S3,E5 - Kara Jones & Manny Cerniglia

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This is Talk CNY, a semi-monthly podcast by CenterState CEO. We're an independent nonprofit committed to creating inclusive, equitable, and sustainable economic growth in Central New York. Join us as we meet the people and explore the projects driving the regional economy forward. This is Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank. I'm Katie Zikcosky, director of communications at CenterState CEO, and your host for Talk CNY. Each year, hundreds of uncrewed systems startups from across the globe apply to be a part of an accelerator program here in Central New York. Five teams are selected and then they move here to our region to take part in the world's largest accelerator for uncrewed systems, the GENIUS New York program operated by CenterState CEO. And this program produces results. Since 2017, Empire State Development has invested $24 million in these uncrewed systems startups, and those GENIUS New York teams have gone on to produce $350 million in follow-on funding.

Cohort eight is currently underway for GENIUS New York. And what are they up to now? So today on to CNY presented by NBT Bank. I'm joined by Genius New York program director Kara Jones and Flyhound co-founder Manny Cerniglia to discuss the GENIUS New York experience. Manny, Kara, thank you both so much for being here with us today. Thank you for having us. Thank you. So Manny, we actually had the chance to talk back in August when you first arrived as a part of the GENIUS Program, and you told me a little bit about your origin story then, but could you share it with this audience again here today? What is Flyhound and how did it come to be?

Sure. Flyhound is a module, a box, that attaches to a commercial drone that can locate and identify any cell phone on the ground or inside of buildings. We build it for public safety agencies to help them find missing persons, victims of natural disasters and criminal suspects to help keep our community safe.
Now, I know that you were looking forward to engaging with the Central New York uncrewed aerial systems ecosystem as a part of the GENIUS New York program. So what's that been like? What connections have you made and how have you seen that actualize?

When we first learned about GENIUS and started looking into Syracuse as a potential place to move our business, we knew that there were drone companies here and drone companies, drone technology is a big growing space for a lot of different industries. We knew that we would find support here from different companies. What we didn't know is the breadth of what was available to us. So there's a ton of support that we've gotten from companies in the industries like from drone and defense to public safety and wireless, as well as individuals like some of our mentors and advisors come from long careers in our space. That has helped us tremendously. The engagement with NUAIR, they're building the corridor and outside of Syracuse that gives us the ability to do beyond visual line of sight. Flight testing has been tremendous. Inherently, we learned that Syracuse is far beyond most other places in this country that you could build a drone company.

Now, Kara, as the director of the GENIUS New York program, what is it like to see companies like Flyhound grow? I mean, this is your ninth round of the program, so does it get old to you? What is still exciting about it?

It doesn't get old, certainly not. We're in our eighth year with Manny and Flyhound. Our applications are open for year nine, but I think it's amazing to see Manny and the Flyhound team along with the four other teams come to Syracuse and really our job was to sort of get them here, apply and talk about all the resources, but then it's nice to see them down the hall, having meetings with the advisors, having meetings with mentors, visiting manufacturing sites, to really have them be a part of this community and really see that come to life once they get here. It's exciting.

How do you encourage these connections? I'm sure you know there are people you have to introduce them, such as all the GENIUS teams, but do you mentally go through the people you know and try to match them up before they get here?

Yes, of course. And it's not just people I know. We have a whole team, our investment manager and our entrepreneurial manager. We have business advisors. So before Flyhound and other teams even get here, we're looking through their business trying to understand, okay, what opportunities, what customers, what sort of investment do they need? And then we start to match make. So we've had a lot of events in the first couple of months where we're inviting advisors and just different service providers in so that they can sort of make those connections and feel out who they want to work with. So it's a mixed bag of whoever wants to support these companies, but it's grown significantly over the years with the amount of partners and people that want to support the teams when they get here.

Now you guys are about, what, six months into Cohort Eight now? A little over halfway through for the year long program. So you've been working together that long. How has that been, Manny as a founder, Kara as director, what's the team director relationship like? How closely do you work together?

Sure. I mean, I would say very close. Just to actually add on what you asked earlier about the program is one of the things about Syracuse that we've been pleasantly surprised about is that with the program, with the introductions made by the GENIIUS New York team, everyone in the community is supportive of what we're doing because everyone has the same mindset to grow this community together. Coming from a big city like New York City, that's simply not there. So the introductions that she's made and what we've learned, not only from what she brings to the table, what the whole GENIUS New York team brings to table, but as we grow our connections ourselves, working with the other teams that are in our current cohort, even teams from past cohorts that all want to support each other, make introductions to other people to help us grow and to find the things we all need and support each other has been tremendously big. So I think the GENIUS New York team has really accelerated those connections, really got us out on the ground running and facilitating those connections for us.

You mentioned the other teams. I mean, can you talk a little bit more about the collaboration between teams as well as with the program itself? I know that it's kind of special that the GENIUS New York program is not Inter-competitive a lot of the time, a lot of the teams end up working together and they create even new greater technologies after that.

So to date, we've invested in over 40 companies and each year, each cohort year, we bring in five teams and we try our hardest to make sure that they're going to be collaborative, get along and not be too competitive. Obviously, it gets tough, but I think for the most part it's been really great to see your cohort bounce ideas off of each other, partner with things, share contacts, and it's one of the great things about the GENIUS New York program.

Yeah, I mean of our five teams, no one directly competes with one another. There's players in the same space. But the idea that those connections and those sort of experiences as companies grow, because we're all slightly at different stages in our company growth. So someone might be farther along than Flyhound is who's willing to lend a hand or support our ideas of troubles that they went through and how they resolved them. Even in the previous cohorts, while we don't know Flyhound doesn't know every cohort that's been there in every company, but the cohorts that are still or the companies are still in Syracuse, we engage with them and it's still very supportive.

Now you guys are in the Equitable Tower right now, which is the current temporary home of our Innovation and Entrepreneurship programming at CenterState CEO. Soon we'll have a brand new innovation hub with a slate of new amenities. But what's that kind of looking down on that property as teams, as people watching it physically build and grow over this past year?
I think it's exciting. I mean, they're out there working every day. Just to see it come to life every day there's something new that I see and I'm like, oh, just very excited to get into that space. Obviously, with the added amenities like the makerspace, the hardware center, the drone demo deck, it's going to be amazing. And just to invite more people in to see what these cool companies are doing, I think it's going to be so fun when it opens.

Yeah, I mean, I'll tell you that when we found out we got into the program, we thought about delaying for years to be ready for when the space opens. No, but in all seriousness, the greatest part for us as a hardware company or a company that builds hardware are the tools and everything that GENIUS New York is investing in providing into this space to help us grow the needs that we have to be able to fulfill them in say, a city like New York City in terms of the cost and the investment, even the space to carry this would be nearly impossible for us, and that hinders our growth. Being here in Syracuse, having access to these tools that not only help us, but help other companies that are building hardware is one of the most tremendous things that we could have access to beyond the network and beyond the investment.

I mean, Manny, as a startup founder, what is it like to be next to and soon be in brand new space that has all these amenities? What does that say to you about this community and how they're investing in startups?

I've said to the GENIUS New York team before that, when we came here for the program, the primary thought that we had in our mind, the primary benefit to us was going to be the investment. And I think as we've been in the community and learn from the network and learn from different cohorts and learn from the makerspace and seeing this building be built, I think it's really, really exciting. It makes us really proud to be here because this is a building that is going to be the center of the drone community, not only for Syracuse or Central New York, but for really the country that people will come from all over the world to build a drone company here.

So Kara, as the director of the GENIUS program, someone who has spent months planning and watching the growth of this building next door, what is the message that you hope it sends to not only GENIUS teams, but the broader innovation and entrepreneurship community here in Central New York?

Yeah, I think the biggest message is come on in, see what there is. I think that we want it to be a very welcoming space for everyone. We want them to feel like they can grow their ideas, build what they have and just scale. So I think it's, it's going to be open this summer, and I think the invitation is just come on in and meet some of the startups, meet our mentors, and figure out how you can see yourself in that space. We want to be inclusive, and we are truly here to support all different kinds of businesses and industries and ideas.

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Welcome back. This is Talk CNY, presented by NBT Bank. I'm Katie Zilcosky, director of communications at CenterState CEO, and your host for Talk CNY. I'm joined today by GENIUS program director Kara Jones and Flyhound co-founder. Flyhound is a GENIUS team in Cohort Eight, Manny Cerniglia. Thank you both for being here today. Thank you. Thank you. So Manny, you've mentioned before already on the show you're from New York City, but I know that you also worked in the upstate region in a prior role before becoming a GENIUS team and Flyhound co-founder. Now that you live in the Central New York community and have taken your business here, what is something that kind of defied your expectations about the community? What have you learned about this region?

I spent four years in Albany for school, stayed a few years afterward for a job, and then moved back to New York City. And when I started looking into moving up for GENIUS New York, I did some research into Syracuse. My previous role had taken me all across Upstate New York, but I never lived in the Central New York area. It was Albany. I spent time in Syracuse and Buffalo and Rochester working. But when we came up to Syracuse, a few things that really stood out to me, that I didn't really expect. Number one is, especially coming from New York City, is everything in Syracuse is so accessible. I find myself one of the best parts about living here is that from downtown, anywhere you want to go, whether it's a grocery store, big box, retailer, movies, mall, gym, anything, it's 10 minutes away, the airport, 10 minutes away no matter what. There's sometimes with traffic, but even still, you have access to everything you would need in a big city to nature when you need a quick drive out for a whole community and parks and everything that you'd want to do is so accessible. In New York City, if I wanted to go from downtown to crosstown to uptown, it's 45 minutes with delays and walking and traffic and it's really a struggle.

The second part is that community. I mentioned earlier, from a business standpoint, everyone is supportive of you and what you're trying to accomplish because they know if Flyhouse succeeds here, if GENIUS New York succeeds here and brings more companies here, then jobs come. And Syracuse begins to be known more and more for drones and manufacturing and industry. And that just grows the community. When we talk to someone and they express interest and excitement about what we're doing, it's genuine. And I'm not used to that.

I was going to say - is that a surprise?

It's a complete surprise because a lot of times I can go and have a business meeting with anyone and they're very excited to talk to you and hear about what you're doing. And then at the end of the day is like, here's our invoice for what we're going to do for you. And, of course, companies here need to charge you, but it's really out of a means to help you grow because they will see you as a tool or a being to bring success to this community. And if we're all successful together, it grows.

And Kara, I know that you and the GENIUS team take a lot of time to make sure that the teams who move here from all over the globe oftentimes really can find a home here. So what are some of the things that you make sure to implement in those early days of the GENIUS program to make people feel welcome?

Yeah, absolutely. I would say early days for sure, but it's throughout the whole year we try and do a lot of things. So I think we have one week of onboarding where we're giving them, we use Visit Syracuse and the downtown committee, but we do a downtown tour and we do a lot of tourism events. We've gone to SU football and basketball games. We did a cooking class together. We're going to go to Greek Peak soon. So just different seasons, different parts of town, really trying to get the cohort bonded away from their companies and get to know each other on a personal level. I think what was interesting this year too is a lot of teams brought their families. So I had a cookout at my house and everyone brought their families, and it's a nice way to make these teams feel like Syracuse is their home and it's fun, and obviously there's different languages, different cultures, different backgrounds. So knowing that we will go and do something that's part of their tradition and it's just fun. What has been your favorite social tourism thing that we've done?

I would say logistically it has been easier for us to move from New York City, but these other companies have moved from across the globe.

And that just goes to speak to the value of what the program is. And they did a really good job of introducing us to the area because I knew about Syracuse, I knew things, but certainly those tours really helped us really understand the culture behind what Syracuse was as a city years and decades ago and what it's become now. And that to me, I think was that beginning, that onboarding week where we went through that tour was probably the most eyeopening, really exciting part of deciding to come to the city and be proud of being here. But a lot of the things we do are really great, especially the catered lunches from Dinosaur.

Actually two of the teams, Involi and Aerialoop, we all went trick or treating together because they had their young kids and they have never done that before. So it was just nice to go through the cities and take them trick or treating. That's so awesome. The littlest thing. But they were just so grateful and the kids were so excited.

Did you teach them the trick part? I did not. No.

That's this year, this upcoming Halloween. Yeah, next year. Next year.

I mean, how was the cookout at Kara's house? How was it?

It was catered by Dinosaur.

I didn't cook. It's fun though. Fun. It was.

Yeah, it was super fun. Good weather. That's great.

So, I mean, back to business you guys, like we said earlier about halfway through the program, Manny, what milestones are you still looking to reach now that you're kind of at the halfway point before the end of the program, the summer graduation? I mean both personally as a founder and also for Flyhound.
Sure. Well, I mean, so coming up to graduation, obviously looking for a prom date, and that could be for us, it's hiring now that we've sort of brought the company here, we have the hardware space, we have a lab where we're building and doing the things. We started bringing on new employees and we brought on a few junior employees. Now we're looking for senior hires. And because of the talent pool here, we're excited to find someone who could really come help us accelerate what we're doing. And once we hire on some people, we look to take on a bigger space in the new building, which will be very exciting, but looking forward to that.

And Kara, as director, what do you try to encourage in this last half of the program? Because we know the first half is so much is focused on that pitch competition where you award a million dollars, everyone's getting ready for that and kind of figuring out next steps after the awards are given out. So next, this back half of the program, what do you focus on?

Yeah, so in the back half of the program, it's really what Manny said, it's making sure those teams reach their milestones and really feel rooted in our community, whether it's by hiring or by working with local partners like Think Variant to get their products manufactured. It's getting situated in the new space and making that new space feel like home again. And then it's really making sure the teams know that just because it's graduation, it's not so long. See you later. How can we continue to grow and scale your company? What new introductions do you need? How do you tap into the past companies in GENIUS New York? That's another thing, right? As we continue to have more years, we want to make sure, like Manny said earlier, that teams are continuing to collaborate with past teams and things like that. So it's not graduation and see you later, it's just graduation and let's keep moving here in Syracuse.
Keep working together.

Yeah, yeah.

We're going to be adding new GENIUS teams to the mix soon. Cohort Nine is currently accepting applications. So what makes a good GENIUS team and why should people apply? I actually want to give her this question to both of you, Manny, as a founder and Kara as director. So Kara, you start.
Yeah, so I am not a judge. I like to say that from the beginning, but it's a competitive accelerator program. We get hundreds of applications every year. I think the biggest thing for us is why Syracuse? How can we help you? What resources are here? What mentors are here? What manufacturing supports here? What teams are here that you feel like you can tap into? Again, just down the list, we're looking for more pre-seed, seed stage companies in the drone and robotic space that want to have their headquarters in Syracuse. We want to grow jobs here and we want to create this big ecosystem here where everyone is collaborative. So we already have a hundred applications in applications close at the end of May, so it'll be fun to see what we get. We have a few events coming up, but I love meeting with teams and I always say to new leads, the best thing I can provide to you is go talk to Manny and other folks. They will tell you about the program and it's nice to hear it firsthand. So let's hear it firsthand.

Yeah, I would say for those interested in implying a few things, number one is you have an idea for a technology that involves drones or uncrewed systems that can benefit the world, right? There's a number of different ways we work in public safety. There's delivery programs that work with medical. There's a lot of things that drones can be used for. It's a segment that's growing and a technology that's needed and a tool that gets you the ability to go from point A to point B faster and safer than every form that's growing every year. So have a great idea is number one. Number two is obviously part of the GENIUS New York program is investment. You have the ability to get additional money to help growth and accelerate your business. But number three is really what I talked about that the program provides that you don't think about straightaway is the network, the community of people you have to offer. And most importantly when it comes to Syracuse, especially for those people who are thinking of applying from around the world, is that this is a community where it's affordable to live and work, right? It's affordable to find housing for yourself. It's affordable to buy the things you need to buy, and talent is accessible and more affordable than a lot of different areas of the country. There's good talent here that want new jobs and want exciting jobs and it's a place to grow.

So my last question for you, a very important one if I do say so myself, is we know that there's a ping pong table in the Tech Garden. So if there were a ping pong game between you, Kara and you, Manny, who would be more likely to win? Really?

One hundred percent.

I was going to say me too.

One hundred percent, But we are both very competitive, But she will definitely win there. It won't be a good match.

Foosball though. If we got a foosball table in the building, that would be a different story. Feel pretty confident. I feel pretty confident about foosball.

Okay. We might have to get a foosball table. All right. Something to consider for the new building. We will never win against ResilienX.

Agreed.

Oh, ResilienX is going to take the cake from both of you. One hundred percent.

They're the kings of the table. Yeah, they are.

All right. Well, we'll leave it at that. Kara, Manny, thank you both so much for being here today. Thank you, Katie.

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