A software consulting company in Schenectady is considered one of the region’s fastest growing businesses. Terry Stackhouse has more about Jahnel Group in this week’s Capital Region Business Beat.
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. -- Jahnel Group is considered one of the region’s fastest growing businesses. The Schenectady-based software consulting company designs custom software for companies.
“When they are in that situation and it is critical to their business and to their revenue, that’s when they are ready to really invest the dollars in building something special just for their business and that’s when we come in,” said CEO Darrin Jahnel.
Darrin runs the business with his brother Jason out of a recently renovated building in Schenectady’s historic Stockade district. In 2005 they quit their jobs as Wall Street software engineers and started designing education software.
“We really got off to a horrible start but then we started to figure some things out,” Jahnel said.
Business picked up in 2012 when they began accepting requests from companies to design web applications for them. Their biggest client is an unclaimed property firm in Massachusetts.
“There’s obviously not many off the shelf products in that industry so they have very specific needs,” said Jahnel.
Their signature product is Samson’s Classroom, a web-based suite of educational games. It’s been played more than 10 million times.
Company leaders tout a workplace culture that allows employees to have fun while taking their careers to the next level.
"I think that is what sets Jahnel Group apart is it is not just about, well do 8 hours and go home. It is about, be awesome, be great, be better, and that is what makes this place great,” said Jethro Breuer, the Jahnel Group’s project manager.
Today Jahnel Group employs 45 people. Darrin Jahnel hopes to hire and train even more.
"We just want to take this thing that we have created and grow it and bring more people into it and try to make a mark and an impact in the city of Schenectady as we bring hi-tech jobs here and just try to expand what we've built so far,” said Jahnel.