News
August 11, 2016Dumbstruck Approved for Start-Up New York Program Company Will Partner with SCCC and New York BizLab in Schenectady
Schenectady County officials this week joined with SCCC, Metroplex and the New York BizLab to announce that Dumbstruck, Inc. has been approved by the START-UP NY program and will lease space at the New York BizLab at 251 State Street in downtown Schenectady.
Anthony Jasenski, Chairman of the Schenectady County Legislature said, “We are very pleased to see more tech companies set up shop in Schenectady County. We thank Governor Cuomo, Empire State Development, SCCC, Metroplex and the New York BizLab for their efforts to bring this new company to downtown Schenectady.”
Denise Zieske, Vice President for Workforce Development and Community Education at SCCC said, “Dumbstruck is a great addition to our group of START-UP NY companies. SCCC looks forward to partnering with Dumbstruck and we thank Governor Cuomo, Empire State Development and SUNY for connecting colleges and businesses thus broadening access for our students to industry connections in their field of study.”
Dumbstruck CEO Peter Allegretti said, “We’re excited to be moving to downtown Schenectady. Dumbstruck had opportunities to relocate to other large start-up hubs in places such as Los Angeles, New York City and Austin, Texas, but we felt being part of START-UP NY at the New York BizLab provided us the best opportunity to grow our company to the next level.”
New York BizLab Founder and President Antonio Civitella said, “Dumbstruck is a smart, fast-moving tech company that is gaining national attention already. This is the type of company I had in mind when creating the BizLab, companies with sophisticated techies who could locate anywhere if there weren’t opportunities for them here. We are excited to have Peter and his team anchor the third floor of the BizLab.”
The company was founded in 2013. It has developed a research and audience engagement platform that records reactions to digital content and provides content creators with real-time emotional analytics. The company’s customers range from consumers capturing family member reactions to milestone events to companies such as iHeartMedia, Lionsgate, NBC and others who use the platform to measure audience reaction to promotional content.
Dumbstruck recently received a national award at Digiday’s annual content marketing awards for Best Content Marketing Tech Platform. In addition to increasing audience engagement and capturing user-generated video content at scale, the company was honored for its ability to identify actionable demographic and emotional insights which enable clients to adjust campaigns on the fly while simultaneously honing content and messaging for future campaigns.
The company joins other START-UP NY companies including Furlocity, Lottery Rewards, SureDone and Fundabilities at the New York BizLab in downtown Schenectady.
Dumbstruck will lease 3,700 square feet at the BizLab and expects to create 20 jobs within five years.
Ray Gillen, Metroplex Chair said, “Vibrant downtowns feature tech companies like Dumbstruck. We welcome them to the fast growing arts, entertainment and technology district in downtown Schenectady and we thank Governor Cuomo and Empire State Development for their leadership in helping us to bring more companies and jobs to our community.”
