Business Development

United Way Is Bringing Coworking To Downtown Albany At The Blake Annex Supporting Nonprofit Community

May 8, 2021 – 2:45 pm

Downtown is welcoming a new coworking space designed specifically to meet the needs of the area’s burgeoning nonprofit community. The United Way of the Greater Capital Region’s Blake Annex is housed in 24,000 square feet on two floors in the former Steuben Club and Kenmore Hotel at 76 N. Pearl St. – landmark historic buildings […]

Back To Business: Capital Region Ujamaa Market

April 19, 2021 – 6:38 pm

The concept for the Capital Region Ujamaa Market predated the coronavirus pandemic, but the health crisis and the economic downturn it caused – as well as a national focus on social justice and equity – crystalized the need for an effort to support and showcase local Black-owned businesses, according to the market’s founder, George Lopez, […]

#DowntownWorks For Key Capture Energy

April 6, 2021 – 12:36 pm

Dan Fitzgerald co-founded the start-up company Key Capture Energy, an independent developer of utility-scale energy battery storage projects, in Houston, Texas in 2016. It was, at the time, a natural fit as Texas has long been known as the nation’s energy capital. But for Fitzgerald, a lifelong New York resident and UAlbany graduate, the idea […]

Back To Business: Irie Vybez

March 18, 2021 – 5:23 pm

Shaun Freeman believes that to be a successful entrepreneur “you have to get uncomfortable” in order to remain sharp and innovative. But the discomfort and upheaval that resulted from the early months of the coronavirus pandemic last year was  more than even the co-founder and owner of the popular Central Avenue Jamaican restaurant Irie Vybez […]

Back To Business: Barks On Lark

March 11, 2021 – 12:18 pm

This time last year, Cara Bronner was embarking on a new phase of her career as an educator after leaving a job as a fourth-grade teacher and accepting a new post as a curriculum specialist at BOCES. When the COVID crisis hit, BOCES lost funding and as a result Bronner lost her new position. And […]

Barks On Lark Pet Boutique Opens On Lark Street

March 10, 2021 – 4:22 pm

Owners Cara and Will Bronner will focus on supplying ethical products and promoting animal adoption Barks on Lark, a pet boutique with a focus on supplying ethical products and promoting animal adoption, was formally welcomed to 272 Lark Street with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Wednesday.  “Lark Street is the perfect location for what we […]

Downtown Albany Welcomes More Flexible Workspace As Novel Coworking Opens

March 4, 2021 – 6:55 pm

A ribbon cutting ceremony was held Thursday to officially welcome Novel Coworking to downtown Albany. Recognizing downtown Albany as an investment opportunity Novel Coworking purchased the 17-story building located at 69 State Street on the corner of North Pearl and State Streets in early 2020. The coworking space opened early last month following renovation of […]

Back To Business: Betty Boop’s Diner

February 23, 2021 – 12:28 pm

Teresa Soto is a people person. That’s what drove her first career as a nurse’s aide – a position she held for most of her adult life, until a series of neck and back injuries sustained while lifting elderly people in and out of bed finally forced her to retire. “I love elderly people, I […]

Back To Business: Healthy On Lark

February 11, 2021 – 11:59 am

Sharon Lastique, a certified health coach and owner of Healthy On Lark vegetarian restaurant, noticed a trend amongst her customer base during the early days of the pandemic lockdown: Her regular patrons were conflicted. They wanted to boost immunity and stay healthy, especially as they were stuck indoors (often with children) while simultaneously getting less […]

Back To Business: ImprintUNIVERSE

February 2, 2021 – 7:23 pm

Musa Zwana is a self-described serial entrepreneur. He remembers clearly the moment when, as a kid in junior high school growing up in East Greenbush, through a youth entrepreneurship program, Musa first learned what it meant to start up a business and be your own boss. “Ever since then I was like, ‘Alright, that’s what […]