upstate-new-york
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Ken Rosenfeld and the art of starting over
After helping build eHealth Technologies, Ken Rosenfeld became employee number two at another startup. His career traces the work of turning technical skill into teams - and knowing when to begin again.
Martin Babinec and the million-mile question
He built TriNet in Silicon Valley while raising his family in Little Falls, New York. A decade of flying between the two left him with a question: why should opportunity require a forwarding address?
The bottle is the easy part.
Empire Merchants North connects wine and spirits producers to more than 9,000 upstate New York businesses. Its most revealing work happens between the order and the loading dock.
Rami Katz and the business of helping people begin
He came to Rochester for an MBA and stayed to help build young companies. Now Excell’s CEO, Rami Katz brings a lawyer’s discipline to early-stage investing - and keeps making time for the next generation.
Theresa Mazzullo and the business of seeing what comes next
A banker, seed investor and unlikely fashion muse, Theresa Mazzullo has spent decades helping other people put their ideas to work. Her next concern is getting Rochester’s young companies far enough to grow.
Marnie LaVigne and the case for staying home
After the startup years and two IPOs, Marnie LaVigne returned to Upstate New York with a practical question: how could more people build companies here? At Launch NY, her answer pairs experienced mentors with early capital.
The $1,000 Bet That Taught a Small Agency How to Stay Small
Kate Austin began with seven clients, an old laptop and $1,000 she could afford to lose. Fifteen years later, the lesson was not how to become a giant agency - it was how to make useful marketing fit the people usually priced out of it.
Taylor Capuano
Taylor Capuano is the co-founder and chief creative officer of CAKES body, a viral direct-to-consumer apparel brand she launched in 2022 with her twin sister, Casey Sarai. Starting with $5,000 each in personal savings and no marketing budget, the sisters bootstrapped the company from a side hustle into a business that reported roughly $95 million in net sales in its fiscal year ending June 2025. A December 2023 appearance on ABC's Shark Tank, where they landed a deal with Emma Grede, accelerated the brand's rise. Capuano leads creative and marketing, and has become a public voice for bootstrapped, digital-first growth and family-friendly workplace policies.