A roundup of hiring news in Buffalo’s startup scene…
Dustin Wilson and Betsy Lehan
Dustin Wilson, a Genesee County native who was a creative director at a startup support organization in Boulder, Colorado, is coming back home to work as Launch NY program manager.
Wilson has founded companies in e-commerce, event marketing and sustainability.
“Originally, I left home because I felt like I needed to go elsewhere to get the entrepreneurial education and experience I wanted, and I am thrilled to be able to return now to join Launch NY and the Upstate New York’s growing startup ecosystem,” Wilson said.
Launch, which supports entrepreneurs in central and western New York through funding and mentorship, also announced it has hired Betsy Lehan as grant and customer relationship manager. Lehan most recently was workforce development program manager at Goodwill of Western New York.
Steve Raines
Steve Raines has been a familiar face in Buffalo tech circles for years. Now he’s back at it.
Raines has been hired as development director by marketing agency 19 Ideas. The Development Department includes a team of front-end and full-stack web developers and software engineers who support 19 Ideas clients and build the company’s own software tools.
Raines is co-founder of former software company Algonquin, helped to build short-lived accelerator program VCAMP and co-founded Pointman, which was sold to a larger corporate partner in 2020.
Pete Grum
Pete Grum’s last entwinement with Rand Capital Corp. – which he led as CEO for 25 years – ended in April with the election of a new slate of board members. But he’s not done investing yet.
Grum has been hired as a venture partner at Advantage Capital, an impact-based investment firm located in St. Louis Grum is staying in Buffalo and working out of the Hansa office space.
He is scouting deals on Advantage’s behalf in Pennsylvania.
He’s not running the show anymore, nor is he on a small team. But he’s where he wants to be – meeting founders and sorting through pitch decks for opportunities.
“I work with great people and (Advantage’s model is) highly profitable,” Grum said. “This is what I like to do.”
