Ann Arbor - a fun place for tech entrepreneurs

Guest Column in Business Review by Richard Sheridan - May 5-11, 2005

I love being part of owning and running a high-tech business in downtown Ann Arbor. For the first 20+ years I lived in this town, either as a U-M student, or as an employee of various high-tech firms, I had no idea everything this town had to offer someone who is starting a business. It’s taken me the better part of 4 years just to find everything available and have it all make sense, but now that I have, I can say with great enthusiasm – this is an awesome town to start a high-tech business.

We began Menlo Innovations at what we hoped then was the depth of the depression in the software industry. James Goebel, Bob Simms, Tom Meloche and I started a software design and development business in June of 2001. It started in the dining room, basement and deck of my Ann Arbor Woods home. As we began to grow, my next-door neighbor began to hint that he didn’t particularly appreciate the number of cars lining up in the driveway and on the street everyday. So, just four months after its humble beginning, we made what turned out to be one of our best early decisions: we moved to 212 N. Fourth Avenue, right next door to the Café Verde across the street from Birkenstock. For the first time ever, I was working downtown! The rest is, as they say, history ...

The IT Zone. The Ann Arbor Chamber of Commerce. Sabrina Keely. The Ypsilanti Chamber of Commerce. Keith Peters. NEF Forums. The Detroit Regional Chamber. Automation Alley. Zell Lurie’s Entrepelooza. U-M’s Tech Transfer office. MUCI Grants. Ken Nisbet. John Cunningham. Zingerman’s. Ari. Pelago’s. LeadersConnect. Rob Pasick. The U-M Business School. Jeff DeGraff. The U-M Engineering School. UMHS. Eastern Michigan. Eiler Communications. ProQuest. Edwards Brothers. Washtenaw County Government. Bob Guenzel. City of Ann Arbor. Borders. Washtenaw Community College. Business Direct Weekly/Business Review. Ann Arbor Business-to-Business. The Ann Arbor News. Scott Anderson. Brian Hamilton. Mary Morgan. Crain’s. Bill Orabone. The Ann Arbor Observer. The Ark. The Ann Arbor Film Festival. The Ann Arbor Hands On Musuem. Jim Frenza. Internet2. MITC. Washtenaw Development Council. Susan Lackey. Matt Roush’s Great Lakes IT Report. The U-M School of Information. Kav’s Café. The Café Verde. The Downtown Development Authority. Susan Pollay. Jim Price. Yan Ness. EDF Ventures. Waypoint Ventures. Bank of Ann Arbor. Michael Cole. Dykema Gossett. Aleks Miziolek. Theresa Carroll. Lloyd Semple. Domino’s Pizza. George Azrak. Wireless Washtenaw. David Behen. Agenda Ann Arbor. Interlink Networks. Mike Klein. Greg Lucot. Dennis Durco. Q Ltd. Tom Rieke. MEDC. Michigan Tri-Tech Corridor.

Each of these people and organizations played a role in the development of our young business. It’s certainly fair to say we couldn’t have done it without them. Ask me about any one of them and I’ll have a good story for you. And I know I’ve left out quite a few as well.

The results are a thriving young business in downtown Ann Arbor and a formerly reluctant entrepreneur who’s having the time of his life. A Forbes cover. A Wall Street Journal article. An “Entrepreneur of the Year” Finalist award. And lots of friends who help me every day. They’ll help you too. Just ask and be respectful of their time. And help them when you can. Have fun. It’s easy in this town.

Menlo Innovations LLC (c) 2006