Our weekly roundup of startup news in Buffalo …
Senior Yelp position in Buffalo opens up
If you see Alex Levine in town (or above it, he’s a pilot) the next few months, make sure to give him a nod.
Levine is ascending the ladder at Yelp with a position in Long Beach. He has been the face of Yelp in Buffalo for nearly a decade, most recently as its senior community director.
Yelp is looking to fill his role.
He shared some thoughts on the time with Business First:
"Yelp is a great company to work for, and there's no place like Buffalo and WNY to build a community. The people and this area are unlike any other and will continue to hold a special place in my heart.
"Building a community around the Yelp brand in Buffalo was a dream job on so many levels, and I'm excited for Yelp to hire the next person to be at the helm of promoting our growing city and everything it has to offer.
"It's bittersweet to leave Buffalo; serving Yelp and the Buffalo community for nine years has been a blessing filled with so many memorable moments and fulfilling career experiences. I am excited to see the next person who steps into this role!"
Elsenbeck commits full-time to Viridi Parente
Dennis Elsenbeck is now working full-time for Viridi Parente after being appointed as president.
Led by founder and CEO Jon Williams, the company develops lithium ion battery solutions for a variety of companies out of its East Side campus, the former site of a General Motors factory.
Elsenbeck previously established and led Phillips Lytle’s energy and sustainability group, and before that he was National Grid’s regional executive in Buffalo.
Clarification: Elsenbeck remains a member of Phillips Lytle's energy consulting team.
At Viridi Parente, he’s responsible for the strategic direction and alignment of products and services for subsidiaries Volta Energy and Green Machine. He will also represent the company in legislative and regulatory interests and energy policy.
“Dennis is one of the most recognized figures in New York’s utility and clean energy industry,” Williams said. “I knew from our first conversation that he is aligned with our focus on tackling decarbonization from the point of use, and knowledge of utilities and the regulatory environment is already proving essential to our success.”
Jamel Perkins, others join HELIXintel board of advisors
A local business executive is among the recent appointments to Buffalo-based startup HELIXintel's board of advisors.
Jamel Perkins, now a senior executive at Sodexo and principal at StarUPstate Ventures, was one of five industry experts appointed to help the company disrupt the equipment maintenance industry.
The company said Perkins, James Finn, Cassandra John, Robert Parker and Xiaoyan Zhang represent some of the nation’s leading voices in eCommerce, data science, facilities management and clean-tech.
HELIXintel closed on a $1.6 million round of pre-seed capital earlier this year.
Major news out of Syracuse
A few big names in the Central New York startup fabric celebrated milestones this week.
• Hidden Level closed on a $17.6 million Series A investment and opened expanded office space in Syracuse. The company is open to hiring in Buffalo, where one of its early employees works.
• In the meantime, TCGplayer raised $35 million to continue its growth plans. The company has one Buffalo-based investor/board member, Jack Greco, who declined to say whether he participated in the new round. It also a budding employee cluster in Buffalo.
