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Collective Idea, one of West Michigan’s leading software and digital product development businesses, started off the new year with two new hires. As the industry continues to grow in the region, so does the need for talented developers and strategists.

Grand Rapids, Mich., Dec. 1, 2016 - Collective Idea is one of ten Michigan businesses named as a Stellar Start-Up by the BEST of MichBusiness Awards. The award ceremony, put on yearly by MichBusiness, is dedicated to recognizing companies and individuals who make Michigan a great place to do business.

Programax is a web application to help high school coaches motivate players and increase engagement. After approaching Collective Idea with the original concept, the app was developed, tested and the first customers were acquired within three months.

“Daniel Morrison started as a solo freelancer but got so busy he keeps hiring employees!” In the book “Next Level Freelance,” author, software engineer and ruby on rails developer, Jevin Maltais, interviewed a host of freelancers who turned their part-time technical work into successful businesses.

Jonathan Pichot, software developer at Collective Idea, talks about his experience pair programming during an interview with WGVU Radio’s Tech Talk.

Jonathan Pichot used to read Rapid Growth while at college in California. Now, he’s a professional developer working for Collective Idea in Holland and with the community through his local organization, Friendly Code. This self-taught programmer loves the way West Michigan fosters connections within the community.

Edify North, a Holland-based employee benefits company, was looking for a way to incentivise their client’s employees to improve their health. Collective Idea developed a mobile app that collected data from scales and transmitted the data via bluetooth to an iPad where it displayed employee progress.

In general, if you’re out with company, it’s rarely if ever okay to check your phone during a meal or social gathering. The Downside App offers an idea on how to combat constant phone checking: make the first person to touch their phone pay.

Downside, a new app developed by the team at Collective Idea, makes a game out of not touching your phone. In a nutshell, the game begins when you are part of a group that is gathered and sitting with each other. You flip your phones face down, and the first person to pick it up loses.

Dan Morrison, founder of Collective Idea will be teaching the first class of the coLearning program, “Intro to Ruby.” Ruby is the popular programming language for open source technology like Twitter and other apps.

Bookerapp.com began as an idea from an instructor at a local ski hill who needed a way to make scheduling ski lessons easier. The website made it to the Momentum Seed Accelerator program in Grand Rapids where it finished top of its class in a pitch to investors.

Idea Foundry is the creation of Collective Idea which is a development group responsible for BreakThrough.com, YardVote and holland.org among others. Idea Foundry is also helping to support the Michigan technology and startup community by sponsoring our upcoming TECH cocktail Detroit mixer event.

Owners of up-and-coming software design and programming firms are boosting their revenue by teaching the tricks of their trade to eager students – who may then go on to become something akin to competitors.

Idea Foundry, a creation of Collective Idea, was part of a dozen other companies who hosted Holland’s Tech Embassy: an even during Tulip Time to highlight local tech companies and have fun coworking together.

After traveling the country and providing training to employees at companies like Xerox and Disney, Collective Idea is luring clients back to the lakeshore for “hands-on training in a vacation setting.”