Finalist, Business Services
When you walk into the environment Rich Sheridan has created at Menlo Innovations LLC, it looks less like the software company that it is and more like a classroom or advertising agency.
Noticeably missing from Menlo is the presence of cubicles or offices. Employees gather around tables to work and communicate openly and frequently with each other. Even Sheridan, co-founder and CEO, sits among his staff, not isolated in an office. The atmosphere is light and collaborative, with a casual dress code and open arena setting.
Menlo employees work in pairs each week, sharing one computer and switching partners each week. Employees work 40 hours a week, never on weekends and are always encouraged to take vacation time. This originality and innovation is what has set Menlo apart from its competitors. Sheridan applies the concepts to everything within his company, from a simple paper and board design to indicate what each team is working on each week to hiring people as “high-tech anthropologists” to study each customer and client. These employees and teams examine company work processes, culture, employee breakdown and user/ system interaction.
Menlo has been named one of Inc. magazine’s fastestgrowing companies in America since 2007 and shows no signs of slowing down. It is moving to a new office location in downtown Ann Arbor that will triple its current square footage. In addition, the company plans to continue its entrepreneurial incubation efforts. Sheridan invests time, personal resources and support to help employees create new businesses and follow their own entrepreneurial goals. Sheridan sits on many nonprofit boards, and Menlo regularly sponsors many nonprofits and events, including United Way, Ann Arbor Summer Festival, St. Luke Lutheran Church, Michigan Israel Business Bridge and more.
HOW TO REACH: Menlo Innovations, www.menloinnovations.com
