Oliver Nasralah was studying architecture at Lawrence Technological University when he came to a realization about design: all different forms of design are intertwined. That shook out to Nasralah launching his own design firm in 2012.
"Let's try branding," Nasralah says. "Let's try advertising. Let's try all of those things."
What is now
Hallarsan Group (recently rebranded from HUI Design Group) started off with branding and grew to include marketing and advertising. As it added more and more clients, the services it offered also grew.
But then the company scaled back—not on services, but on client types. It found it's niche in serving restauraunts, and that specialty has allowed it to grow.
"The company morphed into a restaurant design and branding firm that will also handle your architectural needs," Nasralah says.
It’s quite the jump, and the first leap started with
Yogurtopia in the summer of 2013. Today its clientele include Yogurtopia,
Brome Burgers and Shakes, and
Brera Pizza and Salad Co. Hallarsan Group now does everything from create brand logos to launch websites to design the restaurant’s interior and takeout bags.
"It's all done with one seamless brush stroke," Nasralah says.
It's working well for Hallarsan Group so far. The Dearborn-based firm has expanded its clientele by 25 percent last year and doubled its staff to four people. It is on track to grow its customer base by even more this year.
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.