufacturer.

503

Yeah.

504

I love gonna undergrounds and just

picking up one of those with the

505

coffee and gets me through the day.

506

Yeah.

507

So, um, I guess, uh, my, my point there

is, um, like there's a legitimate.

508

Movement afoot just in that space.

509

These are companies that are, uh,

significant sales, um, raising

510

significant amount of money and probably

have a significant future in terms

511

of liquidity and exits down the line.

512

And they sort of exist in this shadow

of, uh, food manufacturing in Buffalo.

513

That's also sort of like

not properly understood.

514

The amount of major, the amount of talent

that we have from the executives to the

515

sales to the actual r and d and food

manufacturing is significant in Buffalo.

516

We have.

517

Multiple, um, like multinational,

uh, companies that are headquartered

518

here, um, or that have major factories

here, um, from, uh, frozen foods

519

to um, to cheese, to, uh, lots of

other, uh, things along the way.

520

And so, um, there's thousands and

thousands of people employed at

521

local factories and headquarters.

522

Um, and so like, I like just this sort

of like linear idea of the fact that

523

like we've, we've always done this well,

and now there's a future and there's.

524

Three female LED CPG companies that are

growing quickly that represent the future

525

of our city to go alongside the Lin story.

526

Where we, we've got a, we're a strong,

um, like back office insurance,

527

uh, town, and that's enabled these,

this cluster of insurance, um,

528

software, software companies to grow.

529

And like, uh, you just keep hitting

veins, um, like in, in terms of

530

like the activity that's there.

531

And we're just there to

kind of shine a light on it.

532

Yeah.

533

There's so many different veins and you're

gonna be able to tap into your community

534

too, and have lots of storytellers

there and helping people tell those

535

different stories, which is really neat.

536

And that kind of comes then to the

broader goal of business development

537

and business attraction in Buffalo and

how this storytelling platform kind of

538

becomes a centralized place for that.

539

To your point too, like what we

were saying earlier, a lot of

540

these stories are kind of either

fragmented and they're taking place

541

in different pockets of the community.

542

Or maybe they don't get surfaced at all.

543

And then by creating this platform

for them, it might help somebody else.

544

Maybe they're a local founder with

an idea or they're off, they're off

545

building in the Midwest or the West

Coast and they look at four three

546

North and Buffalo and say, Hey,

maybe this is a place I could build.

547

What excites you about Sirius Buffalo

as potentially a platform that

548

can help, you know, drive regional

business attraction in the future?

549

Yeah, I mean, I think that, uh.

550

The emotional side of, uh, of

business decision making is undersold.

551

Mm-hmm.

552

Like the fact that Absolutely.

553

Like, um, yeah.

554

And, and we want to create, uh,

opportunity for people to get excited.

555

So that's a, that's an

emotional, um, like verb.

556

Yeah.

557

Um, it's something

people can connect with.

558

Yes.

559

Yeah.

560

Mm-hmm.

561

And so, um, we think that Series

Buffalo is a powerful, tangible.

562

Force for, uh, business decision

making that benefits buffalo.

563

Mm-hmm.

564

Because, you know, we're giving

people an opportunity to try and

565

be part of something that's, that,

that that's already happening and

566

that, that involve, that includes

local people starting businesses,

567

trying to attract local talent here.

568

But it also, when, when somebody's doing

market research, um, and they've got a

569

host of northeastern cities that they

wanna open an ops hub or a tech hub.

570

Mm-hmm.

571

Like this is, this is a, an asset.

572

That, um, Buffalo didn't have before

and that differentiates Buffalo from

573

almost any other, any other city.

574

Mm-hmm.

575

And so who wouldn't, you know, like we can

put this in the toolkit of other resource

576

providers of Invest Buffalo Niagara,

or visit Buffalo Niagara, or anybody

577

who's trying to attract a business.

578

And, uh, just to, just to, as

part of the portfolio where, like,

579

if you actually wanna understand

the robustness of the Buffalo's

580

innovation economy, just go here.

581

You don't have to go any farther

than here and just scroll.

582

And so one of the interesting

stories that, um, Nick Kosinski from

583

DU tells is that like, uh, how he

had to kind of pound the table for

584

his company to, um, make Buffalo.

585

One of, its, it, it's basically

East, east coast US headquarters.

586

Yeah.

587

Yeah.

588

And, and they've grown.

589

They did all the market research.

590

500 employees.

591

Yeah.

592

Yeah.

593

So.

594

All of the objective information

was on the table, Philly,

595

Buffalo, all these other markets.

596

Um, but what they, what he and

Buffalo scored Well, like, or it was

597

competitive with those other places.

598

Mm-hmm.

599

And so why, if you're scoring,

well, what, what, what is that last

600

5% to get it in over the finish

line or get it into the end zone?

601

And that's that.

602

How do people feel about it?

603

Mm-hmm.

604

And, um.

605

And what I'm, what I think, and what

I hope happens is that as we get more

606

of these companies, it's not uncommon

to have companies consider Buffalo for

607

anything from tech, to manufacturing.

608

You know, like, it's not like we're

poorly or, or not well known in the site

609

selector community or anything like that?

610

Sure.

611

Um, we have an opportunity to

really showcase like the, the, uh,

612

to get people excited and, um, to

change the perception of the city.

613

Mm-hmm.

614

And once you start changing the perception

of a region, a lot of really tangible

615

economic development benefits follow,

and that's what Sirius Buffalo's role is.

616

Yeah.

617

And, and a lot of that story in terms

of the, the hard facts of what makes

618

Buffalo a place a business might relocate

to are already pretty well communicated.

619

And you mentioned a couple of groups

have done a great job of that between

620

the, the quality of life, the generally

affordable housing costs relative

621

to other parts of the country, uh,

you know, the talent base and the

622

local colleges and things like that.

623

Uh, you know, what becomes

then the deciding factor?

624

And I love that you

brought up the oo story.

625

There is the decision and the emotion.

626

And the choice to be like, yeah,

this is the place we're gonna do it.

627

Yep.

628

Absolutely.

629

I think, I think that's

a really important thing.

630

It, it's like, uh, slight

selection, fomo, you know?

631

Yeah.

632

There you go.

633

You know?

634

Exactly.

635

Yeah.

636

Yeah.

637

So, um, like this is a mechanism

that we're missing here.

638

We can, we can state our case in dry

terms and we can do white write white

639

papers and create decks and presentations

and websites and stuff like that.

640

You know, you wanna go

somewhere where there's a vibe.

641

It's true.

642

Even the biggest corporations

in the world aren't just making

643

black and white decisions.

644

Uh, yeah.

645

They, they, they don't wanna

miss out on the next big thing.

646

And it's time for the city, city series B.

647

Exactly.

648

Lo love that.

649

So, so if people, if people read stories

on series B and they say, yeah, I want to

650

get involved, I want to, you know, find

my place in Buffalo, get more involved.

651

Um, where are some of the

places people can do that?

652

You know, where, where

should they be showing up?

653

Whether it's, you know,

events in the community?

654

Something like maybe Buffalo

Startup Week coming up.

655

Um, you know, what are kind of some

of the places where people can kind

656

of, you know, learn more beyond

the stories and kind of find where

657

their place might be in Buffalo?

658

Yeah, sure.

659

So, um, our specific call to

action in terms of learning more

660

is not just, uh, is to sign up for,

uh, our, uh, newsletter mm-hmm.

661

And get all these stories in one place.

662

So this is the, this is the,

the, the spot where you would

663

go if you didn't wanna miss it.

664

It'll be, it's a free weekly newsletter.

665

It's in your inboxes.

666

And, um, we'll tell you everything from

the hottest new startups in town to, um,

667

describing the events that are happening.

668

Um, nice.

669

You know, on a, on a weekly basis,

a lot other newsletters do that too,

670

but, um, and certainly not trying

to, uh, say don't, um, don't sign up

671

to, to all of our resource providers.

672

Yeah.

673

Uh, newsletters.

674

But, um, series B is, uh, uh, so, um,

if you want to just keep learning.

675

Uh, uh, that's the one call to action

I have for Series B specifically.

676

Mm-hmm.

677

Um, they're also robust set of free

community events in, in Buffalo.

678

And, um, we'd like to think of

them all as, uh, uh, uh, really

679

welcoming sort of front doors or

on-ramps into the tech innovation

680

or just like the business scene.

681

So we just had.

682

Uh, more than 700 people

register for women in Tech.

683

Yeah.

684

Amazing.

685

Which was administered by Tech Buffalo,

uh, the 43 North Foundation's talent

686

arm and like, just, uh, many, just

a great, uh, collection of people,

687

um, who are participating in panels

and discussions and networking.

688

Mm-hmm.

689

Um, upcoming is Buffalo Startup Week,

uh, which is that just for people

690

who are startup founders, but for

anybody who just wants to be interested

691

in, in what we're talking about.

692

When we say the future of Buffalo is

innovation, so, uh, whether you run a

693

company that's not tech or you work at a

company that's not tech, or you're from

694

out of town and you wanna come back in and

see what we're all about, Buffalo Startup

695

Week is a great opportunity to do that.

696

Love that.

697

Maybe you could show some links in the

comments for Yeah, yeah, I certainly will.

698

Yeah.

699

Yeah.

700

But, uh, but, um, there'll be

a collection of events, um, at

701

various locations around the city.

702

Awesome.

703

That'll, um, involve, uh,

really making clear, uh, what.

704

What is happening here, cool

presentations, networking and whatnot.

705

And then the series B is, um,

sponsoring and for the 43 North

706

Foundation is sponsoring the keynote

address on April 23rd, um, for, uh,

707

Buffalo Startup Week, which will be

Eric Wood, Bill's legend, Eric Wood.

708

Let's go.

709

We'll talk about Love that.

710

Yeah.

711

Um, yeah, he'll talk about, uh, the, uh,

hi, his career, his perception of Buffalo,

712

and, um, how he's sort of leveraging

all that, uh, to, to, you know, be a.

713

To do business and to sort of live

his life, um, a after football.

714

So it'll be a really cool keynote address.

715

And then we're hosting the first

ever Buffalo startup draft.

716

Uh, oh, there we go.

717

Now we're talking.

718

And so, uh, we've got Eric Wood there.

719

We figured he be, he, he should

probably draft some local companies

720

onto the series, uh, sweet B team.

721

So, um, companies that have hit

certain bench, um, marks will, uh, get

722

their name called, um, on that event.

723

So please do show up.

724

We'd love to have everybody

from the community.

725

There'll be an after party.

726

That's awesome.

727

Um, as well.

728

Yeah.

729

Now I feel like I need like a fancy

football league for buffalo startups.

730

We, we should do it.

731

Why not?

732

Roll is our oyster.

733

There we go.

734

Yeah.

735

Love it.

736

Awesome.

737

Anything else we didn't touch on that you

feel like is, is big and important about

738

Series Buffalo that folks should know?

739

Uh, no.

740

I'm just like the door's wide open.

741

This is not a awesome, this

is not a gated, uh, a thing.

742

So if you have a company that you

think deserves to be written about,

743

if you have a story idea, um, if

you have ideas about the kind of

744

content that would attract you.

745

Um, like I'm all about feedback and, uh,

so please do, uh, reach, you know, sign

746

up for the newsletter or just reach out

to me personally and, uh, let's talk.

747

Love it.

748

Awesome.

749

Thanks for joining us, Dan.

750

All right, thanks Joe.

751

Appreciate you.