Buffalo, NY — A new collaboration between Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship, the 43North Foundation, TechBuffalo and Odoo will link Buffalo students to in-demand careers at one of the region’s fastest-growing employers.
The innovative partnership is meant to be a template for how employers can work directly with education partners, tailoring education pathways specific to their needs.
Starting this fall, Golisano Institute will create an Odoo-specific pathway for its students, created in concert with the company.
“Golisano Institute wants to change the paradigm in education by providing our students with tangible skills that meet the needs of current employers,” said Jim Dentinger, the institute’s executive vice president and Buffalo region director. “This powerful partnership is a signal to rising talent and other business partners that we are delivering on that promise as we enter the Buffalo market.”
Golisano Institute believes strongly in the mutual benefit between talent development and local businesses. Companies who want to explore forms of collaboration can click here for more information.
Golisano Institute is a leader in alternative post-secondary business education. The Institute was founded in Rochester by billionaire Tom Golisano in Rochester in 2023 to equip students of all ages with practical business skills and real-world experience, at a tuition cost of $8,900 per year. Its second location will open this fall in Buffalo.
It is currently leading an extensive renovation of the former Buffalo News building in downtown Buffalo and will welcome its first class there in the fall. The institute offers affordable programs in business and entrepreneurship designed around experiential education and real business skills.
The partnership represents a recognition of the complementary missions between Golisano Institute and the 43North Foundation. The Foundation is scaling Buffalo’s startup ecosystem, while Golisano Institute is preparing its future leaders.
“This partnership reflects where Buffalo’s innovation economy is headed,” said William Maggio, chair of the 43North Foundation. “With the Golisano Institute preparing students for real-world opportunities and Odoo helping shape those opportunities, we’re creating stronger connections between talent and employers and building a more sustainable path for growth in the region.”
The 43North Foundation, which was created from the proceeds of the 43North business competition, counts among its pillars a venture studio that will create new companies rooted in Buffalo (Radial Ventures), a storytelling platform around high-growth innovation (Series B), a structured corporate connectivity program to engage established businesses and TechBuffalo.
TechBuffalo’s goal is to create a holistic talent system that identifies and nurtures local high performers in tech and entrepreneurs, attracts new out-of-region talent and upskills adult workers.
“TechBuffalo wants to create an operating system for a new economy in Buffalo, led by a stack of talent programs that rival the best practices across the U.S.,” said Jeffrey Botteron, TechBuffalo president and CEO. “Eventually, this will seem like a natural way to identify and nurture new employees in Buffalo. We appreciate the pioneers such as Odoo and Golisano who are leading with a belief in better systems.”
The partnership establishes targeted training pathways for students at Golisano Institute. The program is designed to transition participants from classroom learning into internships at Odoo, with a clear path to full-time employment.
The partnership represents a shift in how workforce development is designed and delivered in Buffalo. This model starts with employer demand, then aligns curriculum, training, and real-world experience directly with the needs of a growing company.
For Odoo, which chose Buffalo as its East Coast HQ in 2020 and continues to expand rapidly here, the initiative is a strategic investment in building a sustainable, local talent pipeline.
By working in partnership with local institutions and talent organizations, Odoo is helping to establish a replicable model for how employers can engage earlier and more meaningfully in talent development.
“Odoo’s continued growth in Buffalo depends on access to strong, local talent,” said Nick Kosinski, Odoo’s Managing Director, U.S. “This partnership allows us to invest directly in that pipeline while contributing to the broader economic momentum of the region.”
How the partnership works
This model aligns education, employer demand, and talent support from day one, creating a more direct path from training to employment.
About Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship
Golisano Institute for Business & Entrepreneurship is a leader in alternative post-secondary business education. Delivering a high-quality and accelerated business experience for students of all ages, Golisano Institute leverages an expansive roster of higher education partners, entrepreneur advisors, and business connections to help professionals reach their full potential. Thanks to the generosity of founder Tom Golisano, qualified students can access the Institute’s benefits at a significantly lower cost than the average higher education institution. For more information, visit us at LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or golisanoinstitute.org.
About the 43North Foundation
The 43North Foundation is making a significant investment in Buffalo to drive a new era of growth through high-growth innovation. It is steering that investment across four strategic pillars that include company creation (Radial Ventures), talent development (TechBuffalo), storytelling (Series B) and the region’s first structured corporate connectivity program around innovation. By bringing a vision of growth, collaboration and abundance to economic development, the 43North Foundation is setting Buffalo on a pathway to a dynamic economy and thriving community.
