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New York-based RGZ Solutions has opened an office in the Charleston Area Alliance Small Business Incubator on Smith Street.
The professional services firm helps management achieve greater business value from information technology. Its management services include computer systems development, data management, organizational change management and system project management.
"We hope to develop a practice here in West Virginia using local talent...relying on local university graduates," said Robert Kurtz, RGZ president. "We like the area. We like the people. ... And it's not tough to drive from here to anyplace within a 500-mile radius."
Its clients have included AIG, Educational Testing Services, the New York Times Company, AOL and Target Corporation, as well as Mountaineer Gas in West Virginia, which has been utilizing RGZ the past 14 months to open a brand new customer services center using state of the art technology in the middle of downtown Charleston. The center now employs more than 50 people from the community.
"We view this region as untapped," said Glenn Dinetz, senior vice president at RGZ, who will be running the Charleston operation.
Dinetz, a licensed private investigator in New Jersey, said he hopes the company eventually adds an investigative services arm to the firm's already proven service -- anything a business would need to perform a investigation involving computers.
Kurtz and Dinetz said they chose the incubator because it would help the company save money for business development. Being in the same building as other businesses they can utilize is a plus, as well.
"This is a great example of the important role a business incubator can play in creating a prosperous economy," said Matt Ballard, Alliance president and CEO. "The Alliance is in the business of creating jobs, and when RGZ came to us with an impressive business plan and promising goals, we knew the firm would be a perfect fit for the incubator."
The incubator provides flexible space and below-market rates, coupled with a package of free and low-cost services that allow entrepreneurs to concentrate their assets on growth rather than bricks, mortar and other administrative costs. It opened in 1986 with six tenants and has seen more than 100 companies come through its doors, creating more than 265 jobs. Today, the incubator has 20 companies with more than 45 employees.
The Alliance Incubator is the only business incubator dedicated to business start-ups in the Kanawha Valley region and is conveniently located in a Small Business Administration HUBZone. The HUBZone Empowerment Contracting Program is an initiative designed to stimulate economic development by providing federal contracting opportunities to small businesses located in eligible areas.
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