Bird said the recognition meant more to him than any previous award the company has received. “Being recognized by peers and clients is great,” he said. “But the people you spend the most time with and build the company with, you struggle with and succeed with, are the employees. To know they have the confidence and belief and they will tell others that this is a great place to work, it’s hugely rewarding and touching. Something you value above everything else.” Bird co-founded Spindustry with Stephen Fry. In a building in Clive, Bird and his team produce digital content for companies to build and promote themselves. They advise strategies for other firms that incorporate website development, social media training and even mobile
application development all under one roof. The company counts government agencies like the Iowa Economic Development Authority, commercial businesses like the car wash supplier Ryko and schools like Grand View University among its clients. After 17 years in the business, Bird said the company’s experience serves it well in an industry that has grown quickly as more companies seek an online presence. “This is an easy business to start,” said Bird, who made clear that he respects anyone who tries to enter the competitive industry. “But between the ones that fade out, or move away, there is something to be said for longevity and the proof is in the pudding.” Spindustry was established in
Michael Bird, president of Spindustry, said being named a top workplace is the company’s biggest award. It’s “something you value above everything else,” he said. BILL NEIBERGALL/THE REGISTER 1996 as a company that focused primarily on building databases for other companies. Before the dot-com bubble burst in 2000 and 2001, Spindustry turned to digital marketing, showing how website development and other strategies could make money for clients. At that point, most companies
had not seen its potential. “We were trying to sell (return on investment) when everyone else was saying, ‘Oh, look, it glows,’ ” Bird said. Spindustry had to prove to clients why it was necessary to go online, questions that California and New York firms
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e are On With Life, a not-for-profit organization and a Midwest leader in brain injury rehabilitation. We began as the dream of a dedicated, passionate group of survivors and their families, faced with the challenge of rebuilding lives shattered by brain injury. They envisioned a program that would provide rehabilitation services to persons living with brain injury. Since opening in 1991, we have served more than 2,500 Iowans and their families. On With Life offers a continuum of services for people who have sustained a traumatic brain injury, stroke, tumor, aneurysm or other brain injury.
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