Chris Ake opted to start a business instead of taking a more traditional employment route after graduating from Grand Valley State University in December 2011.
Ake is a co-founder of
Grand Apps, a West Michigan company that develops mobile apps for small- to medium-sized businesses. Ake says the inspiration for the venture was simply seeing an unmet need in a niche market. "We saw big companies using apps and we wondered how [we could] bring apps to small businesses, so they can market to their customers in the same way," Ake says.
Grand Apps, which officially opened for business in December of 2011 with two employees, now has a team of six. Grand Apps serves a variety of industries -- primarily in West Michigan -- including music, restaurants and nonprofit organizations. Besides apps for the iPhone, the firm also works on products for Facebook and Android devices.
Ake estimates the timeframe from ideation to implementation is 30-90 days. This includes the process, if needed, for approval to be sold on the Apple market. Besides development, Ake says their company provides hosting services and training for their clients to manage their app once it is implemented.
To learn more about Grand Apps, you can visit their site
here or their Facebook page
here.
Source: Chris Ake, Grand Apps
Writer: John Rumery, Innovation and Jobs News Editor
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