By Rod Bacon

Those with an entrepreneurial spirit always want to go to the next level, which usually means starting a business or improving an existing one.

Through the Entrepreneur Boot Camp, offered through the Capital Region Chamber, these goals can be attained.

The chamber is one of 26 regional, non-profit economic development organizations designated as Entrepreneurship Assistance Centers (EACs) that are funded by Empire State Development.

According to Laura Mann, vice president of business resources and the program’s administrator, the chamber has served as the Capital Region’s EAC for over 25 years. She noted that the program was created under Gov. Mario Cuomo, initially as the Entrepreneurship Assistance Program (EAP), in 1987. The chamber received funding intermittently from 1995-1999, but since then has been supported every year.

“We have consistently been awarded funding by NYS ESD for this program, and have consistently been recognized and awarded by NYS as one of their top-performing EAC centers,” she said.

The Boot Camp is a 60-hour course held over 10-12-weeks with classes that meet twice a week at the chamber offices in Albany. Each session features business experts addressing topics critical to the growth of successful enterprises including accounting, legal, market research, real estate, taxes, insurance, payroll, cash flow, marketing, and social media, among others.

The Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) has announced a $17.5 million capital campaign titled Four Seasons ahead of its 60th anniversary in 2026. The initiative, the largest fundraising effort in SPAC’s history, will fund a $12 million renovation of the historic Spa Little Theater and support expanded year-round programming.

The campaign’s lead gift of $1 million comes from Stewart’s Shops and the Dake Family. Additional funding includes $4.2 million from New York State through Empire State Development and the most recent state budget. Renovation plans, developed in partnership with New York State Parks, aim to modernize the 500-seat theater while preserving its historic character and acoustics.

The project will add new seating, ADA accessibility, an upgraded HVAC system, a bar/café, community room, and expanded artist and audience amenities. Groundbreaking is scheduled for September 2025, with completion anticipated in fall 2026.

In the center of the city of Saratoga Springs, Garnet River, a business solutions company, is making waves far beyond the Capital Region. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this summer, the company is harnessing cutting-edge IT and AI, as a developer of groundbreaking software applications.

At the forefront of their innovative offerings is Consa, an ambient AI note-taker designed for the behavioral health industry. Megan Christiana, Healthcare Solutions Consultant at Garnet River, explains that Consa records the entire therapeutic session and generates notes in the standard SOAP format, a structured method for recording patient encounters. But Consa goes beyond simple transcription. It analyzes vocal biomarkers, providing clinicians with behavioral intelligence insights that can help identify potential issues before they escalate.

“It’s very exciting,” Christiana says, highlighting the technology’s ability to help clinicians maintain eye contact with patients, fostering a more engaging and attentive therapeutic environment. “You get to give your patient 110% of your attention.”

Consa addresses a critical need in the behavioral health sector, particularly for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) nationwide. These clinics face stringent filing deadlines, and Consa streamlines the note-taking process, ensuring clinicians can focus on patient care. “Getting notes done faster is a big win for everybody,” Christiana emphasizes.

Beyond healthcare, Garnet River offers other innovative solutions. Quidi, from “Quick Document Intelligence”, leverages AI to automate processing documents like invoices and credit card statements, eliminating manual data entry. This technology is applicable across diverse industries, from manufacturing to any business dealing with paper or email invoices.

Another application, Hindsight365, tackles the challenges of employee reviews. This platform allows managers to input feedback throughout the year, mitigating bias and providing a comprehensive overview of employee performance. “You can input data from an entire year, and eliminate some of that bias,” Christiana explains.