Ajlsoft's base of operations is Oakland University's business incubator,
OU INC. Being located there has allowed the software development start-up shift the business from a two-person consulting company to one that develops software. President Thom Staudacher Jr. says, "The incubator offers services in areas that we can't cover ourselves internally like marketing, recruiting and an office environment." He plans on relocating elsewhere in Southeast Michigan next year, giving the company "an incubation period of a year, year-and-a-half," he says.
Ajlsoft (the word is a hybrid of
agile and
software) develops software that helps companies collaboratively share large amounts of data and has found great success in the financial world. Staudacher explains that the commercial mortgage world is very data- and document- intensive and that his company's products enable financial institutions to make their documents "more intelligent," thus making the process more "efficient and effective." He says, "The average commercial mortgage transaction takes 65 days. We push it down to 30 days."
The time- and work- saving aspect of Ajlsoft's products, combined with their ease of use have led to companies around the country purchasing their products including one Fortune 250 company that is not located in the area. Staudacher says that isn't always the case with similar products. "With a lot of software programs, you now have to have a programmer. If you know how to use Word or Excel, you know how to use our tools. Clients come in and we teach them how to build documents with our software within a couple of hours. It is truly an end-user tool."
Staudacher says the company has enough work for 2-3 times the number of employees currently on staff but that he "wants to make sure we grow the right way." That growth will occur here in Southeast Michigan. "We don't just live here -- talent resides here and, potentially, equity resides here."
Source: Thom Staudacher Jr., Ajlsoft
Writer: Kelli B. Kavanaugh
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.