Innovation News

Local firm looks for right combination of experience, technology skills, ambition and initiative.

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September 16, 2010

John Rumery A local technology, marketing and communications firm has not only weathered the recent economic storm, but continues to thrive by focusing on existing clients and helping them maintain and grow their services. To keep up with their growth, ddm marketing & communications is looking for an account manager and a front end CSS Developer. "For the account manager we are looking for someone with extensive experience working in an agency setting," states Paul Kortman, director of Online Marketing. Kortman indicates "our business has grown, primarily from existing clients who have seen the value in our services." Kortman explains that their team's technological and marketing expertise has helped many of their clients keep current and be more effective. However, finding the right people is not as easy as many might feel it would be in a job market where there are more "buyers" than "sellers." Kortman says, "we hired several people over the last few years, but it is tough to find the right fit. Some individuals have the skills, but the not the experience to keep up with our pace." Kortman also explains that in the online marketing world, everything is emerging and although individuals coming out of college may have working knowledge of many of the tools, they don't have the business experience or savvy to apply them in a business setting. His advice for someone graduating from school or trying to retool their skill set is to gain as much real world experience as possible. "It's nice if you can demonstrate your work in a portfolio, like a site you developed for your school organization, but even better would be if you can show how you contacted a business, developed their site and implemented some type of program. It's even better if you have done this multiple times." "We also value initiative," Kortman continues. "We look for experience, but realize in the area of social media marketing, so much is emerging. We look for ambition, the ability to learn and the ability to be flexible." The ddm marketing & communications firm has been around for 20 years and focuses on the education, financial and health care sectors. Its services include traditional marketing, hosting, custom applications and web development. To learn more about ddm marketing & communications you can visit their website. Source: Interview with Paul Kortman John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI. He can be reached at InnovationandJobs@RapidGrowthMedia.com For story tips you can e-mail info@rapidgrowthmedia.com

Latest in Innovation News

Inspired Entrepreneurship: A new venture prepares for non-profit status.

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Entrepreneurship

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September 16, 2010

John Rumery It's an ambitious plan for anyone, let alone two very recent, twenty-something GVSU graduates. Their project? Starting a non-profit organization with three goals: 1) provide basic medical supplies to health clinics that serve the families at the "base of the pyramid" in Nicaragua, 2) recognize the workers at these type of clinics utilizing video and social media channels and finally, maybe the most ambitious goal of all, 3) help train and motivate the next generation of philanthropists. Sean Heyboer and Joey Pohlen are the two GVSU alumni behind MedRunners. Heyboer became involved with MedRunners after Pohlen participated in Estelí Innovation, an experiential educational program for GVSU students developed by Dr. Paul Lane of the Seidman College of Business and Engineering Professor John Farris in which students work in Nicaragua and help communities develop sustainable solutions to a variety of economic, health and social problems. Through Estelí Innovation, Dr. Lane began a program in which students would bring very basic medical supplies to the health clinics that Estelí Innovation was working with. Pohlen says working with the medical clinics in Nicaragua and seeing firsthand how much the these individuals were doing for their communities was "eye-opening." The experience inspired an idea for a non-profit, and this idea morphed into MedRunners. The concept is simple: MedRunners will solicit both donations and very basic medical supplies. Products that they can't get donated for free, they will purchase at or near cost from partner organizations. These supplies will then be given to students to hand-deliver directly to the clinics in Nicaragua, primarily when they are on break from school. Their plan depends heavily on inspiring students to start MedRunner groups at their school and engaging them in discussions about sustainability, social entrepreneurship and understanding the issues of those living at the base of the economic pyramid. Heyboer indicates that MedRunners should receive their official status as non-profit in October, which will allow them to pursue an aggressive fundraising goal of $170,000. In the meantime the pair is busy organizing and preparing a marketing plan that includes a heavy dose of social media including a Facebook page, Twitter and YouTube. Also in October, the pair plans to begin their outreach to colleges and energize students to become involved with MedRunners. While their website is under construction, you can learn more about MedRunners on their Facebook page. You can also learn more about Estelí Innovation on their webpage. Source: Interviews with Sean Heyboer, Joey Pohlen and Dr. Paul Lane. John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI. He can be reached at InnovationandJobs@RapidGrowthMedia.com For story tips you can e-mail info@rapidgrowthmedia.com

Local firm specializes in designing experiences and solutions.

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Entrepreneurship

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September 9, 2010

John RumeryAfter leaving a local software firm three years ago, Joe Johnston, soon became the first Grand Rapids employee of Universal Mind, a technology company with its headquarters outside of Boston, MA and with offices in Colorado and California. With expertise in user experience design, the Grand Rapids office soon become Universal Mind's hub for that specialty and within those three years, the Grand Rapids office grew to eleven employees. User experience design helps create the experience a customer has with a product or service. In the case of software, it is often time making programs more user-friendly, eliminating redundant features and integrating the program with other parts of an organizations technology programs.Johnston explains that the team at Universal Mind is roughly made up of three groups: specialists, designers and technologists. As a team their time is spent on discovery and trying to understand how customers work with various devices. After that begins the development and implementation process.To showcase their unique talent, the group began the development of a consumer application that focused on creativity and collaboration. In a relatively short time, the team developed and introduced iBrainstorm. Launched in late July of 2010 it quickly rose to become the #3 free download of iPad applications. Johnston estimates that there have been almost 500,000 downloads. Although the application is free, Johnston states that the popularity and success of this program is essentially advertising for their firm and indicates that they have landed several projects because of iBrainstorm. Beside consumer application tools, where in the last six months opportunities "are exploding" due to the popularity of the Android, iPad and iPhone, Universal Mind also works on enterprise applications that help businesses to be more efficient and effective. Johnston cites the development of better customer relation management programs as an example. In some cases the applications they develop are used internally and in other instances an application might become a retail product for their client. Johnston shared a recent YouTube video that captures some of the work of Universal Mind. Like the user experience team, Johnston is proud to state that both the video and music are local talent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SKCJNb-CooJohnston states that Universal Mind are always looking for talented people but acknowledges that finding individuals locally with a user design background in not always easy.Source: Interview with Joe Johnston, www.UniversalMind.com, John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI. He can be reached at InnovationandJobs@RapidGrowthMedia.com. For story tips you can e-mail info@rapidgrowthmedia.com

Local collaboration leads to local innovation

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General

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September 9, 2010

John Rumery The City of Grand Rapids and Local First recently announced their collaborative program, MyGRCity Points. The innovative and free program rewards customers who use the city's Single Stream Recycling Program and volunteer in the community. Points earned can be redeemed at local businesses for discounts on products and services. "This is the first time Local First has partnered with the city of Grand Rapids," says Elissa Sangalli Hillary, executive director of Local First. While working on the details of this program behind the scenes for several months, national organization CEOs for Cities learned of the program and wanted to get involved. CEOs for Cities is a non-profit organization that works with urban leaders to "catalyze the advancement of the next generation of great American cities." With CEOs for Cities' support, this program has the opportunity to be recognized on a national level. This, in turn, then can elevate Grand Rapids' profile as an innovative leader in community engagement. According to Sangalli Hillary, many of the Local First members are "excited by the support the city is showing to locally owned businesses." Besides the positive benefits of recycling and volunteerism, this program has the potential to increase visibility and foot traffic for locally-owned businesses in the various neighborhoods throughout the city. Blending technology and incentives, the program is fairly simple to understand and administrate. Within the next few months, customers will be able to go online and register for a free MyGRCity Points account. Once registered, participants can start earning points by participating in wide variety of activities such as using the single stream recycling program, helping to organize community events and volunteering for a wide variety of activities, which will be identified through the website. Individuals then can redeem points at participating local businesses for discounts on products and services. The entire program will be administered online. The program is scheduled to roll out in three phases, beginning with the recycling program. The goal is to be fully implemented by the end of 2011. For more information you can visit the website http://points.grcity.us Source: Interview with Elissa Sangalli Hillary, City of Grand Rapids Media Release and CEOs for Cities website. John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI. He can be reached at InnovationandJobs@RapidGrowthMedia.com For story tips you can e-mail info@rapidgrowthmedia.com

Local agent launches website to help simplify the understanding of health care reform

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General

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September 9, 2010

John Rumery For Rodney Vellinga, launching http://www.healthreformsimplified.com/ was a simple solution for a complex problem. As a licensed health insurance professional, he has followed the rollout of the Health Care Reform Bill that began its phased implementation January 1 of 2010. His conclusion; what this bill means to individuals and small businesses is very confusing to understand. Vellinga states that the bill, which will be rolled out in phases through January 1, 2014, is not only "very complex" but also "people are very busy and it is hard to get a handle on what is going on". He states that even among professionals in that industry, the future implications of this program are mostly speculative. To help solve this problem Vellinga initially started a LinkedIn group focused on the health care bill. He then launched his website that features information and free webinars on Friday afternoons which will address various health care related issues such as the impact this bill will have on individual policy holders. "You can read about health care reform but it more understandably if it is discussed through a dialogue in simple language". Vellinga points to the recent introduction of the Michigan High Risk Insurance Pool which goes into effect in October as an example of a program that is probably better understood through a discussion rather than through a reading of the official program details. Vellinga makes it clear that this forum and his webinars will be apolitical. It is not intended to discuss the pros and cons of the bill, but will be a practical discussion of the laws. He views his target markets as being the self-insured, H.R. professionals, small business owners, especially those without a human resources department, and other health insurance agents. Vellinga is cautiously optimistic about his new site. There should be no lack of interest in this type information. Many reports have the uninsured in Michigan of being around 1.2 million people with projections that it will continue to grow. But learning about the impact of a government program still requires effort and in the case of his site, individuals will need to devote time on a Friday afternoon to engage in the discussion. John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI. He can be reached at InnovationandJobs@RapidGrowthMedia.com For story tips you can e-mail info@rapidgrowthmedia.com

Deksia mines a social media niche

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Development

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September 2, 2010

John Rumery When it comes to learning about social media, there is certainly no lack of options in the West Michigan area. If you are a self-directed learner, there is wide variety of instructional materials available. A quick search on Amazon reveals thousands of books on social media. There are a multitude of free networking and informational events, such as social media slams and lunches hosted by a variety of organizations. There are all-day and multi-day seminars, college classes, and webinars that are readily available and can deliver insight into how to engage your customers -- all using social media. Sensing an opportunity to fill a space between the "free slams and lunches which oftentimes serve as an introduction," the "day-long seminars, which can be expensive and time consuming," and the lone-wolf world of webinars and books, Michael Yoder, Social Media Strategist with local marketing company Deksia, has created a series of training seminars that focus on the most popular social media platforms such as You Tube, Foursquare, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Yoder's workshops are 1 to 2 hour training sessions, offering three different levels of instruction based on an individual's previous experience. For example, the LinkedIn series begins with LinkedIn 1.0, a session designed for someone who has created a profile, but hasn't engaged in the process. LinkedIn 2.0 advances the user to a more rigorous use, while LinkedIn 3.0 ends with a session for "power users." Yoder has the same progressive series in the works for the other popular social media platforms. To deliver the training programs, Yoder and Deskia have partnered with New Horizons Computer Learning Centers, which allows participants to meet in a high-tech classroom setting. Currently, the training is held in the Grand Rapids and Lansing locations, but if the demand warrants, the partnership also has the potential to scale into other regions where New Horizons has a presence. Yoder feels this type of deliver system is "affordable, bite size and specialized" and will appeal to wide variety of professionals looking for a "hands on" way to learn more about how social media can be integrated into their organization's marketing mix. Quoting Brian Solis, an author and social media thought leader, Yoder feels the reality for all businesses in the marketplace is "engage or die." The workshops cost $85 per session. For more information and to register, you can to visit http://www.regonline.com/CalendarNET/EventCalendar.aspx?EventID=885242&view=Month Source: Mike Yoder, Deksia John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI. He can be reached at InnovationandJobs@RapidGrowthMedia.com For story tips you can e-mail info@rapidgrowthmedia.com

Going up!

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Entrepreneurship

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September 2, 2010

John Rumery Holland-based web and software development firm, Elevator Up, has added two new hires in the last three months with intent to aggressively grow the web-hosting side of their business. Dan Ryan, system engineer, was hired in the early summer and Dennis Walters, lead developer, was brought on in August. Both Ryan and Walters had previously worked together at Liquid Web, a Lansing-based technology firm. According to Ryan, the opportunity for Elevator Up is to simplify the hosting process and target the gap between "the small web hosting services that work with bloggers and simple websites," and the complex corporate web hosting services. "I call that market the Fortune one million," says Ryan, alluding to the number of small and medium-sized companies that could potentially use their hosting services. "We primarily target firms in the tech industry that aren't quite big enough to have their own I.T. services," says Ryan. He adds that many of these businesses embrace the "start-up mentality" that Elevator Up founder Aaron Schaap champions through a variety of community initiatives. Although Elevator Up has always had a hosting service, Ryan will be building the web hosting service as its own brand with its own marketing plan. The goal is to have the infrastructure and service offerings in place sometime in October to launch the new hosting company. Ryan envisions that at least nine new hires, primarily in the systems administration field, could be added as the business grows. Dennis Walters is excited and optimistic about his new role as a lead developer, and also the continual growth of the tech community in West Michigan. "More than anything, the key factor that keeps me in West Michigan is the generally awesome attitude of the folks in the area," he says. "That is, the mentality seems to tend towards both optimism and excitement, and that sort of vibe lends itself well to getting things done, and aids very much in the elimination of red tape. Between Elevator Up, Liquid Web, Bar Camp, the Great Lakes Ruby Bash, and the random 'geek-ups' in the area, I'd say that the entire culture is optimistic." According to Sara Hogan, Operations Manager for Elevator Up, the addition of Ryan and Walters brings their team up to seven individuals. For more information on Elevator Up and future job opportunities, you can visit their website. Source: Interviews with Dan Ryan, Kevin Walters and Sara Hogan John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI. He can be reached at InnovationandJobs@RapidGrowthMedia.com For story tips you can e-mail info@rapidgrowthmedia.com

Lunch meeting helps individuals and businesses engage with social media

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General

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August 26, 2010

John RumeryLunch meetings can be as exciting as a peanut butter sandwich on white bread, but the organizers of Grand Rapids Social Media (GRSM)believe their lunches are much more interesting. In fact, they feel they have an opportunity to raise the bar regarding the way local businesses and individuals utilize social media in Grand Rapids.Ian MacLurg, Social Media Analyst for ArtPrize, and Joel Leo, SEO and Social Media Analyst for Pomegranate Studios, were both impressed with the format and spirit of a monthly lunch meeting, Grand Rapids Tech Lunch, that brought together a diverse community of thought leaders, programmers and software developers to discuss technology-related business issues for the region. MacLurg and Leo decided to organize a similar event, using the same format, but focusing on creating a business discussion surrounding the use of social media. "We saw the need to educate and elevate the usages of social media platforms within the city, so we started GRSM lunches as an opportunity to create an ongoing dialogue of these tools and strategies," opine MacLurg and Leo. The first meeting in March 2009 was held at Founders Brewery, but the series quickly moved to a new home at the Grand Rapids Community Foundation, where the luncheons have proven to be very popular, now drawing 40-50 attendees. Not only has attendance been steady, but "with a diverse group of middle managers, business owners and interns," you get a very dynamic networking opportunity, says Leo.Individuals with specific experiences and responsibilities for managing various social media platforms lead the presentations. Recent speakers have included Sara Lopez, the Social Media Strategist for Stremick's Heritage Food's 8th Continent Soymilk, who discussed creating content for blogs, and Aaron Carriere of Creo Productions on best practices for using video with social media. The meetings are streamed live with the majority of video archived here. http://www.ustream.tv/channel/grsm.After the 20-30 minute presentation, there is a short question and answer period followed by an opportunity is to break into smaller groups for further discussion and networking. Because of the increased popularity of these events, MacLurg and Leo recruited social media consultant Donna Bova and web developer Doug Kelly to help with the facilitation and ongoing organization. The monthly lunches are "brown-bag," although the organizers suggest you support the local eateries surrounding the Grand Rapids Community Foundation. There is no cost to attend and they are typically held the last Thursday of the month. The GRSM bloghttp://grsml.wordpress.com/ identifies the upcoming speaker and also confirms the date of the meeting. Frequent Twitter updates (@GRSML) also provide reminders of upcoming events. Sources: Joel Leo and Ian MacLurg, founders of the Grand Rapids Social Media Lunch.John Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs Editor for Rapid Growth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI. He can be reached at InnovationandJobs@RapidGrowth.com. For story tips you can e-mail info@rapidgrowth.com

Grand Rapids’ thriving art scene a catalyst for new school of performance art

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Arts & Culture

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August 26, 2010

John RumeryTwenty-four hours after using Facebook to announce the opening of A and E School of Performance Art, theater veterans Ed Nelson, 48, and Angela Peavey, 31, were delighted to find "enrollment just snowballed," and they needed to add more classes to meet the demand. After a recent reorganization at the institution where they had taught theater together for the last several years, Nelson and Peavey felt the time was right to leverage their experience and "reputations as quality theater instructors" to launch A and E School of Performance Art.The school will feature instruction in a wide variety o ftheater arts and will be held at Nelson's home, 117 Freedom in Wyoming, MI, recently remodeled and customized to accommodate performance arts classes.The first students are scheduled to meet for an hour each week, for five weeks beginning in mid-September. The current classes, designed for children ages 4-17, will initially focus primarily on song, dance and theater skills, but Peavey wants their school to do more than just have students perform. She plans to "really focus on the educational components of performance arts, character analysis andhow to act in front of an camera or audience," believing it makes for a more meaningful theater experience.Nelson adds that future classes, offered for both children and adults, will be focused on the emerging film industry."Auditions for film are completely different than auditioning for theater," says Nelson, whose experience within the film industry includes a role in the cannibal-themed horror movie, Offspring, filmed in Muskegon. Besides auditioning strategies, Nelson will include instruction on developing a film-ready resume, building a portfolio and acting in front of a camera.With years of experience in local theater, independent films, radio commercials and performance arts instruction, Nelson and Peavey are confident that the Grand Rapids arts community is vibrant enough to support their new venture. Peavey also strongly believes that performance arts training has many ancillary benefits. "This type of training offers great life skills, such as public speaking, and it can really help build self-confidence," says Peavey.Prices for the instruction ranges from $30 to $45 per class. Individual lessons are also available. Find out more via the A and E Performance Arts Facebook page or by e-mail at AandEperformanceart@gmail.com. To reach either Nelson or Peavey by phone, dial 616-780-6383.Sources Ed Nelson and Angela Peavey, A and E Performance ArtJohn Rumery is the Innovation and Jobs editor for RapidGrowth Media. He is an educator, board member of AimWest, WYCE music programmer, entrepreneur, raconteur and competitive barbecuer living in Grand Rapids, MI. He can be reached atInnovationandJobs@RapidGrowthMedia.com. For story tips you can e-mail info@rapidgrowthmedia.com

Gilmore Furniture hiring 15 more workers for expansion

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General

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August 26, 2010

Gilmore Furniture, Inc. is adding 15 more employees to its 75-member workforce by November 1 to work at its new addition at 321 Terminal SW in the Grand Rapids/Wyoming area.