Time for another helicopter tour through Buffalo's startup scene...
Zealot Interactive ready to rock
Talk about a long seven months.
Zealot Interactive will finally get to take the wrap off its innovative partnership with Fox Entertainment show “Monarch.”
The Buffalo-based startup has an LED hardware guitar teaching tool and a software platform with exclusive music lessons. That platform currently includes 105 courses, about 3,500 video lessons and more than 500 lessons to teach popular songs.
Led by CEO Shaun Masavage, Zealot Interactive moved from Virginia to Buffalo last year and then won $500,000 in the 43North startup competition.
The company has been selected to help people learn the guitar parts on original “Monarch” songs.
Original and familiar songs from the show will be released on the Fret Zealot app each week after episodes air. Users can then learn the songs through the Fret Zealot hardware and software system.
The partnership was supposed to launch with a late January premiere of Monarch, but the show’s debut was pushed to Sept. 11.
"Monarch" stars Susan Sarandon, Trace Adkins and Anna Friel in the story of a powerful country music family. Zealot Interactive is hosting a free watch party from 7-9 p.m., Sept. 11 at Seneca One Tower.
It will be the capstone of a busy month for the company, which is sending hundreds of guitars with Fret Zealot systems to entertainment industry journalists across the U.S.
"We're also working with several guitar brands to advertise Fret Zealot lessons in their guitar boxes during the holiday season, so the excitement goes beyond Monarch for sure," Masavage said.
Masavage has said the partnership with Fox Entertainment is an example of how the startup will differentiate itself moving forward, becoming an expert partner with record labels and musicians.
"We're in the final stages of some very unique licensing from the record labels, so we hope to launch some very exciting gamification features by early next year," he said. "We're quite focused on the software side of things for now. The global electronics shortage has been challenging for releasing new hardware product versions, but a bass guitar version is in the final stages of production and should deliver just in time for the holiday season."
Zizo makes executive promotions
Zizo Technologies is shifting into “growth stage,” according to CEO Jimmy Chebat.
It recently made a few appointments to help it get there.
The Buffalo-based workforce gamification startup promoted Megan Kelly to chief operating officer and Gabby Hager to director of sales.
Kelly joined Zizo as community manager and executive assistant to the CEO. She was named chief of staff this spring, a move preceding her current appointment. Kelly is an active member of the startup community, particularly through nonprofit BootSector.
Hager previously worked as head of sales for three tech software startups and specializes in “driving seven-figure growth for tech companies,” according to a Zizo news release. She will help develop the sales department and prepare it for growth.
Jason Bartz joins NYC startup
Jason Bartz spent years building teams for ACV Auctions, most recently as senior manager of capital sales and execution.
Now he’s moving on.
Bartz is joining New York City-based Vero Technologies as director of growth. The inventory financing platform closed on $4 million earlier this year.
Bartz has been an active member of other startups and community-building initiatives in Buffalo. The good news: he says he's staying here and only commuting to Brooklyn occasionally.
