Matt Miller, founding president and CEO, MobileDemand

FINALIST
Like many entrepreneurs, Matt Miller developed the idea for his company by seeing a problem for which he had a solution. In 2002, Miller was working at an established job when he learned about a pain point for one of the company’s customers, Anheuser-Busch. The business was going to require all of its independent beer wholesalers to start delivering sales data back to breweries on a nightly basis; however, there was no efficient automated system to do it in the rigors of the current environment.
Drawing on his technology background, Miller reasoned that the company could best address the problem by automating its field salespeople with mobile tablet PCs. Equipped with a computer science degree and an MBA in marketing, Miller left his steady job to focus solely on developing a company to create durable, mobile computer systems that could enhance end-user productivity and performance.
As the founding president and CEO of MobileDemand, Miller grew his business initially by focusing on the opportune market niche of beer wholesalers. After self-funding the company and spending a year in his basement working on his business plan, he introduced a prototype for his company’s first rugged tablet computer system to the Wholesaler Beer Distributors Association. Before long, he’d landed deals with three Iowa beer wholesalers, getting the attention of Anheuser-Busch with the product’s innovative design, high durability and low failure rates.
The turning point for Miller’s business came when Anheuser-Busch designated MobileDemand’s xTablet as its preferred product to its network of more than 700 wholesalers. Today, Miller has expanded MobileDemand’s marketing to target mobile field workers in variety of industries and appeal to a vast network of resellers.
How to reach: MobileDemand, www.ruggedtabletpc.com