Ferndale : Innovation & Job News

First came Great Wall Custom Coverings. Next came the Detroit Wallpaper Co, which has accelerated the growth of the Ferndale-based company.

Josh Young and Andi Kubacki started Great Wall Custom Coverings nearly a decade ago, providing custom wall paper projects that were as eclectic as their imaginations and those of their customers. They began scaling that sort of creativity last fall with the Detroit Wallpaper Co, which sells the pair's popular avant-garde wallpaper designs utilizing non-toxic and environmentally friendly supplies.

Some of those designs include patterns they are labeling as "Botanicals" (think flowers and plant patterns), "Wallgazer" (self-described as a "marriage between high concept and functional design") and "Wander Walls" (images that bring far-away locales to mind). All 63 different designs are colorful, contemporary and probably like nothing you have seen on a wall before.

"It's really a commentary on our society," Young says. "What we're really interested in is technology, music. We have a lot of pop-culture references in our designs."

The two companies employ eight people between them after hiring one person over the last year. The rising demand for Detroit Wallpaper Co's products are driving the growth in the company right now.

"It's quickly growing," Young says. "It's beginning to eclipse Great Wall already."

Source: Josh Young, co-owner of Detroit Wallpaper Co
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

When Search Optics went looking for a place to set up shop in the eastern half of the U.S. to take advantage of the automotive Internet marketing space, no place made as much sense as Metro Detroit.

"The people in Detroit are intrinsically tuned to what's going on in the automotive industry," says Christian Fuller, executive vice president of Search Optics. "Everybody bleeds a little oil here."

The San Diego-based company now has more workers in its growing downtown Ferndale office than its west coast home and Toronto satellite office. Search Optics opened its office in downtown Ferndale two years ago and it now has 55 employees and a couple of interns there.

It has hired more than 30 people over the last year, prompting it to expand its space. It currently operates out of the first floor of a loft-style office and is building out the second floor of the building to accommodate its growing staff. Fuller expects the Detroit office to grow to 100 people within the next year.

"In the last year we have almost doubled our business," Fuller says. "We have been absolutely elated with the quality of people who have filled positions here in Detroit."

Source: Christian Fuller, executive vice president of Search Optics
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Four friends worked in the marketing world of Metro Detroit's automotive sector for years and years and then decided they wanted something more. So they started Driven Ferndale eight years ago and haven't looked back.

"We saw the need to break off and build a better mouse trap," says Kevin Woods, one of the co-founders and COO of Driven Ferndale.

The Ferndale-based business prides itself on being a boutique marketing agency with the capability of doing the big things that the major players do. Its secret sauce is its nimbleness and creativity, which has allowed it to grow its bottom line by 20 percent this year. The company has also hired four people over the last 12 months, expanding its staff to 20 employees and three interns.

"We have been taking on bigger agencies more effectively," Woods says, comparing his small business to a local credit union taking on a national bank.

Driven Ferndale has done that well in 2012, signing a few national accounts, including Super Stroke, a putter grip for golfers. Woods expects his company to continue to sign more clients with a national reach this year, which should help his firm double its business.

Source: Kevin Woods, COO of Driven Ferndale
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Allied Printing is shifting its growing business in Ferndale from its longtime owners to a small group of longtime employees, including the transfer from father to daughter.

Paul Zimmer and Robert Straub are transitioning the 60-year-old business' ownership to Dave Bader, Margaret Fitzgerald, Elly Chichester, Tony Pelc, Jill Straub and Greg Balan over the rest of this decade. For Jill Straub, daughter of Robert Straub, taking over ownership fulfills a longtime goal of hers since joining the company after she graduated from Michigan State University in 2002.

"This is pretty much all I have known and what I wanted to do," says Jill Straub, sales executive for Allied Printing.

Allied Printing has grown from 12 employees and one building in 1971 to 95 employees and the occasional intern in four buildings that cover 100,000 square feet of warehouse, production and corporate office space. It has hired a handful of people over the last year, mainly in its digital department.

Allied Printing is a full-service printing company that specializes in digital printing, packaging, direct mail, program management, fulfillment, and web-based marketing services. The company has experience 11-percent revenue growth in 2012, thanks to investments it has made in technology for its printing and e-commerce services.

"We'd like to see the next few years follow that growth pattern," Jill Straub says. "We'd like to improve our technology to increase the demand so that people will want to come to us."

Source: Jill Straub, sales executive for Allied Printing
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Pleasant Ridge-based ePrize has acquired Mozes, a Silicon Valley-based start-up that specializes in mobile technology. The acquisition is the third in 18 months for ePrize, and more are on the horizon for the digital engagement software firm.

"We have a number of acquisitions targeted," says Matt Wise, CEO of ePrize.

Mozes' technology engages live audiences at concerts, sporting events and in television broadcast through social and location-based experiences, making it an attractive target for ePrize's efforts to expand its mobile capabilities. The 14-year-old firm (ePrize) plans to retain Mozes' staff and offices in Palo Alto and Nashville but will absorb the Mozes brand into its own operations.

Catterton Partners, a private-equity firm, acquired ePrize last year. That allowed the tech company to hire 60 people in the last year, expanding its staff to more than 400 employes and about 20 interns.

"It's been a great success story and we look forward to continuing that in the future," Wise says.

Source: Matt Wise, CEO of ePrize
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Luis and Sara Mendez once lived in Mexico until they saw opportunity in Detroit. That's when they moved to Ferndale and are now getting ready to launch their own food-truck business, Don Lucho Taco Truck and Salsa.

The couple had already been selling their own salsa when they decided they wanted to take it a step further this year. They recently graduated from D:hive's BUILD program, an initiative that teaches aspiring entrepreneurs the basics of launching a business. They are now looking to launch the food truck this spring to give their food business a foothold.

"Spring is the time because it's warm and everybody wants to be outside," Luis Mendez says.

The Mendez family was originally looking at opening a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Ferndale but decided to go the food truck route because it offers a better entry point for their business. They plan to cook authentic Mexican food with vegan and vegetarian options.

"We found a taco truck is more versatile than an actual restaurant," Luis Mendez says.

Source: Luis Mendez, co-owner of Don Lucho Taco Truck and Salsa
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Pleasant Ridge-based ePrize has added 140 new jobs over the last year, the lion's share of which are in its Oakland County headquarters. The tech firm also has 25 open positions that it's looking to fill at an open house today.

The technology meet and greet will feature the latest in what the digital engagement software firm has to offer. It's also looking to attract people to become the newest members of the company's team, including professionals who specialize in software engineering, quality assurance, front-end web development, technical project management and systems support.

"We're expecting to do a lot more hiring in this area in 2013," says Sarah Sheffer, a corporate recruiter for ePrize. "We're hoping to find a few good employees."

The 13-year-old company was founded by Josh Linkner, the current CEO of Detroit Venture Partners, in 1999. It has since grown to 425 people and 20 summer interns. Of those employees, 320 work in Pleasant Ridge. Catterton Partners, a Connecticut-based private-equity firm, acquired ePrize earlier this year.

Shortly after that ePrize spun out LevelEleven, a tech start-up that creates a sales force mobile app. The venture-backed start-up now calls the M@dison Building home and is hiring. The executives behind ePrize are looking to do more of that and are hoping attractive more software talent will help push that along in 2013. The company expects to hire another 50-100 people next year.

"The lion's share of these hires would be in Pleasant Ridge," says Mark Schell, senior director of talent for ePrize.

Source: Mark Schell, senior director of talent for ePrize and Sarah Sheffer, a corporate recruiter for ePrize
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

To Jake Sigal, his company's win at the Automation Alley's 12th Annual Awards Gala didn't speak to his start-up's strengths as much as what's possible in the region.

Sigal, founder & CEO of Livio Radio, was named Entrepreneur of the Year. Sigal started the Internet radio start-up n 2008 with a $10,000 loan from his parents. He turned that fledgling start-up into a venture-backed company based in Ferndale and one of the leaders in the automotive Internet radio sector.
 
"That's a message for the entire southeast Michigan area that innovation can come from anywhere," Sigal says. "We're proud of that."

Among the other winners at the gala were:

Automation Alley Member of the Year: Laura Oliveto, senior vice president for business development at Troy-based Basso Design Group

Technology Company of the Year: GalaxE.Solutions in downtown Detroit
 
Global Trader of the Year: Dan Kocks, CEO of Grand Blanc-based Global Impact Group
 
Educational Program of the Year: Fifth Core World Language & Culture Program at Oxford Community Schools

Source: Jake Sigal, founder & CEO of Livio Radio
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The poster child for new economy start-ups in Metro Detroit, ePrize, has been acquired by Catterton Partners, a Connecticut-based private-equity firm. The terms of the deal were not disclosed but the deal represents one of the more high-profitle exits for a Michigan-based software start-up.

"We have had a great past couple of years," says Matt Wise, CEO of ePrize. "We have had good growth."

Pleasant Ridge-based ePrize specializes in digital engagement software for marketing campaigns on the Internet, social media and mobile platforms. Josh Linkner founded the company in 1999 before stepping aside in 2010 to become the CEO of Detroit Venture Partners, a downtown Detroit-base venture capital firm that is aggressively investing in local tech and IT start-ups.

Today, ePrize employs close to 400 people and about 20 interns after hiring 50 people over the last year. Catterton Partners acquired ePrize so it could accelerate the start-up's growth plans and expects to keep the firm in its current headquarters, a former brewery turned into a cutting-edge office space.

"We are looking to hire another 40 or so before the end of the year," Wise says.

Catterton Partners is particularly interested in ePrize's multi-channel engagement and CRM arenas. The start-up is a recognized industry leader, administering four times more national campaigns than any other company. Last year, ePrize moved aggressively into the mobile sector, acquiring a division of Apollo Data Technologies and then Cellit, a mobile solutions company, a few months later.

Source: Matt Wise, CEO of ePrize
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Livio is leveraging its growth by connecting its signature Internet radio technology with your car.

The Ferndale-based tech firm is pressing forward with its Livio Connect, a software package that allows users to channel their favorite Internet radio stations through their cars. Livio Connect's technology allows the Internet radio controls to "show up on the dashboard" of the car, according to Livio founder & CEO Jake Sigal.

"It lets us produce software which is nice because it's a faster turnaround than the hardware business," Sigal says. "It also lets us work with auto companies and expand into licensing."

Sigal started Livio, it was Livio Radio until a few months ago, by making Internet radios so people could listen to websites like Pandora without draining their computer battery. It has steadily expanded its product lineup to include Internet radios. Western Technology Investment (a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm) invested in Livio last year along with Beringea, the largest VC in Michigan.

That has allowed the 4-year-old firm to hit a growth spike as of late. It has hired three people in the last year, leaving it with a staff of 12 employees and three independent contractors. It is looking to hire a couple of software engineers right now.

"We are looking to bring on more passionate people who are into tech and cars," Sigal says.

Source: Jake Sigal, founder & CEO of Livio Radio
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ferndale-based ardentCause L3C has received an investment from Mission Throttle L3C and the Detroit Development Fund to help spread the use of the low profit limited liability company's (L3C) software.

Mission Throttle L3C is based in Southfield and is focused on accelerating philanthropic efforts through targeted investments. The L3C and the Detroit Development Fund, a Detroit-based social entrepreneurial loan fund, found a peer in ardentCause L3C, which specializes in helping non-profits and foundations utilize technology.

"Our missions are quite similar," says Kathleen Norton-Schock, co-founder of ardentCause L3C.

Woman-owned ardentCause L3C has developed a cloud-based software application called CauseEffectz. It is being used at more than 70 non-profit agencies during the past year, assisting them to efficiently expand their capacity and fulfill their missions.

"It's a break-through solution," Norton-Schock says. "It allows foundations and non-profits to build a capacity. It's a business intelligence tool built for non-profits."

The 3-year-old start-up has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years. The company now employs 11 people, including an intern it recently promoted to a full-time position. The firm has hired five people over the last year and expects to keep growing.

Source: Kathleen Norton-Schock, co-founder of ardentCause L3C
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Livio Radio has been expanding its workforce, expanding it product portfolio, and taking in a new award to round out a nice year of growth.

The Ferndale-based start-up has recently received the prestigious Frost & Sullivan 2012 New Product Innovation Award for its Livio Connect API. Livio Connect's technology connects apps to cars, eliminating the need for constant support and one-on-one integration between consumers' smartphone apps and hardware devices.

"We have third-party validation for what we have been saying about our product for the last three years," says Jake Sigal, CEO & founder of Livio Radio.

The 4-year-old start-up got its start making Internet radios so people could listen to websites like Pandora without draining their computer battery. It has steadily expanded its product lineup to include Internet radios and similar products for automobiles. It even took in a venture capital investment from Beringea (Michigan's biggest VC) and Western Technology Investment last year.

Livio Radio's gross margins have increased over the last year, allowing it to hire three more people. The 15-person company has one opening for an engineer today. Helping make this growth possible is Livio Radio's expansion into software for its products, which it is also licensing out to other platforms.

"It's a new revenue stream for us," Sigal says. "We don't have to deal with assembly in China. All of our software is created in Ferndale."

Source: Jake Sigal, CEO & founder of Livio Radio
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The Great Recession not only hit The IT Management Group hard, it nearly delivered a death blow.

The downtown Ferndale-based small business had a healthy client list and a few employees before everything came apart between 2008-10. At its lowest point the company was down to its founder, Greg Atkins, and fighting to stay afloat. Then the economy began to turn around.

"We slowly started to add some customers," says Atkins, president of The IT Management Group. "In 2011, we really took off and added some key customers."

That growth, mainly from small- to medium-sized businesses, allowed the 9-year-old firm to rebuild it staff, hiring four people in the last year. It's in the process of hiring two more now. The IT Management Group has enjoyed most of that growth from a variety of local firms with a few from outside of Michigan. The company now expects to expand its customer base outside of the Great Lakes region to continue fueling its growth.

"I would expect us to be more than double this size in another 18 months," Atkins says.

Source: Greg Atkins, president of The IT Management Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ferndale is getting its first weekly newspaper this spring, and it can thank its open-minded culture that has made it welcoming to everyone from small business owners to a large section of the region's gay and lesbian population.

The Ferndale Review will begin printing editions (it's already online) in April, employing a staff of five people including established, professional journalists. The newspaper is opening in the inner-ring suburb because of its eclectic culture that values the arts and being truly business friendly.

"It's a model city of creativity and diversity," says John Ulaj, publisher of the Ferndale Review. "It reminds me of Brooklyn. It appeals to me. I like cities that cater to the youth and creatives. It's an environment that breeds talent."

Ulaj is a real-estate broker for his day job, but entered the newspaper publishing business three years ago when he took over what was then the Hamtramck Citizen. He revamped and rebranded the weekly newspaper as the Hamtramck Review, which now employs a staff of five people. He has doubled the paper's circulation since taking it over.

"The notion that papers are dead is not true," Ulaj says. "It's a figment of people's imaginations."

Ulaj says Hamtramck and Ferndale are similar communities. Both are urban suburbs with diverse populations of about 20,000 people apiece that value the arts and support small businesses. He says these sorts of communities are perfect for newspapers like his that focus on both hard news and entertainment. He would like to spread his style of newspapers to other southeast Oakland County communities, such as Pleasant Ridge and Royal Oak in the near future.

Source: John Ulaj, publisher of the Hamtramck Review and Ferndale Review
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

B. Nektar Meadery's footprint is growing in more ways than one. The Ferndale-based microbrewer of honey wine is set to have its meads in 15 states by this spring, will take aim at the California market after that and is looking at moving to much bigger facilities within the next 12-18 months.

The almost four-year-old craft brewer's team of nine employees and a handful of volunteers (up a few people from last year) is currently selling the company's wares in 11 states. It will enter Indiana and Virginia within the next month. Alabama and Georgia will come online a few weeks after that. The B. Nektar Meadery team is now speaking to a distributor in California to take on that market later this year. That would stretch the firm's mead-making capacity to its limit.

"California is such a large market it would be the equivalent of six or seven new states," says Brad Dahlhofer, co-founder of B. Nektar Meadery. "It's huge."

B. Nektar Meadery recently expanded its capacity from 15,000 gallons to 100,000 gallons with some new equipment at its Ferndale space on Jarvis Street. Dahlhofer says he and the company's other co-founders are working with Ferndale officials to find a 20,000-square-foot location that would accommodate its brewing, bottling and storage needs.

The new facility would also have space for a tap room and a light kitchen. The tap room would not only serve meads but also beer and spirits brewed on site. Dahlhofer says the new facility could be in the fold within 12-18 months.

Helping drive all of this is its growing variety of mead flavors. The company has been focusing on gateway products that are similar to other sugary, carbonated, alcoholic drinks. One of its most successful so far is its Zombie Killer, a carbonated mead with a low alcohol content.

"They appeal to a wider audience," Dahlhofer says. "The Zombie Killer was the first one in there and it's moving really fast for us."

Source: Brad Dahlhofer, co-founder of B. Nektar Meadery
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.