Making data easier to capture for smaller economic development organizations
The EDai platform is the brainchild of a former lead strategist for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership who helped lure Amazon’s HQ2 to Northern Virginia.
Data, data, data. Every economic developer needs it, but there are always challenges.
A former lead strategist for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership who helped lure Amazon’s HQ2 to Northern Virginia is launching a new Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) product for smaller economic development organizations.
According to an article in Richmond Inno (subscription required), the product and the company are both named EDai and follow two years of consulting work for Sean Brazier in working with others and building the SaaS platform. He explains that data was historically presented to economic development officials in PowerPoint presentations in giant proposals, and Brazier knew there had to be a more dynamic way of using and presenting the information.
The EDai platform is targeted at economic development officials in mid-sized markets and companies that do not have in-house economic development expertise. Large cities and major corporations have analysts and others who can do the research and present data on proposed economic projects.
“Over the last 15 years, I have helped businesses and communities grow and make significant investments in their futures,” Brazier writes on the start-up’s website. “Two experiences have been consistent. One, access to robust data and sound analytics is typically limited to the largest companies and communities. And two, this data and analytics are spread across so disparate portals, consultants, and staff members. As a result, leaders spend more time collecting and analyzing data rather than making decisions.”
With a $75,000 Commonwealth Commercialization Fund grant from the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation, Brazier plans to launch the platform in July which is the start of the fiscal year for state and local governments.
