Custom software design and development consultancy
Atomic Object has seen major growth since its Ann Arbor office opened in 2013. At that time, the Ann Arbor office was one of two locations for the Grand Rapids-founded company, and it brought just four staff to Ann Arbor. Twelve years later, the company has 45 Ann Arbor staff who have created over 90 custom software products – so they needed a bigger space. Atomic Object recently moved from its original Fifth Avenue location to Duo Security's former offices at 123 N. Ashley St.
Employee-owned Atomic Object has also seen significant growth elsewhere since it was founded in 2001. It now has offices in Chicago and Raleigh-Durham, N.C. as well.
"All we do at Atomic Object is sell time, and we turn that time into business value for our clients," says Elaine Ezekiel, the company's director of marketing in Ann Arbor. "We have the supply, which is smart, dedicated, energized, curious, hungry people, and demand from clients looking to not necessarily find the least expensive option, but the most valuable option on the market."
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Elaine EzekielAtomic Object's new office.
Atomic Object's former Ann Arbor location was 6,000 square feet and employees were spread across two floors. The new 11,000-square-foot office space can accommodate 100 employees on a single floor, has twice the conference room capacity, and offers space for hosting community events.
"One of the things that we believe is that if you're going to be committed to co-location, then the co-location needs to be meaningful," says Atomic Object Managing Partner Jonah Bailey, who works out of the Ann Arbor office. "Because the co-location is about adding value for our clients and creating a more meaningful work experience for our staff."
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Jill DeVries PhotographyAtomic Object Managing Partner Jonah Bailey is pictured at right in an Atomic Object staff meeting.
Ezekiel explains further, adding that the company "has figured out a virtuous cycle" by strategically maintaining physical offices.
"By providing a workplace that is that second space for people, that folks are excited to show up in every morning, that creates a better value proposition to our clients," she says.
Secrets to success
Bailey shares a few key factors in the company's growth. He says his company has been able to broadcast its value through a marketing team that "is better than anybody else in the industry." Secondly, it boasts a larger sales team (eight to 10 people) than many similar-sized companies. Atomic Object also has former software developers working as managing partners who are also in charge of sales. The benefit is that the partners truly understand what they're selling.
One especially successful tactic is Atomic Object's longstanding
accelerator program. Ezekiel explains that earlier in Atomic Object's development, the company would try to identify promising young workers early in their careers.
"Sometimes, it would work out," Ezekiel says. "And we realized an opportunity to build a curriculum that would bridge the gap between an undergraduate education, with strong fundamentals in computer science, with what it takes to find success in software consulting."
She shares that some early hires are now punching far above their weight in terms of consulting. Notably, the accelerator has had 64 graduates across its offices, and the company has retained 42 active employees who entered through the program.
"To have so much of the company made up of people that came in early in their career, and are now leading teams, is one star in that constellation of getting the supply and the demand side really better," Ezekiel says.
More growth for the future
Ezekiel says Atomic Object has been examining the development of artificial intelligence (AI) and the ways that it will ripple across the company's practice and client needs. Atomic Object staff have already been working on several AI-related projects.
Bailey adds that he's been really focused on growing Atomic Object's network, not just in Ann Arbor, but also in Detroit. He says the company is currently in the process of organizing "some very, very cool events" for technology leaders over the next year.
"This is probably the only time I'm going to speak publicly about it. If people want an invite, they're gonna have to reach out to me directly," he says. "We're going to be bringing some really out-of-the ordinary, interesting content. It's going to be very underground."
One thing that is no mystery, however, is Atomic Object's continuing commitment to community building.
"We've grown into this larger space, and we're really getting ready this spring to open our doors to the tech community in Ann Arbor, which we haven't been able to do previously," he says. "We have a really awesome meeting space and we're looking forward to the community being able to utilize and activate that space together with us."
Jaishree Drepaul is a writer and editor based in Ann Arbor. She can be reached at jaishreeedit@gmail.com.
Photo by Jill DeVries Photography.