Pontiac : Innovation & Job News

Lee Industrial Contracting has one of those business models that defies the region's cyclical economy.

The Pontiac-based business specializes in providing turn-key solutions for industrial projects, such as moving machines or installing alternative energy systems. The firm's systems work to minimize downtime and miscommunication to streamline the process of completing the project.

So when a downsizing manufacturer needs to turn three facilities into one, Lee Industrial Contracting can make that happen. And when those same manufacturers need to expand and turn one facility into three, Lee Industrial Contracting makes that happen, too. That has meant big growth for the company over the last two years. Its revenue was up double digits two years ago and single digits last year while the company executed its "planned management growth strategy."

"We want to to continue to put processes in place that would allow us to operate the company in an efficient manner," says Ken LaBruyere, COO of Lee Industrial Contracting.

The 25-year-old business has hired 80 people over the last two years, including 25 in the last year. Of those new hires, 20 work in the field and the other five in administration for the company. It now employs 250 people and has a few interns in its IT department. The company regularly promotes its interns into full-time employees.

Source: Ken LaBruyere, COO of Lee Industrial Contracting
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

A couple of buzzwords are driving growth for RazorThreat: "insider threat."

The downtown Pontiac-based IT security firm has found the biggest need from its customers comes from combating and preventing insider threats. RazorThreat defines insider threats as credentialed employees that have gone rogue or malware that have invaded a company's network and are propagating unnoticed inside it.

"It's really now about the insider threat, whether it comes from a nation state or a rogue employee," says Greg Guidice, president & CEO of RazorThreat. "It's about protecting your high-value assets."

Guidice declines to specifically say how much the company has grown or how many hires it has made. He did say that it has grown its revenue significantly in 2012 and expects to do so again this year. The company has made a couple of new hires, expanding its staff to six employees and three interns.

He adds that there isn't a trend of specific sectors of business that is driving the demand to combat insider threats. Rather, it's businesses and organizations from across the digital spectrum.

"It's really across the board," Guidice says. "It's from the federal government to small-and medium-size businesses. Everyone has intellectual capital."

Source: Greg Guidice, president & CEO of RazorThreat
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Future Help Designs is gearing up to take a big step into the education realm, partnering with a large mobile training company, Mobile Comply, to roll out a mobile development education course in mid-March.

"Their expertise is in training mobility, and ours is in mobile technology," says Glen Konopaskie, president of Future Help Designs. "We're partnering with them equally. They will help us rebuild our developer training course."

Future Help Designs was an early adopter to the mobile world, launching its business creating apps four years ago. It has expanded into software development education in recent years, a move that has provided significant returns for the firm. It's planning on launching a new educational platform on a national scale later this year.

"That will launch an aggressive push into education for our agency," Konopaskie says.

Future Help Designs moved to downtown Pontiac a little more than a year ago, taking an active part in the city's rebirth. Its staff has been in flux over that time as demand for mobile developers has skyrocketed and more and more programmers are launching their own start-ups. Future Help Designs has hired four people (mostly replacement positions) since moving to downtown Pontiac and is bringing on a new intern this spring.

"That intern will hopefully turn into No. 5," Konopaskie says. "He has some high potential."

Source: Glen Konopaskie, president of Future Help Designs
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Charlie Wollborg knows at least two things, and both are key components to his latest tech start-up, FavRiot.com.

"It gamifies the shopping experience," says Wollborg, chief troublemaker at FavRiot.com. "We know that casual games do really well and that no one pays attention during conference calls."

The Pontiac-based start-up is at its core, a hot-or-not game for consumer products. For instance, users are shown two pictures of different cars and asked to choose which one they prefer. The cars are what's for sale at a local automotive dealership and the service is sold to that dealership as a tool to get people to casually walk through its online dealership showroom.

"There are a lot of industries we are thinking about for this," Wollborg says. "Right now it's just automotive." He adds other popular consumer brands for things like alcohol or clothing could be added soon.

FavRiot.com and its team of five people got its start in May, launching out of a side project from Curve Detroit. The FavRiot.com website went live earlier this month.

Source: Charlie Wollborg, chief troublemaker at FavRiot.com
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Moses Olaniran is a serial entrepreneur in transition. He spent six years growing his online home-improvement supply business MWP in Pontiac before selling it earlier this year. About the same time he started eBabEx, a foreign language start-up that is creating a cloud-based marketplace for foreign language services.

Olaniran is utilizing the tech expertise of Menlo Innovations in Ann Arbor to build out his online marketplace where clients can hire foreign-language services providers. He is also applying to the entrepreneurial accelerator Bizdom in downtown Detroit in the hopes of building and scaling his company quickly

"We're starting with lean start-up principles," Olaniran says. "Within six months we hope to have a minimum viable product. By working with groups like Bizdom and Menlo, we hope it'll give us access to a good network of professional investors."

Olaniran is currently raising seed capital for eBabEx and hopes to launch the start-up's first product within the year.

Source: Moses Olaniran, CEO & founder of eBabEx
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

RazorThreat hasn't been as focused on growing its sales numbers as it has been on expanding the size of its reseller clientele.

The downtown Pontiac IT security firm has watched its number of resellers jump 50 percent over the last year. That has allowed the 5-year-old start-up to expand its staff, grow its bottom line and set the stage for more growth in 2012.

"That will certainly translate to revenue," says Greg Guidice, president & CEO of RazorThreat.

RazorThreat's products help companies fight network breaches from the likes of malware, bots and hackers of all kinds. Guidice says the market has really come to his firm as businesses become more wary of keeping their IT systems secure. That has allowed the company to hire a new COO last week, expanding its staff to five people. It has also brought on a new member to its board this year.

"Both gentlemen are on the east coast," Guidice says. "It really speaks to the footprint of RazorThreat."

Source: Greg Guidice, president & CEO RazorThreat
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

DTE Energy Foundation has been helping young people in the city of Detroit find jobs for several years now through its summer jobs initiative. The effort normally means several hundred quality positions, often first jobs, for young people in places where work is an uncommon commodity.

The downtown Detroit-based charitable organization is looking to spread the working wealth. The youth summer employment initiative plans to fund up to 500 jobs this summer in both Detroit and some of its economically challenged suburbs.

"We are looking to grow beyond Detroit to some other communities that are vulnerable, like Ypsialnti, Muskegeon and Pontiac," says Karla Hill, vice president of DTE Energy Foundation.

DTE Energy Foundation made a $750,000 commitment, which includes a $500,000 grant to the Grow Detroit's Young Talent program. That is the largest private donation toward its fundraising goal of $2 million. The additional $250,000 from the DTE Energy Foundation will be used to enhance Detroit's program and expand to other communities across the state.

DTE Energy Foundation plans to work with about 50 community partners to place teens and young adults in jobs. The foundation's $500,000 grant to Grow Detroit will fund nearly 350 jobs in the non-profit's Young Talent program. The summer jobs program begins in July and runs for six weeks. For information, click here.

Source: Karla Hill, vice president of DTE Energy Foundation
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

DASI Solutions is consolidating some of its operations in downtown Pontiac, taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves in the wake of the recent recession and the city's fiscal crisis.

The 16-year-old tech firm is consolidating its Lake Orion office and its headquarters into a 20,000-square-foot building in downtown Pontiac. Most of the company's 30 employees will work in the new combined office.

"We were about to take advantage of the down real estate market in Pontiac," says David Darbyshire, partner with DASI Solutions. "We were able to purchase the parking we needed, thanks to the emergency manager Louis Schimmel."

The city's fiscal crisis prompted the appointment of an emergency manager to balance the municipality's books. Part of that effort has consisted of selling some assets the city owns, including downtown parking lots. DASI Solutions needed one of those lots to ensure there was enough quality parking for its customers and patrons.

DASI Solutions has been growing market reach, opening new offices in Cincinatti, Indianapolis and Canton. The Canton office is servicing the company's customers in Ann Arbor, Detroit and Monroe. Darbyshire adds that his company's rapid prototyping business has been "doing very well" and the company has watched its technology sales to defense contractors and military agencies increase.

That growth has allowed the company to hire four people in the last six months. It has three job openings now for mechanical engineers and expects to bring more interns on this year to fill out the extra space in its new headquarters in downtown Pontiac.

Source: David Darbyshire, partner with DASI Solutions
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Downtown Pontiac-based pushtwentytwo is leveraging both a newly diverse client list and traditional automotive-oriented customer base for some significant growth, including four hires in the last year.

The 8-year-old public relations and marketing agency has traditionally relied on business from automotive suppliers to grow. Now it has added clients from a variety of sectors to boost its bottom line, signing four new clients since January. Another three are expected to be in the fold by this summer.

"We have continued to grow in (the automotive) sector and add some clients in the healthcare and IT sectors," says Dave Sarris, partner with pushtwentytwo. "It's be a really steady pace of growth. There haven't been any game changers, just a steady growth rate."

Currently 15 employees and three independent contractors work at pushtwentytwo, which is also looking at adding some interns this year. Some of its recent hires include senior account executives, creatives and copywriters. Sarris expects a few more hires as business continues to grow, especially in the automotive, healthcare and home building sectors.

Source: Dave Sarris, partner with pushtwentytwo
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Future Help Designs knows it will be plenty busy as it continues to create mobile apps from its headquarters in downtown Pontiac. The 3-year-old start-up also wants to keep even more metro Detroiters employed as the app economy continues to emerge a significant economic driver.

"We can't get every job that is out there for mobile developers," says Christian Marcillo, CEO of Future Help Designs. "We want to help other people be ready to do those jobs."

To do that, Future Help Designs is offering training classes for people and companies interested in learning how to make mobile apps. The Mobile Developer Workshop Series will train people who want to get into the mobile app industry and for companies that would like to bring some of that work in-house.

The bottom line is Future Help Designs wants to grow the app development community in not only Pontiac but the region overall. It hopes that by attracting local arm-chair developers and tech-oriented firms into the industry it will foster "a rising tide that lifts all boats" philosophy.

"We're helping the community grow in terms of the mobile app domain," says Christian Marcillo, CEO of Future Help Designs. "We're going to be expanding it through our classes."

Future Help Designs got its start when Marcillo and Glen Konopaske, two Mac fanatics, were downsized from their corporate jobs. The duo began making iPhone apps and have since expanded into other mobile applications. The company moved out of their homes last year and into office space in downtown Pontiac as part of the city's Rise of the Pheonix program.

It now employs a team of 19 people after making three hires over the last year. It hopes to continue adding staffers as it grows.

Source: Christian Marcillo, CEO of Future Help Designs
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The app economy is here and growing in Metro Detroit. A broad range of start-ups and businesses are finding creative ways to boost their bottom lines by developing custom and original apps. Some are even basing their entire business plan around it and growing like crazy.

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

HP Enterprise Services, a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard, plans to expand its tech office in Pontiac, a move that is expected to create 250 jobs over the next year.

The $4.8 million investment will expand HP Enterprise Services' significant presence in Pontiac. HP Enterprise Services, formerly EDS, already employs 1,976 people there. It has begun hiring and expects to continue as demand permits.

"We have more business today than we do staff," says Rick Sullivan, a vice president of application services for HP Enterprise Services. "We're actively hiring."

HP Enterprise Services provides software applications, processes, consulting and support from its Pontiac office. Helping make this deal possible was a $3.5 million tax incentive from the Michigan Economic Development Corp over the next seven years. Sullivan says the company was also attracted to the region's deep talent pool of skilled tech workers and plethora of high-quality universities.

"Personally, my game plan is to exceed 250 hires," Sullivan says. "I see the demand coming quickly."

Source: Rick Sullivan, vice president of application services for HP Enterprises
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Future Help Designs' bottom line is more creative than two basic colors, like red and black. The smartphone app start-up is moving to downtown Pontiac because its profitability is more dependent on the inspiration derived from a historic and eclectic city center than a vanilla office complex in the middle of nowhere.

"We operate in a very creative space," says Christian Marcillo, director of creative design at Future Help Designs. "Cubicles are not our style. They don't work for us. We found a big, open space in downtown Pontiac that works for us. It's easy to walk out and get inspiration from the other artists that are down there as well."

Marcillo started the company with Glen Konopaske a little more than two years ago, after the two Mac fanatics were downsized from their corporate jobs. The pair began making iPhone apps and have since expanded into other mobile applications. The company also hosts training classes for iPhone and iPad apps.

The growth has been so significant that they decided to move their fledgling business out of Dearborn Heights to downtown Pontiac, taking advantage of the Rise of the Phoenix program's free year of rent for firms that move to the city's central business district. Marcillo adds that the strong sense of community among Pontiac's downtown businesses and creative class workers also helped seal the deal.

Future Help Designs hands out paychecks to 20 people, split between four traditional employees and 16 independent contractors. The company has gone through three rounds of hiring over the last year, adding 1-3 people to its staff each time. Marcillo expects his start-up to add another 10 jobs over the next year.

Source: Christian Marcillo, director of creative design at Future Help Designs
Writer: Jon Zemke

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