CEO moved back to Buffalo to run his company

HelixIntel CEO Jon DeWald used to commute roughly once a month from his home in Carolina Beach, North Carolina to Buffalo, where his company was based.

But as the company matured and grew, that frequency bumped up to practically every week.

After closing an $11 million Series A round in summer 2023, he decided to move back to his hometown to run the business.

“It became pretty clear to me that it was important to be centrally located with the team,” he said. “That had a lot to do with why we decided to come back here and build.”

HelixIntel, founded in 2019, provides digital tools that help companies track, maintain and acquire equipment. The startup’s business model works like this: It has top-level insurance groups as customers, which gives it access to hundreds of insurance companies and millions of properties underneath those larger companies’ umbrellas.

You could say DeWald’s move goes against common tech startup practices of remote work, as he doubles down on in-person communication.

“I know so many startups (whose) teams are fully remote,” he said. “I think they’re missing out. I really do. This is my fifth startup. I’ve been on both sides, and I choose being together every time.”

Part of that decision was due to accelerating growth, and remote communication can be efficient but sometimes not as effective. In-person also leads to better decision making, according to DeWald.

It also can save time: someone walking up to him in the office with a question could be a quick conversation versus setting up a Teams call and carving out 15 to 20 minutes.

“For startups, every second counts,” he said. “I have a saying where we plan together and execute at home.”

He leads a team of 21, 17 of whom are based in Buffalo and are hybrid workers. The others are remote, but DeWald emphasized that any operations- or technical-related jobs are based locally.

He expects to add about five employees over the next few months. The startup is also moving from a small space at the Incubator@CBLS facility on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus to a 5,300-square-foot office space. The company declined to name the exact building, as details are still being finalized.

That will help accommodate the business’ growth. HelixIntel quadrupled its year-over-year revenue in 2023.

He encouraged startups to consider in-person or hybrid work. It’s important in the early days to be together and then as the business grows, completely remote operations tends to lead to losing the personal side of the business, he said.

It also fosters teams coming together, seeing each other’s personal and professional growth and celebrating wins and making mistakes together.

“Coming together has been so impactful as a leader in the company,” he said. “I’ve seen just a major shift as far as communication goes, collaboration and speed of coming together. It’s been impactful to us as a business.”