In Christine Slocumb's world, prior to 2001, finding a marketing firm that specialized in technology companies was practically impossible. The few the former tech company marketing VP could find were really creative but had very little tech know-how ...or vice versa.

"I found it really hard to find agencies that could be both creative and tech savvy," Slocumb says.

That led to the creation of Clarity Quest Marketing seven years ago in Ann Arbor by Slocumb and her partners. The company specializes in providing marketing services for tech-based companies, such as Detroit's Asterand and A2's Cielo MedSolutions. 

Over the last year, Clarity Quest has added four people and expects to hire two or three more within the next year. Currently, the firm employs 11 total people in Ann Arbor and Seattle, but most are here in Tree Town.

"We're actually doing a lot better in Michigan than in Seattle, which is interesting," Slocumb says.

The company is poised to take advantage of Michigan's emerging biotech sector in the near future. The reason why is the business seeds planted a few years ago are starting to sprout into real businesses with real budgets.

"Biotech is looking very, very good," Slocumb says. "We certainly see potential there because they are starting to get some money together so they can do something."

Source: Christine Slocumb, president of Clarity Quest Marketing
Writer: Jon Zemke