Rodney Reisdorf has been building software and business teams in Buffalo for a long time. He’s ready for a new challenge.
Reisdorf has been named CEO of Verivend, a Buffalo fintech startup that offers a cloud-based platform for the management of business transactions.
He expects to do what he’s done since graduating from Canisius College in 2004 with a degree in computer science.
“I’ve spent my entire career at software-as-a-service and enterprise software companies, helping their customers leverage software to help improve their business,” he said. “The fintech market is red hot and nobody has the breadth and robust feature set that Verivend is offering.”
Verivend takes aim at the process of business transactions, seeking to replace physical paperwork or email chains that delay payments and sow confusion. They believe Verivend is the secure, affordable and holistic solution the world needs.
Reisdorf has been working on the Verivend idea for several years now and is joined by co-founders Aaron Santarosa, firm president, and Jonathan Ebel, chief technology officer. Director of sales Daniel Devlin is an early employee.
Verivend is finding exceptional traction among professional services companies, including some recognizable names in Buffalo that are early adopters, who are seeking exactly this kind of solution, said Santarosa, whose family owns the Santarosa Group of Companies.
“Verivend has grabbed the attention of the best and the brightest, which is really exciting," Santarosa said. "We're seeing it working very well in a real-world setting."
Reisdorf joined Liazon Corp., then a growing startup based in Buffalo, in 2011 and led the build-out of its client services and delivery operations. Liazon was acquired a few years later by the company that would become Willis Towers Watson, which still employs several hundred in Buffalo. He resigned recently as a Willis Towers Watson director and client service delivery leader.
Having ridden Liazon to a successful corporate career, Reisdorf said he’s excited to start building again.
“My corporate career was great in that it provided for me and my family and afforded me a lot of opportunities to grow with the company,” he said. “But I have that hunger to get back to the startup work and really sink my teeth into something and make it grow.”
