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Seneca Systems (YC S16) Raises $3.5M to Make Cities More Responsive, Efficient

66 points by ktothemc 9y ago

ncd 9y ago
Just noticed this went up! Happy to answer any questions about what we're doing, or more importantly, how the amazing folks in local government are performing their jobs. Also, I noticed the article doesn't link to our site, so https://www.senecagov.com https://www.senecagov.com
- jtmarmon 9y ago
  I'm curious what Romulus does that Zendesk could not
  - sPaz3 9y ago
    Full disclosure: I am currently an engineer at Seneca Systems and an ex-engineer of Zendesk, which I loved :) From my experience, Zendesk is a private sector-oriented customer relationship platform with communications at its core. The relationship between local government and their constituents doesn't look like the private sector relationship between customer service department and customer (though this comparison is frequently made). A customer service rep needs to answer, respond, and pass along... But in government, a worker has to actually get the work done. The relationship between government and constituent isn't a sales relationship, it is a services one, and it's in the service request management area that workers are really suffering. The communication is only important insofar as it becomes a unit of work for the government to deliver on... A pothole, for example, or a streetlight issue. They struggle with geolocation and the need for mapping, the ability to visualize community issue trends and seeing them as they happen rather than when the shoe falls, FOIA requests, and more. These things are highly specific to government, and not really addressable by a generic private sector solution no matter how customizable. As a result, in Romulus managing the constituent communications is only the first piece of the puzzle. In my opinion, the real value Seneca provides is in the service request management, which takes the communication and tracks the unit of work that comes from it internally, as well as providing the ability to communicate the progress externally as Zendesk does. This reminds me of some threads about the difference between Slack and IRC. Could one be dramatically retrofitted to accomplish what the other does? Sure, but it wouldn't do it well, and people aren't looking for it to do that.
- rosser 9y ago
  Mazel tov, Nick and team! I'm really glad to see this.
- flowless 9y ago
  I don't feel like adoption of another proprietary platform is the way. I like the idea of open data, APIs or even open IoT networks like TTN that can be used and even improved by anyone. How are you planning to handle various integration requests with other services the cities run?
  - ncd 9y ago
    Totally agree about open data and we actually do integrate with a large number of systems via http://www.open311.org/ http://www.open311.org/, an open standard built by cities and vendors working together.
nathan_f77 9y ago
> Feher said the constituent management software the federal government uses is “very expensive and not really want we needed at the local level,” I think this is a great way to find startup ideas. There's a lot of expensive and awful software that needs to be replaced with modern websites and mobile apps. The other day I was reading through this huge thread about IT people who hate IBM's WebSphere product with a passion [1]. (Excuse the explicit language.) I guess this is the enterprise / government world. And it's not just IT, there are underserved government workers, insurance agents, accountants, etc. working with outdated and terrible software. Patching things together with spreadsheets, or pens and paper. I posted this the other day, but it's also relevant here. From @patio11: [2] > Here's an exercise you can do: do you understand what a life insurance agent does all day every day? Make it your mission for a week to do so, well enough to explain it to a close friend who has no access to your sources. All you have to do to learn this is read and make conversations happen. (People are happy to talk to you!) Go and talk to real people and solve real problems! P.S. Congrats to the Seneca team on the launch! [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/7zb7jt/ibm_java_cto_devs_shouldnt_have_to_learn_docker/dumthik/ https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/7zb7jt/ibm_jav... [2] https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/im-patio11-patrick-mckenzie-creator-of-appointment-reminder-ama-fb96fd1f86?commentId=-L5qqQU1KexqFnGATD7I https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/im-patio11-patrick-mckenz...
- ben_jones 9y ago
  Sure, but a lot of expensive and awful software is awful in part because it contains a ginormous number of features, edge cases, and compliance issues. It could take years to create a "modern replacement" and a HUGE amount of effort to gain the same trust and reputation as the incumbent. Then after spending years building this software, the incumbent opens up their war chest, hires a small dev team, does a gradual refactoring, and has sudden parity in performance/design as you do. People underestimate that many of these products are exactly where they need to be: functional enough to attract and retain customers and able to compete when absolutely necessary.
  - jaredsmithse 9y ago
    With that being the case, then no startup would ever be successful (and disruption would not be a thing)..

66 points by ktothemc 9y ago

ncd 9y ago

Just noticed this went up! Happy to answer any questions about what we're doing, or more importantly, how the amazing folks in local government are performing their jobs. Also, I noticed the article doesn't link to our site, so https://www.senecagov.com https://www.senecagov.com

jtmarmon 9y ago
I'm curious what Romulus does that Zendesk could not
- sPaz3 9y ago
  Full disclosure: I am currently an engineer at Seneca Systems and an ex-engineer of Zendesk, which I loved :) From my experience, Zendesk is a private sector-oriented customer relationship platform with communications at its core. The relationship between local government and their constituents doesn't look like the private sector relationship between customer service department and customer (though this comparison is frequently made). A customer service rep needs to answer, respond, and pass along... But in government, a worker has to actually get the work done. The relationship between government and constituent isn't a sales relationship, it is a services one, and it's in the service request management area that workers are really suffering. The communication is only important insofar as it becomes a unit of work for the government to deliver on... A pothole, for example, or a streetlight issue. They struggle with geolocation and the need for mapping, the ability to visualize community issue trends and seeing them as they happen rather than when the shoe falls, FOIA requests, and more. These things are highly specific to government, and not really addressable by a generic private sector solution no matter how customizable. As a result, in Romulus managing the constituent communications is only the first piece of the puzzle. In my opinion, the real value Seneca provides is in the service request management, which takes the communication and tracks the unit of work that comes from it internally, as well as providing the ability to communicate the progress externally as Zendesk does. This reminds me of some threads about the difference between Slack and IRC. Could one be dramatically retrofitted to accomplish what the other does? Sure, but it wouldn't do it well, and people aren't looking for it to do that.
rosser 9y ago
Mazel tov, Nick and team! I'm really glad to see this.
flowless 9y ago
I don't feel like adoption of another proprietary platform is the way. I like the idea of open data, APIs or even open IoT networks like TTN that can be used and even improved by anyone. How are you planning to handle various integration requests with other services the cities run?
- ncd 9y ago
  Totally agree about open data and we actually do integrate with a large number of systems via http://www.open311.org/ http://www.open311.org/, an open standard built by cities and vendors working together.

nathan_f77 9y ago

> Feher said the constituent management software the federal government uses is “very expensive and not really want we needed at the local level,” I think this is a great way to find startup ideas. There's a lot of expensive and awful software that needs to be replaced with modern websites and mobile apps. The other day I was reading through this huge thread about IT people who hate IBM's WebSphere product with a passion [1]. (Excuse the explicit language.) I guess this is the enterprise / government world. And it's not just IT, there are underserved government workers, insurance agents, accountants, etc. working with outdated and terrible software. Patching things together with spreadsheets, or pens and paper. I posted this the other day, but it's also relevant here. From @patio11: [2] > Here's an exercise you can do: do you understand what a life insurance agent does all day every day? Make it your mission for a week to do so, well enough to explain it to a close friend who has no access to your sources. All you have to do to learn this is read and make conversations happen. (People are happy to talk to you!) Go and talk to real people and solve real problems! P.S. Congrats to the Seneca team on the launch! [1] https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/7zb7jt/ibm_java_cto_devs_shouldnt_have_to_learn_docker/dumthik/ https://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/7zb7jt/ibm_jav... [2] https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/im-patio11-patrick-mckenzie-creator-of-appointment-reminder-ama-fb96fd1f86?commentId=-L5qqQU1KexqFnGATD7I https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/im-patio11-patrick-mckenz...

ben_jones 9y ago
Sure, but a lot of expensive and awful software is awful in part because it contains a ginormous number of features, edge cases, and compliance issues. It could take years to create a "modern replacement" and a HUGE amount of effort to gain the same trust and reputation as the incumbent. Then after spending years building this software, the incumbent opens up their war chest, hires a small dev team, does a gradual refactoring, and has sudden parity in performance/design as you do. People underestimate that many of these products are exactly where they need to be: functional enough to attract and retain customers and able to compete when absolutely necessary.
- jaredsmithse 9y ago
  With that being the case, then no startup would ever be successful (and disruption would not be a thing)..