Hook adds 4 people in downtown Ann Arbor, plans more hires

Wednesday, March 10, 2010 | Source: Concentrate

Hook is growing in just about every way imaginable. The downtown Ann Arbor-based firm is adding people, clients and office space as it starts to assert itself in the city's growing service-based economy.

"We've been lucky," says Aaron Schwartz, co-founder of Hook. "We have some great clients who keep coming back to us. There is a great demand for our services right now."

That means the commercial-art start-up has expanded its payroll to 10 people by adding four new employees since the last time we checked in with it in late 2008. It has also quadrupled its office space to 2,500 square feet.

The 4-year-old firm has also grown its client base and moved itself up the advertising food chain. It has gone from producing auto show materials to moving onto a broader range of interactive advertising. Think: Building micro sites and taking over Internet homepages.

The refocusing has allowed the firm to plan for even more growth. It hopes to hire three more people this year and take over some more of its space in its second-floor commercial space in downtown Ann Arbor.

"We hope to continue growing," Schwartz says. "We get new business every other day. We hope to add more people."

Hook got its start when two former University of Michigan students, Schwartz and Michael Watts, decided to take the entrepreneurial leap. Some of its first work incorporated 3-D imagery into commercial art, such as animation and illustrations. One of the firm's first clients included part of Toyota's North American International Auto Show display in Detroit.

Source: Aaron Schwartz, co-founder of Hook
Writer: Jon Zemke