Zatony.com is an online-office website for busy executives that offers video conferencing, schedule management, document sharing and payment processing.
East Greenwich attorney Susan Deveney created the site after not being able to find a solution for her own work that was capable of planning meetings and completing other office tasks all in one place.
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PBN: Where did you get the name for your online community?
DEVENEY: In thinking about how our community of professionals and consumers come together on the Zatony.com platform, it struck me that it was like a “reef,” where people can converge on a regular basis for both business and social interaction. My daughter began scouring the internet for reef synonyms and came upon “zatony” in the Hungarian dictionary. We all liked the word, as it was unique and conveyed the meaning behind the platform in a tech-sounding sort of way!
PBN: Run down for us briefly how Zatony works. Is it like a coworking hub with shared amenities but online?
DEVENEY: Zatony.com provides customizable, subscription-based online offices that come prepackaged with a suite of automated business services, [such as] calendar booking, fee collection, video-conference meetings, document sharing and online networking events. Every Zatony professional has an individual office, in which s/he can add documents, images, video and information about her/his business, [such as] bio, credentials, background, education, etc. Zatony professionals have access to all these services with one username and password instead of having separate accounts, usernames and passwords.
By holding online meetings, Zatony professionals save time and travel expenses. They are also able to expand their business and network with other professionals far beyond the typical local reach of brick-and-mortar offices and networking get-togethers. For example, a financial planner in Boston can now network with clients and other professionals across the U.S. and Canada.
PBN: It wasn’t just sitting in traffic between business meetings that helped lead to your idea for Zatony, correct?
DEVENEY: The travel for my training company affected my ability to schedule meetings with clients and other collaborating professionals. There were times when I needed to be in Los Angeles and New York and Boston at the same time. I was constantly coordinating logistics for my children, too – to and from school, tennis, friends’ events, you name it. It was maddening and draining on my time.
The logistics of staying in hotels and eating in restaurants was especially challenging because of my food allergies. My staff had to select training venues that were in locations that could provide a refrigerator and microwave or stove for me to store and cook my own food. It also had to be close to a grocery store so I could conveniently shop. So aggravating! We often started our venue search with locating the Trader Joe’s in the city where the training would take place.
PBN: With the beta phase complete, summarize the Zatony buildout from here. What can subscribers expect?
DEVENEY: Zatony.com will monitor, research and source the very best-in-class services to integrate with its platform on an ongoing basis. For example, online notarization is now legally accepted in a handful of states. When it becomes more universally accepted, which it will be very soon, we will add that business service to Zatony. We will be adding more and more online networking and training events for professionals, and presentations by our professionals for our professionals and, ultimately, the public.
We will be expanding beyond North America. … We already have several professionals joining us from outside the U.S.
Soon, subscribers will be able to invest in Zatony’s future success through crowdfunding.
PBN: What professionals do you think will find the most value in Zatony, and why?
DEVENEY: Anyone who has a brick-and-mortar office and meets with clients can benefit from this online-office concept. Not only will clients demand this sort of meeting in the future, holding meetings this way opens the professional’s schedule to additional options – [such as] conducting meetings … on-the-go during times that would not normally be open in the professional’s on-site office calendar.
I predict that almost no Gen X, Y or Z will even be willing to travel to a brick-and-mortar carbon footprint office if an online option is available. I’m a baby boomer and I resist doing it! Any professional who expects clients to always travel to their office location or vice versa is just kidding [themselves].
Susan Shalhoub is a PBN contributing writer.
