Rochester NY Rivals Silicon Valley as New Tech Epicenter, Fantasy Sports Hub
In an interview conducted with Gambling911.com’s own Thomas Somach this week, Seth Young, COO of Star Fantasy Leagues, revealed neither he nor the two co-founders have any intention to move their thriving fantasy sports business out of Rochester, New York, calling the city “a great place to build a business”.
“Zach and Justin Stanley, the two men who started Star Fantasy Leagues, were born and raised in Rochester. They created the company with capital inherited from their late father and grandfather, who were both prominent businessmen in this city. Fact is, it’s a really great place to build a business. Every single member of our development staff hails from Rochester Institute of Technology, which is regarded as the one of the best, if not the best, computer science and software engineering schools in the country. The standard of living here is very high and market rate for extremely talented employees is a fraction of what you’d pay in New York City or San Francisco. Rochester offers a completely different lifestyle, and the people that work at Star Fantasy Leagues all share the same vision. Our entire staff is headquartered here in our gorgeous office and the city is important to us. “
Star Fantasy Leagues last month received a massive cash infusion by billionaire investor Dermot Desmond of the private equity firm International Investment and Underwriting that will help the business grow further in the northwestern portion of the state.
Rochester is also home to Bausch & Lomb, Eastman Kodak, Ambrosia Software, Abbott’s Frozen Custard and a handful of breweries.
Rochester routinely ranks among the top 50 cities in America in a number of categories.
Richard Florida's National Best Seller book titled, "The Rise of the Creative Class: and how it's transforming work, leisure, community and every day life" ranks the Top 50 cities in America where the most creative people live. Rochester ranked 4th in innovation, and earned an overall creative ranking of 25th.
Rochester ranked 11th among 100 Metro Areas for "Least Stressful City". Sperling Stress Index criteria includes: unemployment rate, divorce rate, commute time, violent and property crime rates, suicide rate, alcohol consumption, self-reported "poor mental health", and number of cloudy days Sperlings's Best Places, 2004
The city was also rated the best minor league sports market in America by Street & Smith's Sports Business Journal back in July 2005, making it all the more ideal as a headquarters for Star Fantasy Leagues.
In addition to offering fantasy sports leagues to players, Star Fantasy Leagues also provides a turnkey entry into the red hot fantasy sports market by licensing its fantasy sports technology to groups interested in running their own branded fantasy sports website for their existing audience.
Rochester Then and Now
- Aaron Goldstein, Gambling911.com
