Why this AI-native solution engineering company chose Buffalo
When a company considers expanding to a new city, there’s a somewhat standard process to follow.
Five years ago, as Sparq (then Rural Sourcing) was considering Buffalo for its next office, they followed that playbook.
Most of it, at least.
Sparq started with internal research first, as most companies do. The AI-native solution engineering company had an internal AI model analyze the data – MESA, as they called it (or Market Expansion Selection Application).
Site selection is a game of exclusion. Regions are trying to stay in the game as long as possible. What MESA spit out kept Buffalo on the list. We survived the algorithm.
Sparq then analyzed Buffalo’s university system, bootcamp offerings, approach to K-12 STEM education, ecosystem events, competitive employers, and more.
They connected with local economic developers, distributing a formal request-for-information and peppering Invest Buffalo Niagara, the region’s nonprofit economic development organization, with follow-up questions and data requests. They wanted to know how many .NET skilled individuals the region had (today, Lightcast data shows that number is over 1,800).
The project was given a code name for confidentiality: Project 100.
The team visited Buffalo for two days. They toured office spaces and different regional assets. They saw Niagara Falls.
And yes, they even had wings. Gene McCarthy’s, to be specific.
But during Sparq’s visit to Buffalo, there was one departure from the usual playbook. They asked Invest Buffalo Niagara for an additional meeting, but wouldn’t detail much more.
“It wasn’t prescriptive,” said Matthew Hubacher, VP of Business Development at Invest Buffalo Niagara. “They wanted us, the economic developer, to let them know who we thought they should talk to. It was intentionally vague.”
The local team was flying blind. So, they made a bet. And it helped seal the deal.
The Buffalo team assembled a focus group entirely of young professionals for Sparq to meet with.
“If we had to say what the most important meeting was, it was that,” said Ingrid Curtis, CEO, Sparq.
Sure, the Sparq leadership team met with the Mayor, a Dean, and several CEOs. But a conference table in the former K-Haus building on Main Street with folks under 35 years old around it is what left the largest impression.
The meeting was hosted by former K-Haus Community Manager Sophia Marshall, who now serves as a Senior Program Manager of Startup Ventures at the University at Buffalo.
Sparq asked a variety of different questions. What was it like working in the city? What’s your commute time? How willing are leaders to chat with you? What industry groups or micro communities are you a part of? What’s a good happy hour spot? No scripts or rehearsed answers, just a real picture of living and working in Buffalo.
“It really helped us get a feel for the community,” said Curtis. “We got to see the diversity and the welcoming nature of the community.”
At the time, Sparq was only planning to add one new center and was leaning heavily toward the southern U.S. Buffalo’s business case was so strong, they chose to expand in both.
Less than a month after the meeting, Sparq announced new offices in both Buffalo, New York and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
“Part of our mission was to bring tech opportunities to places that aren’t just Silicon Valley, Boston, and New York City,” said Curtis. “Buffalo’s affordability, talent pool, and true sense of community wowed us. And it was all proven true in the great people we hired.”
In a process so often driven by data and incentives, it was a conversation with the people already here that made it happen. While Sparq’s work eventually shifted remote post-pandemic, the Project 100 playbook remains a blueprint for the current moment. As companies today enact return-to-office policies and look to re-prioritize culture, the signal sent from that Main Street conference room remains valuable.
The City of Good Neighbors, if you will.
