Internet

MetaSpring adds 4, plans to do it again in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

●

September 30, 2009

MetaSpring didn't just move because its old space was too small and the start-up was growing too big. The Ann Arbor-based firm needed a space that represented its creative personality."We really wanted to define ourselves with our space," says John Paul Narowski, strategic marketing director for MetaSpring.So the web-development-and-marketing firm moved out of its subleased corner of SpamStopsHere's office and set up shop in 2,000 square feet near Briarwood Mall. About one third of that building was office-space and the rest was warehouse. MetaSpring built the rest of it out in chic loft-style office space, decked out in bright colors and creative spaces. That is expected to give the company space for is burgeoning growth. MetaSpring (Meta is programmer jargon for fancy code and spring is a reference to a river or brook) started with four people in 1999. Today it employs seven people, two interns and an independent contractor. Two employees and two interns were brought on within the last year. "We have been expanding at a pretty consistent rate," Narowski says.It plans to develop internal software this year that it plans to turn into software as a service product. That would allow the firm to diversify into both a consulting and subscription-as-a-service model. MetaSpring plans to use that as a launching pad for hiring 3-4 more people (programmers and designers) within the next year.Source: John Paul Narowski, strategic marketing director for MetaSpringWriter: Jon Zemke

Latest in Internet

ICON Creative Technologies grows staff in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

September 30, 2009

There is a reason ICON Creative Technologies Group is moving into a bigger space, mainly to accommodate the new hiring its doing right now.The Ann Arbor-based firm super sized from its old downtown digs to the former second home for the Ann Arbor Art Center just outside of downtown. That nearly tripling of space is allowing the company to continue to hire. It recently brought two more people to its payroll and plans to hire more soon."The more business we bring in the more we will hire," says Jennifer Peak, a spokeswoman for ICON Creative Technologies Group. The 14-year-old Internet firm now employs 27 people around the world, including with people in as far away as Germany and as close as Northern Michigan. It's Ann Arbor contingent measures out to 20 people. It hopes to hit 60 people within the next five years.ICON Creative Technologies Group is an interactive marketing agency focusing on Internet marketing. Its 60-some clients include firms in the bio-tech, automotive and service industries.Source: Jennifer Peak, a spokeswoman for ICON Creative Technologies GroupWriter: Jon Zemke

Skype president reflects on business, following his heart and time in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

September 30, 2009

A big shot in the start-up world (president of Skype) reflects on the lessons he learned growing up in Ann Arbor.Excerpt:MY life has been punctuated by points where I followed my heart rather than my head. I grew up in Ann Arbor, Mich., and went to the alternative high school there. It was called Community High — Commie High for short — and it had an unstructured format. I spent much of my junior and senior years traveling the country in a six-member jazz ensemble.Read the rest of the story here.

Igadea hires 2 in Ann Arbor, plans to hire more

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

September 23, 2009

Eight years ago, Kevin Sly and Steve Owsinski were just a couple of college kids at the University of Michigan with a dream of running their own Internet start-up. Today the two friends turned that passion for the web into a local firm that is starting to really take hold – Igadea.The 8-year-old firm specializes in website development and marketing. It employs eight people in downtown Ann Arbor, including two recent hires. All new hires came on board over the last couple of years as Igadea (a play on words for "I got an idea") grew its revenues an average of 20 percent per year."In the last 3-4 years it has really blossomed," says Kevin Sly, president of igadea. "We have picked up a lot of regional clients. It feels like its going to follow that trend."Those firms include Dew Point in Lansing, Gardiner White in Farmington and re:group in Ann Arbor. The company is focusing on more Internet marketing these days, even though it got its start creating complex web development applications. It also has a side business in e-commerce for jewelry making.Sly expects this will all add up to more growth in the next year or two. He sees the company continuing to add to its staff in the near future.Source: Kevin Sly, president of igadeaWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor govt pushes further into techworld

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

September 23, 2009

Ann Arbor city government is pushing further into the tech world these days, sometimes by choice and sometimes by necessity.The city recently offered a call-in service for its public meeting, similar to how a radio show takes questions on air. Normally, people who want to express opinions have to come to the meeting in person and state their case. This newest service let them do it from their cell phone.The city is also looking to move its public notification system into the 21st Century by posting public notices online. This came up when The Ann Arbor News closed this summer leaving the city without a daily newspaper, the normal vehicle for posting public notices like upcoming council votes and informational sessions.Now that the paper is gone, the city is maneuvering to see if it can just post these sort of notices online to satisfy the city's ordinance governing this practice. If so, it would be one of the first local municipalities to rely on this method. Source: City of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

College friends work to turn Art Binaire into FT jobs

By Newsroom

●

Entrepreneurship

●

September 16, 2009

Art Binaire isn't a full-time gig for Goran Bankovic and Nenad Milosavljevic... yet.The two friends met while taking classes at Washtenaw County Community College earlier this decade. They wanted to start their own business together, and got that chance a year ago with Art Binaire.The web development firm based out of Ann Arbor focuses on creating and tweaking websites for local firms. They have been able to develop a reputation and some customer base, but they hope to really gain traction this year."We want to establish steady revenue," Bankovic says.Once they are able to do that, they want to begin bringing on interns next year. Right now they can also bring in independent contractors to help them handle their work.Source: Goran Bankovic, co-owner of Art BinaireWriter: Jon Zemke

Community voices in Ann Arbor: a glimpse of local journalism’s future?

By Newsroom

●

Arts & Culture

●

September 9, 2009

All eyes were on Ann Arbor when The Ann Arbor News closed, but they remained focused on Tree Town to see what happens to AnnArbor.com.Excerpt:To me, one of the most interesting aspects of AnnArbor.com is its reliance on community bloggers for a large portion of the site’s content. It's also the aspect most likely to give many journalists the heebie-jeebies.AnnArbor.com launched when The Ann Arbor News closed in late July, ending the newspaper’s 174-year history. It was a sad day for journalism when the News closed, leading to the loss of more than 200 jobs. But it was also the beginning of real-life experiment in this evolving enterprise we call journalism. To me, it's an experiment all in the world of journalism should be watching. Closely.Read the rest of the story here.

Get the 411 on things to do in Chelsea

By Newsroom

●

Arts & Culture

●

September 2, 2009

When Leslie Surel moved to Chelsea, she started looking for something to do. That basic need turned into a nice little Internet start-up – What To Do In Chelsea.In 2005, Surel started by putting together a simple website featuring the links of places she liked to get information on city events. She told about a dozen friends and now has 17,000-plus visitors a month, turning it into the top hit in Google searches for Chelsea, Michigan. "It's growing every month in regards to visitors and content," Surel says. The downtown Chelsea-based business has relied mostly on viral marketing and word-of-mouth to build its loyal base of followers. What To Do In Chelsea is now utilizing social media outlets, like Facebook and Twitter, to further drive traffic.Surel wants to turn the website into (or maintain its presence, depending on whom you ask) the definitive news source for events and things to do in Chelsea. She could even see expanding it to other nearby cities like Dexter or Saline in the not too distant future."The more I added to it the more I realized there was more to add," Surel says. "It was inspirational to see everything there is to do in this town."Source: Leslie Surel, owner of Things To Do In ChelseaWriter: Jon Zemke

Switchback hires six people in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

●

Economic Development

●

August 26, 2009

Last time we checked in with Switchback, the newly formed start-up's two partners were figuring out their business plan and fighting to gain footing in the competitive world of Ann Arbor start-ups. My how times have changed.The almost-2-year-old firm now employs 11 people, an intern and is looking to hire. The staff is expected to double within the next year. The software-development firm, started by Mike Monan and Stephen Colson, continues to bring new products to the market, bad economy or no."There are still deals to be done and relationships to be made," Colson says.Switchback's technology helps businesses better manage their websites without all of the hassle of IT departments or in-house experts. It utilizes a Drupal programming platform, since both Monan and Colson met at a local Drupal Users Group meeting."There is a lot of demand for us," Colson says. "People are realizing that their websites need to work for them."Source: Stephen Colson, co-founder of SwitchbackWriter: Jon Zemke

ICON Creative Tech finishes move into old Ann Arbor Art Center

By Newsroom

●

Community Development

●

August 19, 2009

What was once the second home for the Ann Arbor Art Center just outside of Ann Arbor is now the main office for ICON Creative Technologies Group.The 14 year-old Internet firm bought the 11,000 square-foot space at 220 Felch earlier this summer after outgrowing its old 3,500-square-feet of downtown office space. The company's 20 employees (including two new hires) are now in the space. Even with all of these people, there is still plenty of room to spare. So much so that ICON has taken on a tenant - Pure Barre. For now ICON is settling into just over half the space, 6000 sq feet, and expects to grow into the rest within five years when it hits 60 employees.The single-story structure, a block west of Main Street just north of downtown. For years it served as an annex for the Ann Arbor Art Center, which has its headquarters in the heart of downtown. Source: Sara Johns, project manager for ICON Creative Technologies GroupWriter: Jon Zemke