Mobile & wireless technologies are much more than cellphones and tablets – think GPS, RFID, sensors, and others. Linda Daichendt, executive director of the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan (MTAM), opines on why and how Michigan can become the go-to state for all things wireless.
Bob Kernen landed as the new COO of jacAPPS last summer, and has worked to grow the mobile app company since then. But getting him to join the Bingham Farms-based firm didn't happen as quickly. "I had been talking to Paul and Fred for a year and a half," Kernen says. "What they're doing is really exciting. Their reputations are platinum and they’re great to work with." So it wasn't that tough of a decision when they approached Kernen, a Metro Detroit native, about coming back to the region to run jacAPPS. Kernen had lived on both coasts and saw the growing tech economy that was changing Metro Detroit and wanted to be part of it. The 4-year-old company specializes in making mobile apps for a variety of big players in different industries. It makes apps for radio stations, Ford and McLaren Hospitals. That work has allowed jacAPPS to hire three people over the last year, including a software developer, a client services manager and Kernen. "We're growing like crazy," Kernen says. "It's very exciting." The company now has a staff of eight employees and one intern. It is looking to add another intern or two soon. The staff recently moved from Southfield to a a 5,000-square-foot office in Bingham Farms. Source: Bob Kernen, COO of jacAPPS Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Are you ready for your car to go driverless? While it's arguable as to whether Michigan will remain the international manufacturing center for auto bodies and interiors, the Ann Arbor area is likely to remain the industry's brain center as research ramps up on wirelessly connected, self-driving car systems.
Finding music on the Internet is pretty easy these days. Whether it's mainstream hits or independent artists toiling underground, there is no shortage of services that specialize in bringing a certain type of music to your computer. Ourtunez, a Macomb Township-based software startup, thinks it can carve out its own niche by exposing people to all sorts of contemporary music, ranging from mainstream to independent musicians. "Our main differentiator is indie music," says Chris Ciaramitaro, co-founder of Ourtunez. "While we have all of the mainstream music, we have all of the great independent artists from across the nation." Ciaramitaro and his co-founder, Sam Munaco, loved to search out new bands in high school. As free time became more sparse as they got older, they found less and less time to do it. So the friends decided to make their own easy-to-use, web-streaming service that mixes both mainstream music and independent artists. "We started out grassrootsing it," Munaco says. "We found them on Facebook, told them about our product and went from there." Ourtunez has attracted a number of bands from across the U.S., including Taddy Porter (Oklahoma), New Hollow (Ohio) and Kaleido (Detroit). The team of five people launched the service in September. It now has 200 independent bands and 10,000 users. "If we continue to have the numbers we had last month, we'll double in December," Ciaramitaro says. Source: Sam Munaco & Chris Ciaramitaro, co-founders of Ourtunez Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Having more women in tech leadership positions isn't just about equity, it's about economic vitality. Metromode's Natalie Burg connects with a trio of prominent local women to get their ideas on how to unlock a new generation of female technology chiefs.
E7 Solutions, a software and consulting firm, has opened an office in downtown Auburn Hills. The five-year-old company has been steadily hiring since moving to 3344 Auburn Road last month. The company's founder is Edmond Delude, who is bringing 15 years of experience from Chrysler, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Mercedes and Land Rover, managing the development of engineering software applications and development of diagnostic communication protocol specifications. E7 specializes in software development, data management, project management and in generally finding solutions for businesses. It also has expertise in Atlassian JIRA software for managing product launches. Source: Darren Darge, city of Auburn Hills Writer: Kim North Shine
UnlimApps got its start on the whim of a University of Michigan student who was fascinated with mobile apps. Now the company is spinning out a video game startup for mobile devices called C2C Apps. The Dearborn-based firm and its team of two people got its start making mobile apps, such as UnlimTones and UnlimDownloads, the company's two best-selling products. UnlimDownloads is a full-featured download manager while UnlimTones focuses on custom-made ringtones. "It allows you to take a song from your phone and edit into a ringtone," says Val Gui, business manager at UnlimApps. The two-person team behind UnlimApps is now working on C2C Apps, which will focus on making video games for mobile apps. It has released two games so far, including one last week called Poppin Challenge. Its first game, Chain Reaction - Connect the Dots, averages about 500 downloads each day. Source: Val Gui, business manager at UnlimApps Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Zachary Ball isn't the sort of person who works well in a cubicle for a big company. It's a big reason why he now runs his own software company, Mercury Studio. The mechanical engineer took a job at a major local automaker out of college in the late 1990s. After a few months he helped the company create some significant savings. The thanks he received was a piece of paper expressing the automaker's gratitude. It wasn’t a check. "The cubicle life wasn't for me," Ball says. "I wanted to create an environment for my employees that will reward them for going above and beyond." A few months later he started his own company. That evolved into the creation of Mercury Studio, a mobile app firm that recently moved to a bigger office in downtown Royal Oak. The 4-year-old firm has worked extensively in digital advertising and is now making custom apps for advertising agencies working in the automotive industry. That client list includes the likes of Jackson Dawson Communications in Dearborn. However, Ball would like to add some variety to his company’s client list. "We want to expand all of our relationships with more marketing agencies out there," Ball says. "We would like to focus on non-automotive to show Metro Detroit isn't all about automotive." Mercury Studio currently employs eight people and is looking for an intern. It has hired two people over the last year and is currently looking to hire a software developer. Source: Zachary Ball, president & owner of Mercury Studio Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
To say Ken Vadella and Tod Cunningham are veterans of the software industry might be a bit of an understatement. The pair have 50 years of experience in the industry between them, so it's little wonder they made a go with their own mobile firm and turned it into a success. "As new things come online it’s always exciting to jump on the bandwagon and see how it works," Vadella says. Five Lakes Studio makes mobile app video games. The New Hudson-based startup was also recently named one of the state’s largest mobile app firms by Crain's Detroit Business. One of its biggest successes is Picross HD, a picture-puzzle game similar to Sudoku. "It was one of the first things we did," Vadella says. "It's also one of our most successful apps so far." Five Lakes Studio focuses mainly on creating its own video game apps that are for sale directly to consumers. It only entertains the idea of doing custom app work for other companies if the price is right. "We value our free time a lot," Vadella says. "When we do something, we want to do something that will create a constant stream of revenue." Source: Ken Vadella, co-owner of Five Lakes Studio Writer: Jon Zemke
The married-couple team of Robin Moulder-McComb and Colin McComb named their mobile app firm 3lb Games because three pounds is the average weight of the human brain. "We have always found that when playing a game you are using your brain," Moulder-McComb says. "You are not just sitting there passively taking in information." 3lb Games makes mobile app video games. The Grosse Pointe-based couple started the company in 2008 as a part-time gig because they have backgrounds in video game design and development. "We have all these skills so we thought this would be a way to bring all of those skills together," Moulder-McComb says. One of the company's biggest hits is its Numenera game, which it describes as: "If you want to explore the Earth a billion years in the future in Monte Cook’s Numenera, you’ll need to be prepared. That’s where this app comes in handy! Designed to guide you through character creation for this science-fantasy RPG, the Numenera Character Creator app also allows you to track your progress in real-time while you play!" The couple quit their day jobs early this year to take on projects like this and they quickly realized they had made the right decision. "In March I said, 'it's a really good thing I quit my full-time job,'" Moulder-McComb says. "We have just been working, working, working." And doing it with more and more help. Even though 3lb Games just employs Moulder-McComb and McComb, it is giving work to an increasing number of independent contractors and interns. Source: Robin Moulder-McComb, CEO, developer & producer of 3lb Games Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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