Category Archives: Business News

The health group aptihealth, a tech-driven behavioral healthcare provider built for higher acuity care based in Saratoga Springs, has named Tim Koehler as president and chief operating officer.

Koehler was chief operating officer at Bluestone Physician Services, where he spearheaded the company’s market expansion and transition from fee-for-service to value-based care, including the creation of Bluestone ACO. 

At Bluestone, Koehler built and led teams responsible for on-site medical care for high-risk patients living in residential care settings. As CEO and founder of Bluestone ACO, he created one of the highest performing ACO’s in the country when measured by savings per beneficiary.

Prior to Bluestone, Koehler spent nearly two decades at UnitedHealth Group (UHG), the 11th ranked company on the 2022 Fortune Global 500, in executive and management roles, the last of which was as president of the Diabetes Prevention and Control Alliance (DPCA). At DPCA, Koehler  lead development of the business model to support all core operational functions including call center, claims, eligibility, payments, network operations, fulfillment, capacity planning, product development and a proprietary technology platform. 

DPCA contracted with 27 UHC health plans and five non-UHC plans including three independent BCBS plans and over 350 self-funded employers.

By Christine Graf

After more than a decade spent working at the Dead Presidents Lounge in Albany, tattoo artist Krystal Ingram has opened her own studio in Ballston Lake.

Sans Souci Tattoo is located at 318 Ruhle Road South, just off Exit 11 of the Northway.

According to Ingram, she became interested in tattoos after her uncle got one when she was ten years old.

“I thought it was the coolest thing I had ever seen in my life. I became super fascinated by tattoos and the whole culture surrounding them. My parents were completely not into tattoos at all, and I think that’s what made me want to be a part of it even more.”

A graduate of Albany High School, Ingram received a B.F.A. in print making from SUNY New Paltz in 2011. Two weeks after graduating, she began working as an apprentice to a tattoo artist at the Dead Presidents Lounge. After two years as an apprentice, she began building her own client base.

“I always felt like I wanted something that I could call my own, and I wanted to build a community that I could call my own as well,” she said. “I also knew that it was a good idea from a business perspective. I don’t have a retirement plan, so I need to invest wisely.”

The Gene Haas Foundation recently awarded the local Employment Training for Adults (ETA) Machine Tool Technology program a grant to assist with student tuition and program needs.

ETA is affiliated with the Washington-Saratoga-Warren-Hamilton-Essex BOCES. The grant will help people enroll in the  Machine Tool Technology program and prepare themselves for a successful career. 

Dave Sharpe, local sales engineer with Allendale Machinery, recently presented the check to ETA instructor Jason Viele and Michelle Stockwell, administrator for adult programs.

Allendale Machinery Systems supplies manufacturing solutions for local businesses with a main product provided by Haas Automation, the largest supplier of American-made machine tools in the country. Both Allendale and Haas are big supporters of education.

“If you look around, you won’t see a product that didn’t have a machine tool involved in its creation,” Sharpe said. “For example, your toaster, refrigerator, or furnace all had machine tools making components or tooling. Medical products like the MRIs used in diagnosis are made locally. The list seems endless. The demand is behind the supply for trained people to operate the manufacturing equipment for industry. 

By Christine Graf

Less than two years after opening Cupola Coffee in Burnt Hills, owner Cindy Turgeon is expanding her 227 Kingsley Road coffee shop. Plans are currently underway to expand into an adjoining 300-square-foot space.

Before opening Cupola in 2021, Turgeon operated Sgraffito Art Studio on Route 50 and worked as an art teacher for the Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School District. Her goal at the time was to finance the opening of a coffee shop—an “artful café”—in Burnt Hills where she lives. 

“Almost every other little town on the planet had a coffee shop,” said Turgeon. “We have such a great community that is so supportive, but we didn’t have a coffee shop.”

Turgeon spent close to five years putting together a business plan and educating herself on the coffee shop industry. She worked with the Small Business Development Center in Albany and attended the free workshops offered by the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region. 

“I wanted to open a place that anyone could just walk in and meet up with a friend. I also wanted a place where we could hang art and display work without it being a commission-based space,” she said. “I wanted to have something beautiful, and I knew it had to be right in the center of Burnt Hills.”

By Paul Post

Glens Falls was a shadow of the proud, prosperous community people called “Hometown USA” when Ben Miller left home to pursue a music career.

Vacant storefronts lined Glen Street, attractions were far and few between, and dysfunctional traffic patterns made trips downtown a nightmare.

When visiting home, however, Miller saw a steady resurgence that has blossomed, making Glens Falls one of upstate New York’s more vibrant small cities.

“It was really within the last five years that things really started to explode and more and more, every time I came home I saw Glens Falls as a place where I could see myself some day,” he said. “There’s been a huge amount of work done by the business community to make Glens Falls a place where people want to live and have the amenities they’re looking for.”

Building on this positive momentum, Miller has opened a fine dining restaurant, deli and grocery mart called Park & Elm, which fills a  void while revitalizing an historic building that turns 100 years old in 2023.

The Saratoga Springs City Center will host the first Saratoga Reptile Show on Jan. 22 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The one-day event will feature hundreds of healthy, captive-bred reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates that can be purchased from reputable vendors. There will also be a wide selection of discounted cages, supplies, feeder insects, and frozen/live rodents.

Tickets to the event are $10 for adults, $5 for children ages 7-13, and free for children ages 6 and under. 

Organizers said the Saratoga Reptile Show is here to cultivate a family friendly, educational, and fun filled event where people can enjoy wandering and observing reptiles.

There will be an educational sales and networking event geared toward reptile enthusiasts, hobbyists, and reputable breeder. They will be able to purchase quality captive-bred reptiles, amphibians and invertebrates, discounted cages, supplies, feeder insects, frozen and live rodents!

Next year’s New York State Innovation Summit will be held in October in Saratoga Springs, presenters of the event  NYSTAR and FuzeHub announced last month.

The event will be held Oct. 16-17 at the Saratoga City Center. 

The multi-day event is for New York state organizations that want to showcase and discover new and emerging technologies that support innovation and drive business growth.

It serves as an opportunity to foster collaboration; introduce industry to experts that can assist growth, strengthen our statewide innovation ecosystem and showcase promising early stage companies.  

“Whether you’re a startup, an economic developer, or an established manufacturer, the NYS Innovation Summit is for you,” organizers said.

The 2023 New York State Innovation Summit will showcase companies and researchers at the forefront of emerging technologies and new advancements in production capabilities.  

The event celebrates New York State leadership in technology-led economic growth with experts in biotechnology, new materials, energy innovation, and artificial intelligence that will explore current technology convergence opportunities, ways to accelerate commercialization, and issues of manufacturing sustainability.

By Christine Graf

With ski season officially underway, staffs at Gore Mountain and West Mountain are gearing up for what is likely to be another very busy winter. Last season, Gore had a record-breaking year for both revenue and season pass sales. 

According to Gore’s general manager James “Bone” Bayse, pass sales for the 2022-2023 season have been strong.

“I’m not sure that we will break last year’s record because it was so high, but we will be very close. At the moment, we are tracking that way.”

Meanwhile at West Mountain in Queensbury, “Last winter was a good, solid, profitable year,” said co-owner Spencer Montgomery. “Coming into this year, revenue-wise which includes season passes, we are up about 20 percent over last year. We pre-sell school programs, and that has been really strong this year. We’re on a fiscal year that starts May 1 and we’re probably pushing a 30 percent increase in sales for the same period last year.”

During the off season at Gore, an additional 230 snow guns were added to the snowmaking fleet. Some of these guns will be used on the new trail that was cut into Burnt Ridge Mountain. 

By Susan Elise Campbell

Only one year after starting her own residential interior and architectural design business, Stuidio K owner Kennedy Taylor has opened a retail showroom called Motif Home Gallery that she says  “bridges the gap” for homeowners, design professionals and vendors. 

The new venture comes at a time when home renovation has been in high demand, especially for the large scale remodels and luxury construction that is Taylor’s niche.

“Motif is a one-stop shop where homeowners can have their spaces deigned from the ground up,” she said. “We display some favorite vendors of lighting, fixtures, wall coverings, fabric and furniture and assorted items of cool and unique home décor, all under one roof.”

Taylor plans to introduce cabinetry displays in the spring, she said.

Describing her style as “a mix of classic Americana and modern with some rock ’n roll,” Taylor said, “I like high-end glamour and elegance with a little glitter among the refined.”