Menlo's Street-Level Growth

Business Review - October 28-November 3, 2004

Rich Sheridan is looking for more space for his Ann Arbor development firm, Menlo Innovations, writes Brian Hamilton, the author of this article in Business Review. Hamilton further quotes Rich Sheridan as saying that "Times are good and there is no evidence that business is going to slow down. Revenues have increased 50 percent this year". Hamilton writes that, Sheridan whose business is in 2,500 sq feet on North Fourth Avenue near Kerrytown, was operating out of his basement, three years ago. The company will have about $3 million in revenue this year.

Sheridan wants to keep the business in the same place and perhaps double in size by opening another downtown office. Above all, Sheridan wants to stay downtown, writes Hamilton. Hamilton quotes Rich Sheridan again, "I love being at street level. It makes us very approachable. I have no interest in moving to 'an office park'."

Sheridan is seeing a lot of interest in the company's "high-tech anthropology®", which is a way of producing software that takes into account how people will actually use it. A significant portion of the Menlo's business is in teaching the company's techniques through its Menlo Institute. "Customers want to adopt our practice and build the skills of their team" Sheridon is quoted as saying. Another good sign for Menlo is that companies, Sheridan said, "seem to have a training budget again, which is an excellent indicator of improvement of the economy," writes Hamilton.

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