Schenectady, NY (May 3, 2002) – Derek Mebus and Dave Ward, co-principals of Tree Top Solutions, a new business in the Union College U-Start Incubator, aim to fill the “tremendous technology need” in Schenectady County, and, while they're at it, graduate from Union this year.
On Monday, March 6, the pair will launch their latest product, Schenectadyi.com, a comprehensive community website designed to, according to Ward, “bring the Internet to Schenectady County.” Among the vast array of
Schenectadyi.com features are ePages!, the first online Schenectady County business directory, and Online!, a powerful local web community, which enables a single website to serve the needs of local website visitors and members of the Schenectady business community.
“ePages! offers more than what you'd find in the local Yellow Pages,” Ward said. “In addition to listing phone numbers, addresses, and hours, it offers features such as driving directions, printable coupons, restaurant menus and reviews, and job opportunities. We've designed it to be the only website needed to find information and get services from Schenectady County-based businesses.”
Additionally, Online!, according to Mebus, ” Is the only local website personalized to serve all the needs of Schenectady County.” Like AOL and Yahoo!, Online! “It's packed with local content and services like chat rooms, instant messaging, classified and personal ads, discussion forums, local events, news and weather, helpful articles, and more. We see this as both a great business opportunity and a chance to do something positive for the County.”
Ward, a Wisconsin native and Mebus, from Westchester County, NY, opened Tree Top Solutions last year. In addition to
Schenectadyi.com, the firm offers web design and graphic design, custom programming, databases, E-Commerce, site hosting, and computer networking.
“We realize that many area businesses are not ready to commit to thousand dollar websites until they know they'll benefit from being online. That's why we offer sites at a very low introductory price,” Mebus added. “We see a tremendous opportunity here in Schenectady County, it has great potential for economic and technological growth. The successes of Schenectady Metroplex, the Downtown Business Improvement District, and other revitalization activities mean business opportunities are on the rise.”