Welcome the new crew of builders, founders, and creatives! We’ve got a roster of multi-hyphenate talent ready to talk business, roam the Rivertowns, and bring their A-game. (Members: Want to be in our next roundup? Email Samantha.)
Sameea Butts
Resides in: Irvington
Profession: I’m the founder of Built by Skill, a skills-based hiring service that helps small businesses find overlooked local talent by focusing on what people can actually do, not just what’s on their resumes. My background is in applied statistics and the study of human work, and my consulting practice builds hiring systems grounded in real job analysis and thoughtful evaluation.
Favorite local business: Don Carvajal in Irvington is my favorite coffee spot. Excellent coffee, friendly staff, and a great place to chat or work.
Fun fact: I love to experiment with and study food. Every few months, I find myself deep in a new project – chocolate cars, cakes, samosas – learning the technique behind each dish and then bringing people together around it. Let me know if you want to join for my next paratha workshop 🙂
What excites you most about HudCo: Having a designated spot away from home where I can actually focus, without distractions, and be surrounded by people who are also building things or working on projects they care about. It’s a good kind of energy, and a nice way of building community.
Zoe Iris Georgiou
Resides in: Temporarily in Elmsford during our house hunt!
Profession: Senior Graphic Designer at Duarte
Favorite local businesses: Still getting to know the area, but two standouts are Noble Pies in Tarrytown or Pour in Mount Kisco.
Fun fact: Just moved to the area from Colorado. But don’t let me fool you, I spent my early 20s in Brooklyn and grew up on Long Island.
What excites you most about HudCo? Getting out of the house to work and feel inspired while hopefully meeting and networking with new people!
Erin Larkin-Maguire
Resides in: Pelham
Profession: I’m the founder of Good Lines Homes (Instagram); we provide innovative solutions to reduce stress and complexity for homeowners and their families as they transition out of their homes. I’m also an educational leadership consultant working on policies and practices for inclusion of students with disabilities all across the country. I’m constantly finding ways to apply my skills in special education leadership in my new business.
Favorite local business: Date night at Harper’s or The Cookery never disappoints!
Fun fact: My grandfather invented the bendable straw, and I met my husband on the subway!
What excites you most about HudCo? Space to work outside of my home closet-office 🙂 And, as a new solopreneur, I’m looking forward to connecting with professionals in related fields or who have complementary services that could support my clients.
Zach Sold
Resides in: Sleepy Hollow
Profession: I look after the marketing efforts for Hard Rock Digital — the online sports betting and online casino division of Hard Rock International.
Favorite local businesses: I’m a huge fan of Tarrytown’s Main Street, and Muddy Water has become my favorite place to grab a coffee and a seat to read a book and unplug for a bit.
Fun fact: During my college years, I competed professionally in both table tennis and cage fighting. I don’t know this for sure, but I imagine I might be the only person to play those two sports professionally at the same time.
Currently watching: My wife and I recently had a baby so I haven’t had much time to keep up with pop culture, but my guilty pleasure is a low budget Canadian comedy called Letterkenny. It was a web series that eventually got picked up by Hulu, and I turn it on every time I need a pick-me-up or a 20 minute distraction.
Nicole Tarpey
Resides in: Ardsley
Profession: I recently started my own law firm, Nicole Tarpey Law PLLC, and my practice focuses on helping middle-income families protect what they’ve built through wills, trusts, probate proceedings, healthcare directives, and powers of attorney. I also work with small business owners on commercial leases, business succession planning, and contracts. LinkedIn
Favorite local business: No one beats Joanna at The Good Witch Coffee Bar in Hastings, who pours immense energy into making community events magical and always has tasty creations at the bar and in the food case.
Fun fact: I play Ardsley women’s softball and volleyball, and have aspirations to spread the league throughout the Rivertowns. I also want to start a monthly series of women business owners networking gatherings, kind of like how there are “new moms” meetups, because every time I connect with a fellow woman business owner my heart grows three sizes.
Favorite tip for staying focused: Early in this process I decided to split my workday into three parts: ⅓ client matters, ⅓ business administration, and ⅓ learning new things or writing things for my blog. Starting a business can feel overwhelming, but by having dedicated time to work on all three things each day, I keep myself from spinning in circles jumping from one task to another.