October 4, 2002: Volume 56, Number 4

Tree Top partners draw inspiration from Steinmetz

Derek Mebus and Dave Ward give a friendly nod to Charles P. Steinmetz every morning when they enter their new office building on lower Erie Boulevard.

A large portrait of Steinmetz adorns the lobby of the renovated 1896 building where "the Wizard of General Electric" carried out his work alongside another industrial luminary, Thomas Edison.

Mebus and Ward recently moved their Web development and hosting firm, Tree Top Solutions, out of U-START, the College's Nott Terrace business incubator, and into the roomier painted red-brick building known as Erie Crossings. As if they could forget the historical significance of their new digs, their landlord has a collection of items, some of which were saved during the renovation: an Edison light bulb, an Edison record player and phonographs, and photographs of General Electric's early days.

They share an office suite with a financial planner and an advertising firm, both of which have become project partners. Another office neighbor, computer hardware firm Artela Systems, is the only other U-STAR business to graduate from the incubator.

Treetop had its start when Mebus and Ward were sophomore dorm mates who discovered a shared passion for writing Web sites for friends. Their hobby became a business that features design, hosting and a lot of boosterism for the rebirth of a city and a region that they say is becoming increasingly attractive to young grads like themselves.

"We are using the revitalization of Schenectady to say, 'Let's look at the opportunities for technology,'" said Ward. "If we're successful, Schenectady will be too."

Tree Top Solutions (http://www.treetopdesign.com) last spring launched Schenectadyi.com (http://www.schenectadyi.com), a site that promotes the region with news, business listings, online shopping, entertainment calendars and chat rooms. Their 15 clients include the College's MBA program (http://www.mba.union.edu/) and the bioethics distance education program http://www.bioethics.union.edu/.

Tree Top is developing pages for Schenectady City Hall and for the Schenectady County Chamber of Commerce. They hope to use the Chamber page to attract business from some of the nation's other 3,000 Chambers.

When Schenectady Chamber President Charles Steiner approached Ward and Mebus with an idea to drive people to the chamber's site, they started work on a system through which site visitors could accumulate points toward goods or services provided by Chamber members. Steiner's idea was borne from a placemat he saw at a Burger King restaurant. "We don't ever say what you cannot do," said Ward. "Everything you can think of … we can do it on the Web."

Tree Top generates revenue through selling ads on their pages and by charging clients fees for development and hosting. As for a business plan, the pair says they have a focus on developing a product, but that flexibility is key to their success. "In our business, you have to play it by ear," said Mebus. "(The technology) is changing every three months. We can't be restricted by projections."

Ward, a native of Greenbay, Wis., graduated last June with a degree in economics. He is pursuing an MBA with the College. Mebus, of Pleasantville, Westchester County, is completing courses at Union for a bachelor's in computer science. Ward is the administrator and salesman; Mebus is the programmer. They hope to add a sales position shortly.

The pair confess to having mixed feelings about moving out of the nurturing environment of U-START, but in the end it came down to needing more room to grow. "When we thought about it, moving out of the incubator was really a no-brainer," said Ward. "That's what we're supposed to do."

<< Previous Story New online Union viewbook...

Next Story >> Gilman participates in...