Seneca One Deep Dive: Nicholas Kosinski + Odoo

For this week’s Deep Dive, we caught up with Nicholas Kosinski, Director of US East Odoo, a Belgium CRM software company that has is growing quickly in downtown Buffalo!

We hope you enjoy it!

If you’ve taken a drive down the 33 or on the 190 recently to the beautiful city of Buffalo, you might have seen a very unique billboard that you made you do a double-take.

“Sorry SAP,” in giant white letters complemented by a rich shade of purple, has everyone wondering what is going on?

Nicholas Kosinski of Odoo has joined us to tell you about the company’s journey through the small- and medium-sized businesses market, what they are doing and why you should apologize to SAP.

Seneca One: When considering moving to Buffalo, what attracted you to Seneca One, and how has Douglas and Seneca One helped Odoo grow?

Nicholas Kosinski: There are a few things. Firstly, the people here. The DD team has shown an overwhelming amount of support and enthusiasm for Odoo as a company and the mission that we’re on here in Buffalo.

Secondly, Douglas himself. His genuineness, his character, his work ethic, and his ability to get the job done has inspired me on a personal level since the day I met him. As much as he may be supporting me, I try to do everything that I can to support him in return. We’re neighbors, after all – and you know what they say about neighbors in this city!

SO: What has it been like watching Buffalo transform here at Seneca One?

NK: That’s a very difficult question to answer: it’s like asking me to describe what it feels like to watch David beat Goliath – how do you feel when the underdog finally starts to succeed? Ecstatic, maybe?

SO: We see the “Sorry SAP” signs on the 33 and the 190. What do they mean, and Why should the city of Buffalo keep an eye out for Odoo?

NK: SAP is Odoo’s biggest competitor, and we’re simply apologizing for eating up the SMB market and leaving them with very few if any leftovers! Like the story I mentioned above, in this case, SAP is Goliath, and Odoo is David – and we’re feeling ecstatic up here on the 26th floor!

SO:  What is next for Odoo?

NK: Hire, hire and hire some more!

We are happy to have Odoo here at Seneca One and hope you think of them the next time you see a “Sorry SAP” sign.

Seneca One Deep Dive: Verivend & The 1992 Dream Team

Welcome to this week’s Seneca One Deep Dive! The team at Seneca One identifies exciting up-and-coming people, projects, and companies to dive into and share with our audiences. This week we’re shouting “cannonball!” from the rooftops as we jump into Verivend.

Fact: Rodney Reisdorf, Aaron Santarosa, Jonathan Ebel, and Daniel Devlin want their clients to get paid.

This fintech quartet has had enough of email chains, physical paperwork, and mismanagement of finances. With that being said, they are not afraid to challenge financial traditional methods.

Friends, meet Verivend, a financial software company that has built a highly secure, cloud-based platform for the management of business transactions and reduces friction and risks between accounts payable and accounts receivable through a  designed invoicing system.

The team consists of Reisdorf, Co-Founder and CEO,  Satanrosa, Co-Founder and President, Ebel, Co-Founder and CTO, and Devlin, Chief of Sales. This group of innovators are no stranger to the fintech industry and mismanagement of business finances.

Leading off is Santarosa. He is the President of The Santarosa Group, the parent company of Buffalo Fuel, SGS Recovery, Frontier Fibers, and JAGG Electrical & Control, and has expertise in the commodities, transportation, and renewable energy industries. Then there is Reisdorf, who has a successful history in the B2B and B2C industries and is a results-driven leader results-driven leader of SaaS and enterprise software solutions. He also has deep expertise in architecting client service strategies from concept to completion, software platform and product development, operational process design, and building successful cross-functional teams.

Ebel is a seasoned software architect and proven technology leader. Before Verivend, he was Chief Architect at ACV Auctions, where he led and grew the Software Engineering team, created ACV’s Product team. Batting clean up is Devlin, who brings a wealth of experience in revenue growth strategy and P&L management. It’s safe to say that Verivend is Seneca One’s version of the 1992 dream team.

“Verivend’s founding team has had the fortunate opportunity to be part of several successful startups in the Buffalo area,” Reisdorf said. “We’ve always been passionate about solving real problems and building companies around doing just that. With our team’s combined experience of scaling successful companies and the value that Verivend brings to businesses of all sizes, taking this path in our collective career journeys was a no-brainer.”

Since 2019, Verivend has slowly garnered attention for its unique software-as-a-service platform that challenges traditional financial methods and offers a faster way for companies to pay and get paid. This means no more email chains, physical paperwork, or time wasted.

This allows businesses to predict and rely on their cashflow.

“Fintech is very hot right now, with many players in the space focusing on a number of areas in the financial services industry,” Reisdorf said. “There’s a major shift happening with both consumers and companies moving from the traditional ways of managing their finances to rapidly adopting solutions that save them time, offer transparency, and reduce fraud – all of which are why we started Verivend. We’ve built an incredibly robust software-as-a-service platform that offers the fastest way in the market for companies to pay and get paid. Our unique payment and transaction network powered by Verivend’s proprietary digital wallet allows instant B2B and B2C payments and unparalleled cashflow predictability and transparency. We’re very proud of what we’ve built and even prouder to be doing it in our hometown of Buffalo.”

Last spring, Reisdorf, Santarosa, and Ebel were looking for a vibrant and lively office space. They toured Seneca One and were floored by the welcoming atmosphere of Serendipity Labs, and the flexible shared co-working and office space right in the heart of Buffalo’s new aged renaissance.

Since their arrival, they have experienced a whole new level of growth and are confident that with a positive ecosystem here at Seneca One, their secure and affordable billing solution will ascend to new heights.

“Buffalo’s tech hub is a huge asset to not only the city, but to companies like Verivend,” Reisdorf said. “The access to other companies in all stages of growth thought leadership, and talent is invaluable to the success of Buffalo’s startup ecosystem. Not that we think starting a company (especially a fintech) is easy by any means, but being part of Buffalo’s tech hub and the ability to access others who have walked the path before us, or who are walking alongside us on the journey is an incredible advantage in guiding the growth and success of our company.”

Be on the lookout for Verivend as they continue to navigate through the world of financial business solutions. You may also find them at the Seneca One Lobby Bar talking tech with other entrepreneurs!

 

Seneca One Deep Dive: SkateSkins & Creativity in Hockey

Welcome to the Seneca One Deep Dive! The team at Seneca One identifies exciting up and coming people, projects, and companies to dive into and share with our audiences. This week we’re diving headfirst into Just Dishin and SkateSkins!

BUFFALO, NY: One is overcome with a feeling of exuberance when you step foot into the offices of  Just Dishin and SkateSkins at the top of Seneca One, Buffalo’s solo skyscraper. Perhaps it’s the density of up and coming companies growing together on one floor of the recently woken sleeping giant that is Seneca One, or it’s the friendly greeting and overwhelming excitement on the faces of Nick Ciavarella and Matthew Keeler, two young entrepreneurs that are this week’s Seneca One Deep Dive!

It’s not because of the gorgeous view of the waterfront and bustling downtown Buffalo, the giant throw rug of a Jordan 1 hockey skate (that nobody dares to step on), or the collection of exclusive New Era ball caps in the office that this team uses for inspiration. It’s the tangible passion and eagerness to push Buffalo forward that fills the four walls of their space high up in the tower of Seneca One. 

Ciavarella and Keeler are members of Just Dishin and SkateSkins; both are lifestyle and hockey companies looking to push the game of hockey forward with a focus on creativity. Just Dishin offers hockey-influenced streetwear as an e-commerce initiative as well as digital marketing services while SkateSkins offers customizable skate accessories that are close to being protected by their very first patent. 

On June 16, the dynamic duo and their other full-time teammate, Derek Hosken, made the move to Seneca One. Since their arrival, the team has taken full advantage of the collaborative collision here at Seneca One and has grown into their brand new space.

“I think [Seneca One] is a place where a whole team can get together and bounce inspiration off of each other,” Keeler said. “It’s a place where we can all come together, work on ideas and work on different projects that we’re all involved in and all want to see fulfilled.”

JustDishin was founded in 2012 by Keeler and Ben Madafferi in a small college dorm room at St. John Fisher College in Rochester, NY. The idea was to help create a new wave of stylish fashion collaborations to the sport of hockey and to empower athletes to provide their flavor through their creativity. Since 2012, the passion and drive of Keeler and Madafferi led to a period of unexpected organic growth. 

In 2016, they added Ciavarella as Chief Operating Officer to help with media and digital marketing, and in 2020 they launched SkateSkins. In addition to Ciavarella, Keeler, and Hosken, JustDishin and SkateSkins have seven part-time employees, including Madafferi.

The group’s love for the game and appetite for fashion and expressiveness garnered the attention of Buffalo Bills tackle Dion Dawkins and Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin. Both are now clients of the design department at Just Dishin. These guys have even worked on projects with Toronto Maple Leafs’ superstar Auston Mathews

This lead to an opportunity to showcase their products on the Barstool Sports media platform, not to mention a special invite to visit the Barstool Studio which took place in early 2021.

“You’re going to get opportunities. You have to put in that time and that work,” Ciavarella said. “If you love what you do every day and follow your passion, I think there are a lot of good things that can happen. I think for our group as a whole, it [showed] our group that anything is possible.” 

From the Seneca One perspective, we highly recommend that you keep an eye on this young team of enormous talent not only in Buffalo but worldwide as their products begin to gain momentum in the hockey world! 

For more information, follow Just Dishin and SkateSkins on Instagram! 

Sign Up For Public Tours of Seneca One

DOUGLAS DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCES THE RETURN OF PUBLIC TOURS AT SENECA ONE

Seneca One welcomes the public into the tower for a comprehensive look inside WNY’s tallest building! 

BUFFALO, NY , April 21 –  Seneca One will open the doors to small, socially distant, and enthusiastic tour groups to explore the nearly completed 1.4 million square foot complex from top to bottom. Buffalonians who have been viewing the development and progress from a distance on the news and in the paper can now register for a tour and come see everything for themselves. 

This tour offers the chance to see Buffalo like you have never seen it before while at the same time learning about what is to come at WNY’s tallest building. 

The 1.5 hour tour will include a trip to the 38th floor featuring 360 degree views of WNY and Canada, and then a trip down the tower with stops at various technology spaces as well as a comprehensive look into the forthcoming amenities, retail options, and event spaces. At each stop, a Douglas Development representative will provide insight regarding the history and future of each space. 

Public Tour Schedule 

Wednesdays at 5:30 PM 

Saturdays at 12:00 PM 

RSVP at senecaonebuffalo.com 

The tour of Seneca One goes into great depth about the building’s history as well the vision for the years to come. Our guests will see what a $186M redevelopment looks like starting with the best view of Buffalo there is: over 500 feet up in the sky.  Learning about the technology aspect of Seneca One is almost like peeling back the curtain and taking a sneak peek into the future of Buffalo.” said Sean Heidinger, Director of Business Development for Douglas Development. 

While individual RSVPs are mandatory to participate in the public tours, Seneca One is also welcoming in group tours which are perfect for corporate outings, family visits, etc. Tours require masks to be worn at all times. The tours do not include any of M&T’s spaces and Seneca One asks that you wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather.

Public Tours Return to Seneca One

DOUGLAS DEVELOPMENT ANNOUNCES THE RETURN OF PUBLIC TOURS AT SENECA ONE

Seneca One welcomes the public into the tower for a comprehensive look inside WNY’s tallest building!

BUFFALO, NY , April 21 –  Seneca One will open the doors to small, socially distant, and enthusiastic tour groups to explore the nearly completed 1.4 million square foot complex from top to bottom. Buffalonians who have been viewing the development and progress from a distance on the news and in the paper can now register for a tour and come see everything for themselves. 

This tour offers the chance to see Buffalo like you have never seen it before while at the same time learning about what is to come at WNY’s tallest building. 

The 1.5 hour tour will include a trip to the 38th floor featuring 360 degree views of WNY and Canada, and then a trip down the tower with stops at various technology spaces as well as a comprehensive look into the forthcoming amenities, retail options, and event spaces. At each stop, a Douglas Development representative will provide insight regarding the history and future of each space. 

Public Tour Schedule 

Wednesdays at 5:30 PM 

Saturdays at 12:00 PM 

RSVP at senecaonebuffalo.com 

All Ages!

The tour of Seneca One goes into great depth about the building’s history as well the vision for the years to come. Our guests will see what a $186M redevelopment looks like starting with the best view of Buffalo there is: over 500 feet up in the sky.  Learning about the technology aspect of Seneca One is almost like peeling back the curtain and taking a sneak peek into the future of Buffalo.” said Sean Heidinger, Director of Business Development for Douglas Development. 

While individual RSVPs are mandatory to participate in the public tours, Seneca One is also welcoming in group tours which are perfect for corporate outings, family visits, etc. Tours require masks to be worn at all times. The tours do not include any of M&T’s spaces and Seneca One asks that you wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather. 

Seneca One, at 1 Seneca Street, is Douglas Jemal’s $186M mixed use redevelopment of One Seneca Tower, now the home to over 100 apartments, M&T Bank’s technology hub, 43North, Odoo, Serendipity Labs, Quarter Deck Athletics, and much more. 

…So You’re Coming to Seneca One

Slowly but surely, you’ve been watching the Buffalo skyline’s tallest building, Seneca One, slowly transform from a distant memory into a living, breathing, mixed use facility with 24/7 activity and a tech-focused community. 

This 1.4M square foot monstrosity, formerly known as One HSBC Center, and before that was known as Marine Midland Center, stands 529 feet tall, has 38 floors, hosts over 100 apartments and is welcoming a diverse workforce that is growing by the day. 

Seneca One is now ‘open for business’, which means that one way or another you may be heading downtown to 1 Seneca Street in the near future and your first question is going to be: “where do I park?!?!” 

Well, we’re here to walk you through it! 

Because we’re in Buffalo, most guests of ours are going to be inclined to drive to Seneca One, and that’s fine, but before you hop in your car to head downtown, please consider getting to us by any of the following transportation options:

  1. NFTA Rail – Please get off at the Seneca Street Station which is a 30 second walk to SO.
  2. NFTA Bus – Please get off at the Washington Street Station which is a 30 second walk to SO.
  3. Reddy Bikeshare
  4. Walk or Ride a Bike
  5. Carpool with Friends
  6. Coming from out of town? Buffalo’s brand new AMTRAK station is directly behind Seneca One.

Parking at Seneca One 

Now that you’ve decided to drive to Seneca One, there are many parking options. More than most people think!   While there is always street parking to be found around the perimeter of Seneca One, we do have one ramp that we highly recommend to our visitors: Seneca One Ramp at 50 Exchange Street. The cost is no more than $5 for the entire day, is very safe, and contains a bridge directly to Seneca One.

Once you pull in and take a ticket, we recommend heading directly to the third level where you will have a close spot to the bridge to Seneca One. If you do not park on the third level, use the elevator to get there and the entrance to the bridge is located directly to your right.

Now that you have crossed the bridge to Seneca One, head to your right through the garden/plaza (future beer garden).

Once you pass the retail building on the plaza, turn left towards the East and West Entrances which are on opposite sides of Main Street.

You can enter at either the East or West Entrance and take the escalator to the lobby level which is the gateway to anything and everything at Seneca One. If the escalators are undergoing routine maintenance, the elevator to the lobby level is located behind the escalator.

Once you make it to the lobby level, you’re in the right place! Please check in with security or give your contact a call to let them know you’ve arrived!

Welcome to Seneca One

What exactly is a tech hub?

Let’s start with the basics.  A tech hub is a community that promotes innovation for technology-based companies.  The collection of like-minded individuals working in various business sectors but focused on the use of technology creates a unique environment where individuals, ideas and the companies that support both can thrive.  A tech hub can cover a large geographic area – you may be familiar with the Silicon Valley in California, but just as often, tech hubs are found in single buildings or clusters of buildings as is the case here in Buffalo, NY with Seneca One.  Tech hubs like Seneca One are unique in that they offer the same benefits of geographically dispersed hubs but condense the activity, which increases the potential for meetings, collaborations, and general camaraderie among tech-minded employees.

How did it start? While Buffalo, NY may not have a reputation as a tech hub city (yet!), there are core areas of our city that are home to buildings or collections of buildings that intentionally attract tech talent.  In the case of Seneca One, the introduction of the newly created technology division of M&T Bank as the anchor tenant of the project has helped to attract other tech-focused and entrepreneurial businesses.  M&T Bank, under the leadership of tech industry icon Michael Wisler, realized from the onset that choosing Seneca One was an important step on the pathway to success.  The very tangible ability to attract the best of the best in terms of tech industry minds, working in close proximity to others facing the same challenges in their work, and building community has proven to produce exciting results.  This notion continues to drive interest in the project both regionally and nationally.  Of course, first-class amenities, a mix of apartments and office, unique community events, proximity to transit, the promise of exciting retail outlets, and the massive scale of the overall redevelopment doesn’t hurt.  Sensing the excitement, a host of new tenants signed on immediately following M&T Bank’s tech division.  Most notably, 43North, an organization that works to attract and retain high-growth startups in Buffalo through an annual $5M startup competition, relocated to office space at Seneca One, ensuring they were at the epicenter of this emerging community.

Where do we go from here?  The best answer is, up.  The future for tech hubs in secondary markets like Buffalo, NY is promising.  The pandemic is increasing the pace of a trend that sees the largest tech companies considering their options.  We’re not just talking about square footage or at-home workforces here.  What’s really at the heart of the issue is the fact that these are companies that thrive on the community they create; the very fabric of tech hubs is the benefit of creating these communities.  The young, diverse, and talented workforce found in Buffalo has been recognized by the tech industry and they are responding with real excitement to the companies that call Seneca One home.  A fulfilling career, a sense of community, and  the ability to maintain roots in the city they call home is very powerful and a real asset to companies looking at relocating to the region.  It is also the backbone of tech growth when you consider the constant exposure to ideas, investors and thought leaders that comes with the hub concept and the community it creates.  Aside from these obvious benefits, beyond the walls of their offices they’re driven to understand living costs, access to transportation, cultural connections, and more which support their workforce.  It’s clear that Buffalo, NY is a natural fit on all of these fronts, with Seneca One serving as ambassador to the thriving tech world.

Here’s what you need to know.  Occupying over 1.4 million square feet in downtown Buffalo, Seneca One is poised to play a major role in reestablishing our community as a thriving waterfront city and deserving destination. Our remarkable footprint includes restaurants, retailers, residences, and businesses – all paired with an unmatched view and buzzing atmosphere. With over 100 apartments at the base of the building, thousands of people working in the tower, eateries that serve into the evening, and a diverse workforce of more than 2,000 people working together to establish our region as a destination for entrepreneurs, innovation, talent, and investments, Seneca One is buzzing 24/7.  Other highlights include column-free floor plates, incredible 360-degree views with natural lighting, destination elevators, and fully landscaped outdoor areas.  Key tenants include M&T Bank tech group, Odoo, Lighthouse Technology, 43North, and Serendipity Labs.

For more information or to tour Seneca One, please contact Kyle Ciminelli, Executive Managing Director at Newmark Ciminelli at 716 631 8000.

Live Downtown! Why your next move should be to the apartments at SO

Seneca One is a Community, Not a Complex.

New With A View

Seneca One boasts 115 stellar new apartment units—from studios to three bedrooms—completed in 2018.  While the building has history, the apartments are fresh. Units feature all of the top of the line amenities you want in luxury living, stainless steel appliances, in-home washer and dryer, and more. 

Everything you’d need is inside, and you also have a great view of everything there is to offer outside through massive windows! Apartments have views of iconic downtown spots like Canalside, Pearl Street, Lake Erie, Seneca One Plaza, and Sahlen Field!

People with Passion

Everyone who lives and works at Seneca One is committed to downtown Buffalo’s resurgence. Current tenants were drawn to the building because it is a one of a kind option in a city they love. With shared spaces from the fitness center to outdoor seating areas, you can turn your neighbors into connections and lifelong friends. 

Plus, some of Buffalo’s most exciting companies call Seneca One home. Hang out in the lobby and you can network with Buffalonians from companies like Odoo, 43North, M&T Bank, Lighthouse Technology Services, Douglas Development, and more! 

Douglas Development Cares

The Douglas Vision and the entire Douglas Development team are dedicated to building a community at Seneca One, not just filling apartments. The team is working to create an inclusive environment with a  melting pot of tenants. 

Plus, Douglas Development gives back to the community! In November, they partnered with M&T Bank to give away 500 turkeys to Western New York families in need a few days before Thanksgiving. 

“Like our partners at M&T Bank, Douglas Development and the team at Seneca One are committed to giving back to the community, and with the difficulties this year has brought, helping our neighbors is more important than ever,” Douglas Jemal, principal of Douglas Development, told Channel 7 news in regards to the giveaway. 

Events for Everyone

While the pandemic has slowed down our chances to gather lately, Seneca One is ready to host nonstop events for networking and socializing when it’s safe to get together. There are events to suit everyone. Residential Happy Hours? Check. Professional Mixers? You got it! Comedy nights? Get ready to bring out your inner Jerry Seinfeld. When the Bills make it to the Super Bowl? Seneca One will be hosting the watch party. 

For residents only, one of the most fun and unique events at Seneca One is the Seneca One Space Club! Join Western New York’s most exclusive group of amateur astronomers as they star gaze from the roof of Seneca One!

Live, Work, Play!

When that highly anticipated snow storm hits, you won’t even have to leave the building! Seneca One is set with everything you need to live, work, and play downtown. 

Have a furry friend to bring along? Units are pet friendly, and a dog park is coming soon! Like to keep things moving? There is a 24-hour state of the art fitness studio (and Seneca One is dedicated to fit and healthy living). 

Plus the building has onsite food and drink, with more to come! Stop by the Food Hall for a quick lunch, or grab a post-workout protein shake from The Blend

Interested in starting your next adventure downtown at Seneca One? Check out this site for more info, and then send a note to residential manager Samantha Soltis, ssoltis@douglasdev.com.

Talkin’ Tech with Nick Kosinski of Odoo

Talkin’ Tech is a series where the Douglas Development team chat with some of the movers and shakers of Buffalo’s tech and start-up scene to get their insight into how the city has evolved and is continuing to evolve in those spaces. 

Check out our chat with Nick Kosinski, Director of East Coast operations at Odoo. 

Describe Odoo in 1-2 sentences: 

Odoo is an integrated suite of business management applications. 

What do you do for Odoo?

I oversee Odoo’s East Coast operations, so that includes everything from Sales, Professional Services, Support, Technical, etc. 

How did you end up in (or back in) Buffalo? 

I started at Odoo in 2015 in New York City. I was selling for Odoo there, and I got pretty involved and interested in the technical side of the product and branched out. While selling, I continued to learn more and more, and I got involved in some of the different areas of the business. That passion and underlying interest has allowed me to seek out an opportunity to grow with the company  and ultimately establish an East Coast office. 

We have an office of about 550 in Belgium today, and 250 in San Francisco. When establishing an East Coast office, the company wasn’t interested in having it in New York City, primarily due to saturation of the market. In New York City, there are thousands of technology companies we would have had to compete with from an employment standpoint, a compensation standpoint, relevance standpoint. We saw that there were some more interesting tier two cities that possessed the resources we would need to be successful, such as student population, general cost of doing business, culture, geographical location. For those reasons, we decided to go against the grain, think outside the New York City box, and we found Buffalo and moved into Seneca One. I jumped on the opportunity to come back here. 

After growing up in Buffalo, moving away, and then coming back here, what has surprised you the most about the tech/start-up scene in Buffalo?

I think it’s both surprising and unsurprising. Everyone kind of has an idea of Buffalo being a city of good neighbors, a city that has a lot of camaraderie. Buffalo is full of people that see themselves as a community. A sort of underdog mentality blankets all of that. I knew that growing up here, of course. When I worked in tech in New York for some time it was very much a competitive space. When I came back here to Buffalo, it was kind of the opposite of that. It was an environment where the person standing next to you, the one standing behind you, the one in front of you, are all interested in seeing you grow, and you are interested in seeing them grow. I think that mentality is rooted in the theory that a rising tide lifts all boats. I think that is the most compelling and interesting facet of the tech scene here in Buffalo. It’s amazing to see how people work together and to see how people know that they need to come together to make a shift as a community. People work towards a common objective. They collaborate. They cooperate. It’s not just surprising, but it really reminds me to be proud of where I am from and to work that much harder to make a shift happen. 

Obviously it is a unique year, and we are starting to see a lot of companies rethink their operations. How do you think COVID has impacted how companies will choose where to be located and set-up their offices?

Obviously COVID is a nightmare, and we all look forward to the day when it’s behind us. When it comes to long-term impacts, a lot of people are looking through the lens of the individual employee, like this is an opportunity for employees to work remotely, to never go into an office again, to work from the beach. While that is obviously true and the right move for some companies, it definitely won’t be the case for most. Big companies like Google, Amazon, Facebook are buying up commercial real estate and betting against the idea of remote-only moving forward. 

Looking through the lens of the employer and the ability to scale a team and deliver services remotely provides a different perspective. I think that the long-term impact will be that companies no longer need to be in cities like New York, Seattle, or San Francisco in order to deliver quality services across the continent or even the globe. For that reason, they will look elsewhere for their offices and headquarters I suspect. Obviously there are other factors, like access to resources, that need to be considered, but companies will definitely be looking for ways to save where they can. The simple reason that remote-only work isn’t here to stay is that the collaborative impact of being in the office, especially in the tech space where oftentimes the products are complex and there are steep learning curves, cannot be optimized with work-from-home. Remote work can create huge costs of both money and time for companies trying to rapidly create a culture, scale up operations, and more. We don’t yet have the technology to fully replicate in-office collaboration for remote work, in my opinion. 

What’s the best thing about working in Seneca One? 

We’ve been in Seneca One since early September. The best thing is the collaboration, being able to buzz down the elevator and see familiar faces who work at different companies like M&T Bank and 43North. Being able to see people, chat with them, exchange ideas with them, learn from them, and having them be able to learn things from us has a tremendous impact on the evolution of what we’re trying to create both here at Seneca One and in the Buffalo community more broadly. 

What Greg Baker, Sean Heidinger, Sam Soltis, and the Douglas Development team are doing is really working. It’s really a long-term plan. It’s incredible to watch them show up day in and day out to realize this great Seneca One vision . It’s an incredible project and everyone is really involved in the community. It’s more than just a building.  

Is Odoo currently hiring?

Odoo is absolutely hiring. We are hiring for Account Executives at the moment. If you are someone who is interested in technology and helping businesses operate more efficiently, then by all means reach out. 

What Buffalo food did you miss the most when you were living in New York City?

LaNova pizza with blue cheese, specifically from the one on Main. With charred pepperonis for sure. 

Here are Four Ways to Burn Off That Turkey In and Around Seneca One

Four Ways to Burn Off That Turkey In and Around Seneca One

After (or before!) you get gobbling this Thanksgiving, you might want to get going and get that blood flowing. Here are some ideas on how to keep things fit and fun in and around downtown Buffalo this holiday week. Burn that turkey or earn that extra helping of mashed potatoes! 

  • Turkey Trot (Virtually)

This year’s 125th Annual YMCA Turkey Trot in Buffalo is going to be looking a little different than in year’s past. Delaware Ave will be much quieter on Thursday without its costumed runners and cheering fans at water (or beer) stops, but you can still participate in this year’s virtual event! Experienced runners or hungover walkers can complete the 8km race wherever they would like, anytime between Thursday, November 26 and Sunday, November 29. Plus all participants will not only receive a t-shirt, but they will also receive a commemorative mask. How’s that for peak 2020? 

  • Take a Waterfront Run

Bundle up and take a run around Canalside for a quick workout. Although it is much quieter in the wintertime than it is in the summer, you can still head over and enjoy the fresh air and great views. Looking to clock some more miles? Try the Wellness Trail at Outer Harbor, a nice green break from Buffalo’s industrial heart. 

Maybe if you’re lucky, your run will be enhanced by the smell of Cheerios wafting from General Mills.

  • Take A Hike

Don’t forget that Buffalo has easy access to the natural wonders of Niagara Falls! Drive on up, or take a train from the brand new Exchange Street station just steps from Seneca One. From the Niagara Gorge Overlook to the more challenging Devil’s Hole, Niagara Falls has hikes suitable for the whole family, from the kids to the more experienced outdoors people. 

  • Hustle at Home

Now more than ever there are options to break a sweat at home! Every week Canalside drops a Funday Fitness video that you can do from anywhere in the world. Other local gyms and fitness studios are also getting creative to offer classes you can do from home, like Space On Seneca’s Virtual Yoga, Barre Centric’s Virtual Studio, Sweat716, Boxstar On-Demand, and many more. 

Residents of Seneca One are especially lucky to have 24/7 access to a state-of-the-art fitness center, including a shiny new Peloton Tread+ for those trying to replicate the boutique fitness experience at their residential gym. 

The Future of Fitness at Seneca One

Health and wellness is definitely at home at Seneca One for both residents and visitors! While there are limits on how we can sweat and fuel up together, we are excited for everything on deck for healthy living in downtown Buffalo. When it’s safe to do so, Seneca One will continue partnering with local businesses to host creative and fun fitness and social events for the community, like our Urban Runs with Flying Bison Brewing Company and Yoga at Seneca One with Space on Seneca

When the city thaws and Reddy Bikeshare season starts, you can grab a bike right outside of Seneca One to cycle around and explore the city.

After your workouts, you’ll also be able to fuel up at The Blend at Seneca One. This local favorite mobile protein shake business is excited to find a more permanent home at Seneca One. 

Interested in the apartments at Seneca One? Head here for more info:  https://senecaonebuffalo.com/apartments/