Internet

ICON Creative Tech buys Ann Arbor Art Center annex

By Newsroom

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March 4, 2009

Creative people have inhabited 220 Felch for years but the type of creatives are changing now that ICON Creative Technologies Group has bought the building from the Ann Arbor Art Center.The single story structure, a block west of Main Street just north of downtown, served as an annex for the Ann Arbor Art Center, which has its headquarters in the heart of downtown. ICON plans to slowly yet steadily renovate and move into the space. The idea is to establish a bigger home for the 14-year-old Internet firm, which is about to burst at the beams at its current office. The company has 20 people at its 3,500-square-foot office on State Street in downtown. It expects to grow its staff to 60 people within five years. The 11,000 square feet of 220 Felch gives the company more than enough room for that growth."As we continue to grow, we don't want to be confronted with space issues every few years," says Rob Cleveland, CEO of ICON Creative Technologies Group. "With this footprint, we can easily accommodate our 5 year growth plans and open up other opportunities for services that we previously were not able to provide to our customers."ICON will occupy 6,000 square feet of the space this year, allowing a few of the building's tenants to stay on for the time being. Some of the space will also be leased back to the Ann Arbor Art Center so it can finish its classes through June.Purchasing 220 Felch gives ICON a bit of a port in the financial storm these days. Rents in downtown Ann Arbor have been steadily increasing and the other costs have swung violently. The addition of 220 Felch gives ICON a dependable and controllable overhead cost while giving the company enough space to expand.Source: Sara Johns, project manager for ICON Creative Technologies GroupWriter: Jon Zemke

Latest in Internet

Toyland 2.0

By Julianne Mattera

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Economic Development

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March 4, 2009

Hans and Tricia Masing take their toys seriously. But that wasn't always the case. Once upon a time they made their living in engineering and IT. Then their son took an interest in Thomas the Tank Engine and everything changed. Combining tech savvy with a love for toys, the couple has built a small Internet empire that still understands the value of community connection.

Saline’s DesignHub wins two awards, adds 1 new employee

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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March 4, 2009

DesignHub isn't trying to set the world on fire with rocketing growth. In fact the Saline-based firm is happy staying at about the same size it is today."We've always planned to stay relatively small," says Chris Kochmanski, a partner with DesignHub. "The three partners are between 45-55 years old so we're not trying to conquer the world or anything."That doesn't mean the creative service and marketing firm isn't growing. It added another employee last year, so its head count hits five employees and one independent contractor. It might add another person in the near future, but Kochmanski sees the company barely breaking into the double-digit employee ranks, despite its growing track record.DesignHub is celebrating its 10th year. The firm gets most of its work through website development, the rest comes from things like creating brochures. Source: Chris Kochmanski, partner with DesignHubWriter: Jon Zemke

Greg Peters commits to riches with Cyber Data Solutions

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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February 18, 2009

Greg Peters has one of the cooler business titles around. Not only is he the owner of Cyber Data Solutions, he's also the "Super Hero in Residence". But with the title came responsibility. Or commitment. As the Ann Arbor resident puts it: it required committing to the goal of becoming rich. Peters started what has become a successful website-design firm in 1994 as a way to make some extra cash in his spare time, while he worked full-time at the University of Michigan. He quit that job to focus on Cyber Data Solutions in 2007 after reading the "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind."He points out that the book says, 'Poor people want to be rich. Rich people commit to being rich.'"That crystallized this in my mind," Peters says. "I had been doing this on weekends and night, but I was going to commit to this."It's a decision that is paying off. Peters doesn't make cold calls to drum up business. Instead he calls three people every day to search out business leads, which has allowed him to slowly but steadily grow his firm.He has now reached the point where he has to decide what type of company he wants Cyber Data Solutions to become one day. Will it be one where he oversees employees or one where he only takes on enough work that he can handle? Whether he decides to hire someone full time or bring on an independent contractor, it's clear that even super heroes need help once in a while.Source: Greg Peters, owner and super hero in residence of Cyber Data SolutonsWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s Fry takes lead in e-commerce platform solutions

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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February 18, 2009

Another Ann Arbor-based company has been recognized as a leader and the best in its field.Forrester Research has recognized Fry as a leading e-commerce solutions provider in its Forrester Wave report for the first quarter of 2009. It points out that Fry’s model allows it to highly customize its software for its clients even though the work is being outsourced.It also earned the highest score in the "catalog, product content, and site content management" and "professional services" evaluation categories. It tied as the top scoring company in "site management," "product focus,"and "financial resources to support strategy."Fry helps online retailers that are replacing or rebuilding their e-commerce platforms. The firm does everything from designing to building to hosting the sites. The list of clients includes a variety of businesses, ranging from The Auto Club Group to Crate & Barrel to Whirlpool. The company, a subsidiary of MICROS Systems, employs 300 people in Ann Arbor and has offices across the U.S. in cities like San Francisco.Source: FryWriter: Jon Zemke

MASTERMIND: Carrie Hensel

By Kimberly Chou

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Economic Development

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February 18, 2009

From chemistry to web development to the co-founder of a growing business women's movement, Carrie Hensel clearly prefers the road less traveled. And the Women's Exchange Of Washtenaw reflects her unconventional approach, creating a unique series of events that encourages professional women to collaborate with and empower one another.

Wireless Ypsi spreads its wings with big plans for second year

By Newsroom

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Development News

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February 11, 2009

Wireless Ypsi, the little Internet-access engine that could, is picking up speed as it enters its second year of existence.The free community-based Internet access system has spread well beyond its original boundaries of downtown Ypsilanti. It now covers points all over Washtenaw and Wayne counties and continues to spread. More than 500 people a day are logging onto the system."We're going beyond downtown Ypsilanti," co-founder Steve Pierce says. "We can relay wireless Ypsi to anywhere in the world with an Internet connection."Right now that covers large swaths of Ypsilanti and smaller sections of Ann Arbor, Whitmore Lake, Superior Township, Dearborn and Trenton. It's also spreading north into Oakland County with a testing site planned for Clawson. Pierce is even talking about expanding as far as Alberque, New Mexico, and the Florida Keys.That doesn't mean its forgetting about its roots in Ypsilanti. Pierce and his co-founder, Brian Robb, are drawing up a proposal for the housing commission to expand the service into low-income housing and other places the Internet boom has yet to reach.The initiative, which is run more like a non-profit than a business, does this withMeraki technology. The Google-funded start up uses off-white transmitters that look like a child's walkie talkie to connect Internet hot spots at local businesses, institutions and homes. The transmitters use the extra bandwidth from the hot spots to create a mesh-like net of Wi-Fi coverage.Similar systems are spreading in San Francisco, Pittsburgh and San Diego. More than 50,000 different people have logged onto San Francisco’s Meraki network, which covers large sections of the city and has the goal of reaching every neighborhood. Source: Steve Pierce, co-founder of Wireless YpsiWriter: Jon Zemke

A2 Hosting takes off in Ann Arbor, hopes to hire 5 this year

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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January 7, 2009

Five years ago Bryan Muthig and a business partner started A2 Hosting with the idea that website hosting was a good idea. It turned out to be a darned good decision. The firm, based out of Ann Arbor's southeast side, now employs 17 people. Some of them telecommute but they're all located in southeast Michigan. "Most of our growth has come in the last 2-3 years," says Muthig, the president and CEO of A2 Hosting. "We were at four people three years ago."The firm hopes to hire five people this year after enjoying 40 percent revenue growth. That's because it hosts the likes of Ubuntugeek.com, 43folders.com and the blog for a famous U.S. politician.Muthig expects to continue that growth and take on more sites as time passes. He is even looking into getting into design and applications development."Assuming the world doesn't fall into chaos," Muthig says.Source: Bryan Muthig, president and CEO of A2 HostingWriter: Jon Zemke

ForeSee Results expands in Ann Arbor, plans to hire 30-60

By Newsroom

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Education

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January 7, 2009

ForeSee Results isn't suffering from survivor syndrome, but people would understand why if the Ann Arbor-based came down with a case of it.As the economy continues its downward spiral, ForeSee Results continues to enjoy success and grow. "We've been growing at a pretty significant rate in the last couple of years despite the economy," says Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results.The 7-year-old company is moving to bigger spaces on the city's north side, expanding from 15,000 to 40,000 square feet. It needs to after hiring about 50 people last year to create a staff of 140, 85 of which work in Ann Arbor. Freed expects to hire another 30-60 this year.The website-information firm captures "voice of customer" feedback and uses it to measure customer satisfaction for the likes of as Kohler, Citibank and Ameriprise. It uses uses the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index to find out the satisfaction of website visitors and pinpoint opportunities to improve the site.ForeSee Results is doing it so well that it's experience double-digit revenue growth, a trend it expects to continue this year whichever way the economy turns.Source: Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee ResultsWriter: Jon Zemke

The New News

By Amy Whitesall

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Economic Development

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December 10, 2008

The first shot has been fired, across the paper-and-ink bow of local daily newspapers! The web-based Ypsilanti Citizen and Ann Arbor Chronicle offer on-the-spot local news that's as fresh as ten minutes ago. Are they just spunky online upstarts or the shape of things to come?