Buffalo Next: Buffalo childhood friends building platform to connect… – Buffalo News
BY NATALIE BROPHY
Dec. 31, 2022
Let’s say you’re a musician.
You want to record the song you wrote, but you don’t have recording equipment or access to a traditional studio space.
What are you supposed to do?
That’s where Stooty Technologies comes in.
Childhood buddies Dante Richardson and Deleon Alford are building an e-commerce marketplace for creative production and studio operators. Through Stooty’s platform, a musician could book studio space to produce their song.
People are also reading…
Businesses also can also hire creators through Stooty to produce content for them.
“The hardest part of any content creation is turning ideas into production, especially for high quality content creation, ” Richardson said.
“The production phase is the hardest part, ” he said. “Most companies now only focus on distribution once the content is created. There’s no platform that actually helps you with producing your ideas when you have limited resources and you’re cash strapped. ”
Stooty Technologies cofounders Dante Richardson, left, and Deleon Alford. The two men met as children playing basketball in East Buffalo and founded Stooty Technologies in 2021.
Building the tech economy in Buffalo
Richardson and Alford met when they were 12 years old playing basketball in East Buffalo. Richardson’s professional background is in tech, and Alford and his wife own a pet grooming business, Alford’s Angels, and Nickel City Pet Pantry.
They started Stooty together within 2021 to return to their passion for music and entertainment. But the men also hope to have a positive economic impact on Buffalo.
The innovative economy is worth billions of dollars. Kids have dreams of growing up to be YouTube creators or even TikTok stars. Thanks to social media and the internet, people can financially support themselves via content creation from virtually anywhere in the world.
That includes Buffalo.
“Buffalo’s economy has been on the rise because of tech, ” Richardson said. “We see Stooty as being the production hub for the creative economy. ”
Richardson and Alford built the beta version of the Stooty app that they are testing along with creators and studio owners to figure out what features their users want.
They have, so far, raised $20, 000 from angel investors and plan to launch a $3 million seed round in the future.
The men wish to launch the Stooty platform in late February or March.
To get to that point, Richardson and Alford have tapped into resources specifically for minority founders.
Locally, Stooty is part of Launch NY’s Founders Go Big program, an initiative to support underrepresented, disadvantaged founders in creating high-growth businesses.
Richardson is also participating in a virtual residency program for Black plus Afro-Latinx entrepreneurs called Bubble Immerse . The program teaches founders to build apps and develop market-ready, quality web products.
Richardson and Alford want to be part of building up the technology economy in Buffalo. They also want to be positive examples to kids growing up in the same communities where they grew up.
Deleon Alford of STOOTY Technologies, Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. (Derek Gee/Buffalo News)
Alford recalled having ideas as a kid, but never saw a path to making them a reality. He volunteers as a mentor to kids at Baker Victory Services, and he thinks a lot of those young people could benefit from a good app like Stooty because they’re very creative, yet have minimal resources.
“I love our city, ” Richardson said. inch The whole city just does so much for us, and we see so much opportunity in the town. Kids are leaving our city and they’re trying to go into overcrowded markets when our own city wants to be built up. There’s so much opportunity. We see a lot economic activity going on downtown, on the West Side of Buffalo, the north side. We’re from the East Side of Buffalo. There’s not too much stuff going on over there. inches
– Natalie Brophy
Want to know more? Three stories to catch you up:
Welcome to Buffalo Next. This newsletter from The Buffalo News will bring you the latest coverage on the changing Buffalo Niagara economy – from real estate to health care to startups. Read more at BuffaloNext. com .
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH…
PITCH Hamburg
Annamaria Masucci, executive director of PITCH Hamburg, poses for a portrait in Hamburg, July 12, 2022.
Then : PITCH Hamburg, a business incubator program in the Village of Hamburg, is supporting the creation and growth of new businesses in the community.
This year , the organization hired its first executive director, Annamaria Masucci, and opened its incubator space.
Now : Five businesses were selected to join PITCH Hamburg ‘s inaugural cohort. They will receive free incubator space, mentorship, programming and the chance to pitch for grants in the spring.
The five businesses are:
• Our Omphalos is an educational wellness consulting company that provides customized wellness programming.
• Merit Badge Books is an independent bookstore in Hamburg, concentrating on new trade books for the whole family.
• Clean Earth Refillery is a refill store where customers can fill reusable containers with everyday products such as laundry detergents, dish soaps, shampoos, conditioners and household cleaners.
• InstaFlame makes a fully assembled, ready-to-light fire starter pack with a single wick that burns without maintenance for up to three hours.
• Collective Distribution will help local artisan producers scale their logistics and sales.
THE LATEST
Catch up on the latest news from the Buffalo Niagara economy:
Across Western New York, health care workers have many stories to tell about how they made it through the blizzard while on the job.
Legal marijuana sales launched in the state Thursday , but not in Western New York due to a lawsuit that led to an injunction pausing sales here.
World Central Kitchen is back to help feed Buffalo’s East Side in response to the blizzard that shut down the city for nearly a week.
Wells Enterprises will eliminate 183 jobs at its Dunkirk plant , which is less than the 319 employees the company previously planned to lay off.
A three-year deal reached ensures Highmark members will continue to have in-network access in order to care at Catholic Health’s facilities.
Athenex is closing its Newstead manufacturing plant and laying off all 92 employees as of March 17.
Preliminary efforts are underway to prepare for the third phase of the project to be able to redevelop the Northland complex in Buffalo.
The state is looking for ideas
The federal funding needed to get a tech hub program off the ground has been included in a year-end spending bill before Congress.
Cost vs . Benefits : That’s the trade-off at the center of the state’s proposed climate change plan.
A development agency is hiring a consultant to come up with ways to improve the infrastructure linking Canalside and the redesigned Centennial Park .
The Buffalo Niagara region’s sluggish hiring is being driven by a shortage of workers , and local officials are starting to look for ways to ease the crunch.
Big changes are coming to the state’s energy markets after a plan to reduce harmful emissions was approved by an advisory panel .
Five reads from Buffalo Next:
1 . Bounce back for Buffalo Niagara economy : The value of all the goods and services produced in the region, which dropped by 3. 4% during the pandemic, came roaring back last year, with a 5. 3% gain.
2 . The Bills make me want to shop : How Buffalo Bills merchandise is among the hottest local gift items this holiday season.
3. How will Western New York’s higher education institutions recover from Covid-19? Enrollment at some local schools is holding up, but others are struggling to attract students.
4. New life with regard to old stones : How a Buffalo company is finding new uses for old bricks and stones in construction projects.
5. Big changes are being proposed for the state’s energy markets , and it could change the way residents heat their homes and cook their own food in the years to come.
The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the region’s economic revitalization. Email tips to [email protected] com or reach Deputy Business Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.
Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up to get the latest in your inbox five days a week .
E-mail tips to [email protected] com .