After Winning a Buffalo, N.Y., Startup Competition, a Founder Trades Sand for Snow

In this week’s Decamped, we chat with Scott Wayman, CEO and founder of Kangarootime, a software company for child-care centers and preschools. Wayman moved from Long Beach, Calif., to Buffalo, N.Y., after winning the 43North startup accelerator competition, but he’s relocating his company for the long run.

Why Buffalo: So 43North is an economic development play funded by the state of New York to really build out western New York and build Buffalo’s startup ecosystem. The requirement was you had to move there for one year and move half your team. So we do well in the semifinals and then you fly to Buffalo and you participate in the finals. It’s kind of like this “Shark Tank”–style pitch competition. We win and it saves the company.

Family complications: My wife is third generation from Long Beach. So when I asked for her hand in marriage, and her dad said, “Yeah…you can live anywhere in the world you want, just make sure it’s in Long Beach, California.” So making the decision to move was not a no-brainer.