Incipia is a more recent addition to the Grand Circus coworking community.Incipia is an emerging mobile tech firm that aims to help businesses stay relevant and accomplish their goals in the age of mobile by designing, developing and marketing mobile apps..
Metro-detroit natives, Gabe Kwakyi (Co-Founder/CEO) and Gregory (Co-Founder/CTO) were inspired to return to the Motor City and start Incipia.
“We love Detroit. We grew up around here and we know other people who are a part of Detroit’s economic resurgence,” said Gregory. “I have a sister, for example, who works for Gleaner’s Food Bank. She’s given me a really good impression of what’s happening here and really understanding how local businesses play into it. We’re around a lot of other people who are doing the same thing and it’s really contagious.”
The contagious can-do spirit longtime and new residents of Detroit generate is one reason why other people like Gabe and Greg are inspired to become a part of Detroit’s economic recovery. Startup communities, like Grand Circus and Bamboo Detroit, are giving creatives a place and resources they need to get their start.
“We really wanted to join the tech scene of the city. We chose to join Grand Circus because we really wanted to be with a lot of other tech-minded people and we also wanted to teach,” explained Gabe. (Gabe’s teaching a Facebook and Instagram Ads class in January!)
Why Detroit instead of cities like New York or San Francisco? The answer was obvious.
“I moved out to Seattle for a year and then spent 2 years in New York with Microsoft and came back here to Detroit. In New York or San Francisco, you’re one of the small fish in a large ocean,” said Gabe. “It’s a lot of other people doing the same thing that we are. It would be more difficult to stand out in other cities that are more established, compared to coming back to Detroit, where the tech scene is exciting and growing.”
So what exactly makes Incipia different than any other tech firm aimed at developing iOS applications? According to Gabe, it’s their business model and array of services.
“We settled on our services and our business model. We do everything related to mobile apps. It starts with designing the app – how does it look? How does it feel? What’s the branding? Then there’s the development – building it, getting a prototype, testing it out. And that’s where other companies stop,” explained Gabe. “We take the process a few steps further by helping companies build a marketing and monetization strategy to acquire users and hit their ROI goals, as well as and help companies maintain and grow their apps over time ”