August 23, 2004
MiBiz Network
Rod Kackley

Next I.T. could be considered a textbook example of how the Muskegon Launch Pad incubator is supposed to work.
The company that was birthed in the Launch Pad in July 2001 is now in its own building with an office in the Grand Rapids area and plans to expand into Lansing or Ludington in the next couple of years.

Next I.T. Co-Owner Eric Ringelberg told MiBiz that the Launch Pad was a great place to start. It was actually a good learning experience for everyone involved, including those who were running it.

“We were one of the first companies to move into the Launch Pad,” he said. “They really didn’t know what we needed and we really weren’t sure what we wanted, so we figured it out together.”

Being in the incubator gave Next I.T. instant credibility. When the company’s sales people called on prospects the name was immediately recognized. That was probably the biggest benefit of beginning in the Launch Pad, according to Ringelberg.

The company moved out of the Launch Pad in May 2002 because it needed more room to handle all of the business it had generated. That is also why Ringelberg and his partner, Bard Williams bought their own building instead of leasing space from a landlord.

“We were growing every month, so we knew that we needed the ability to expand quickly, and we couldn’t do that if we rented or leased,” said Ringelberg.

The building gave Next I.T. more than a new home. It became another profit center. The company now has six tenants in the building, which has slightly less than 6,000 square feet. Next I.T. is using about 2,500 square feet. The tenants are using the rest.

Next I.T. opened a Grand Rapids area office in December 2003 on Plainfield Avenue. Ringelberg said the firm had to expand into Grand Rapids simply because it already had 70 percent of the Muskegon area companies signed to contracts. Ringelberg and Williams had already been working on getting new accounts in Grand Rapids and felt they would be more successful if they had a Grand Rapids location.

Ringelberg wants to open in Lansing or Ludington and hopes to have as many as five offices in the next two years.

Next I.T. is no longer the Launch Pad company that offered a small package of services. It has been adding service offerings as needed by clients. Now Next I.T. employs three developers and Ringelberg said he would like to grow that staff to eight or nine.

He foresees similar growth in the Next I.T. Web hosting division. “We were having trouble finding a good Web hosting service in West Michigan, so we just started our own.” The company serves slightly less than100 accounts. Ringelberg would like to get that number up to 500 by the end of 2004.

Next I.T. is still growing. There are 12 people on the staff between the two offices in Norton Shores and Grand Rapids. Ringelberg needs to hire two engineers and at least one Web designer as soon as possible. “We really need those people so that we can maintain our guarantee of a four-hour response time and 24/7 support.”

Next I.T. also promises its clients that they will not be billed extra for work performed outside of 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday through Friday. “Unless you can do the work without shutting their whole system down, it is hard not to have to work outside of regular office hours,” said Ringelberg.

All of this from a man who hated computers when he was a kid. Ringelberg said he really got into computers in the U.S. Navy when he made the mistake of raising his hand when his unit was asked if any of them owned a computer. Because he had owned a computer the Navy thought he would be perfect for computer work. It turned out the Navy was right.

This article appeared in the August 23, 2004 issue of MiBiz, read by upper management executives in West and Southwest Michigan. Print subscriptions are free to qualified individuals who do business in West and Southwest Michigan. For further information about MiBiz Network, visit www.mibiz.com.