off
E Plefl
yet) up
AT vouR
Q: What is a typical day like for
you?
Q: What led you to move back to
In business: Patrick Paul and Adam Leeb.
Detroit and pursue entrepreneurship
in your hometown?
Leeb: I was working in New York
after college and decided to move back here to be closer to
family and to start a business in Detroit. It made sense to do
Q: How did you connect with your Hemingwrite co-
founder?
that in an area that wasn't so costly. It's easier to bootstrap a
new venture in one's hometown if you can take advantage of
Leeb: We met at a co-working space in the greater
the resources that your family and community offer. You can
Detroit area. We started talking at work and actually work
also start with fewer stresses, particularly financial, knowing
quite well together. He's a software designer. I'm involved
with the engineering. Early 2014 is when we first started
that your family can back you up. It certainly helps to be
closer to family.
talking about it and ended up working most seriously on the
product during the summer of 2014.
Q: What led you to launch Hemingwrite?
Q: What has been your impression of Detroit's startup
Leeb: Hemingwrite came about from a discussion with my
partner about distraction-free writing software. We started
scene? What would you recommend our community do to
to research what that really means and if people really use
better promote new venture creation?
these tools. After researching our questions, we found out
Leeb: It needs a much bigger ecosystem. It gets too
that these tools are extremely popular and are used by many
easy to get stuck in a bubble and to be isolated about the
professional writers. Both of us started to work on it as a
dynamic activities on the East and West Coasts. It takes a
side project at first. After building the prototype, we saw that
lot more energy to maintain that type of energy outside of
there was global interest in the idea. We heard from people
a core startup hub. We need more folks with experience
around the world who desired one for themselves. It's now in
in startups who can join growing companies. We will be a
the phase where we are seeing if this can be a real business.
Detroit company forever and are now based in Midtown, a
So far, it's been completely wild to see how many people
short drive from my Downtown residence.
want one for themselves.
Q: How can someone buy the Hemingwrite and when will
Q: How long have you been interested in inventions?
it be available?
Leeb: My whole life. I have always been a builder and
Leeb: The Kickstarter campaign is now closed, but one
tinkerer. I have been constantly making things since early
can pre-buy the Hemingwrite online at hemingwrite.com . We
childhood and asking my parents for more tools and space to
plan to ship new orders this November.
create things.
Q: What's your favorite thing to do in Detroit?
Q: What led Hemingwrite to have such strong success on
Leeb: I really like Belle Isle and the taco trucks in
Kickstarter?
Mexicantown.
Leeb: At the end of the day, it came down to being a
unique product. The community responded to our campaign
Q: What are your long-term career goals?
instantly. It's a niche product but one that could be explained
Leeb: I hope to keep going down the path of building
quite quickly. We tapped into something within the writing
consumer products. I love having the opportunity to create
community that hit an immediate chord, largely because we
real products and get them into people's hands, which is
created a product that resonated with writers. The press loved
exactly what I want to keep doing.
the product and the timing mattered a lot. The media saw this
as a very interesting product and one that swung in a much
Q: What would be your advice to another former Detroiter
different way than a typical electronic product. We were trying
looking to startup a new project in Detroit?
to jam less into more as opposed to more into less.
Leeb: Make sure you have enough funding before
starting down the entrepreneurship path. This makes a
Q: What's your long-term vision for Hemingwrite?
huge difference when launching something new. Also, I'd
Leeb: We want to keep making Hemingwrite and
recommend working with two or three co-founders. It's not
expanding the platform and community we've already built.
easy to find the right co-founder/s but the time it takes to
We want to create a way for people to write that's different
find the right match is certainly worthwhile. ❑
sme
Save Time - Lot close to
the terminals with easy
access from 1-94 & 1-275.
Save Money - Low daily
rates, continuous free
shuttle service and luggage
handling.
Save Worry - Open 24/7
with lighted, fenced and
continuous patrolled lot.
Battery booster is available.
Daily Rate: $9.00*
Hourly Rate: $2.50*
*Taxes Included
Expires 12-31-2015.
One coupon per visit.
Not Good with any other discounts.
Rates Subject to Change.
ECORSE
4713
•
ebb"-
"41411.1 r.'
METRO
AIRPORT
M IDDLEBELT
Leeb: I am constantly trying
to manage my time better. I try to
work out in the morning. Drink one
cup of coffee. I don't eat breakfast.
I don't do emails until after lunch.
This leaves me to do the most
creative distraction-free work in
the morning. I schedule calls in the
afternoon and usually work in the
office until seven or eight in the
evening.
MERRIMAN
Q: How do you see yourself
as a part of the new energy of
young people returning home and
contributing to the city?
Leeb: I moved back in the middle
of 2012 — things have changed
dramatically since then. Just the idea
that young people would embrace
moving Downtown is a relatively new
idea. Now there's a growing group
of young adults in Downtown and
Midtown. In fact, most of my friends
that had moved away are now back
in Michigan as well. There's more
interest from young people in my
generation to move back and see
what's going on, and to make things
happen in their hometown.
from any other tool. We have
an opportunity to do that as an
Internet-enabled device with a very
powerful backend that lets people
sync their work into the cloud. We
have ideas for other products that
also rethink other, more established
products. Our community of
interested backers is growing by
the day.
Exit 198 from 1-94
Exit 20 from 1-275
VISA
MA,
.88841844. YgY5
WRN 1Xladlum
Romulus,
IX1:1
.QwikPark.com
February 26 • 2015
49