Gregory Pranzo: Building Smarter Communities Through Simple Tech

How a Baltimore Entrepreneur Turned Practical Ideas Into Real-World Impact

Gregory Pranzo didn’t set out to be a tech founder. He didn’t follow a startup playbook or chase big investors. His career started with a simple question: “Why are we still doing this the hard way?”

That mindset has taken him from local IT consultant to the founder of PranzoTech Solutions, a company focused on helping small businesses, nonprofits, and public agencies in Baltimore use digital tools that actually work.

“I’m not interested in flashy features,” Pranzo says. “I’m interested in solving the problem in front of us—clearly and affordably.”

His career shows how small ideas, applied at the right time and place, can drive real change—not just in business, but in communities too.

Starting Out: Fixing What’s Right in Front of You

Gregory grew up in Maryland and earned a degree in Information Systems from Towson University. He got his start working with nonprofits and small city offices, helping them move from paper files and broken spreadsheets to more organized systems.

The work wasn’t glamorous, but it mattered.

“I’d meet teams who were doing amazing work—helping families, feeding people, keeping things running—but they were stuck with outdated tools,” he says. “It didn’t make sense.”

Those early experiences shaped his approach: tech should make people’s work easier, not harder.

By 2018, he was ready to do more. That’s when he launched PranzoTech Solutions—a firm built around clarity, speed, and community needs.

The Business Model: Simple Systems, Real Fit

PranzoTech doesn’t build massive platforms. Instead, they focus on lean, fit-for-purpose tools: automated workflows, clean dashboards, cybersecurity basics, and smart city systems.

The process is grounded in constraint: limited budgets, small teams, and high stakes.

“We ask: What’s the smallest tool we can build that solves the biggest problem?” Pranzo explains. “That’s how we avoid waste and deliver quickly.”

The company uses a hybrid delivery model—internal oversight with trusted freelance partners when needed. Clients range from neighborhood nonprofits to city departments testing IoT sensors.

One example? A nonprofit that tracked client services manually was able to cut reporting time by 75% using a simple cloud dashboard built by PranzoTech.

Smart City Tech—Without the Buzzwords

As Baltimore moved toward more smart infrastructure, Pranzo’s work evolved too. He began consulting on projects like sensor-based street lighting and data platforms for public services.

But he’s cautious about how the term “smart city” gets used.

“If we call it smart, but people can’t use it or access it, it’s not smart at all,” he says. “Tech should never outpace the community it serves.”

That belief led him to work with the Baltimore Digital Equity Coalition, and later co-launch a digital skills accelerator that trained 300+ residents in basic tech fluency.

Helping Underserved Businesses Compete Digitally

Another part of his focus is minority-owned small businesses. Many of them face barriers when it comes to adopting digital tools—cost, time, and lack of support.

PranzoTech offers stripped-down, affordable versions of business systems that help these teams track inventory, automate customer follow-up, or manage simple accounting.

“These aren’t luxury tools,” he explains. “They’re survival tools. If you don’t digitize, you fall behind.”

In 2023, his work in this space was recognized by the Maryland Tech Council.

Leading With Utility, Not Hype

Pranzo doesn’t claim to have all the answers, and he’s not big on jargon. But he is clear on what works.

His team operates with regular debriefs, shared documentation, and project roadmaps that focus on value per hour—not just deliverables.

“We’re always asking: Is this saving time? Is it reducing friction? If not, it doesn’t go in the build.”

He also emphasizes knowledge transfer. Tools are delivered with training, clear handoff docs, and check-ins. The goal is self-sufficiency.

Looking Ahead: Local Scale, Shared Ownership

When asked about the future, Pranzo isn’t focused on national expansion. He’s focused on replicable models for local impact.

“We want to build tools that other cities or communities can plug in, adapt, and run on their own,” he says. “That’s real scale.”

He’s especially excited about edge AI and local data ownership, which he believes could shift control of tech tools from vendors back to communities.

Key Takeaways From Gregory Pranzo’s Career Path

• Start small, but solve real problems.
  
• Design systems that people can actually use—and hand off.
  
• Build with constraints in mind.
  
• Local focus often leads to scalable, repeatable models.
  
• You don’t need big hype to create real impact.
  

“I’ve never chased disruption,” Pranzo says. “I’ve chased usefulness. That’s enough to build something that lasts.”

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