The new economy isn't all about computers and lab research and creating the next Google. Sometimes it's about using a little bit of ingenuity to satisfy an everyday need.
That's the case with Ann Arbor's Radius Garden start-up. The firm designs and makes ergonomic gardening tools that take the pain out of gardening.
For instance, one of the company's hand shovels has a curved handle that allows the gardener's grip to be in the neutral position (like a punch) when it stabs it into the ground. This helps to alleviate the aches, pains and sprains caused by non-neutral position repetition.
"These [injuries] accumulate over time," says Bruce Baker, the company's founder and CEO. "Using a tool that puts your hand back in the neutral position saves a lot of pain."
And the idea has taken off. Radius now has four different lines of tools and is looking to expand. It has experienced 300 percent growth each year since its founding in 2004 and now employs five people in Ann Arbor. The company plans to hire a few more in the near future as it expands into Europe and elsewhere overseas.
This isn't unfamiliar territory for Baker. Radius Garden is the fourth start-up he has worked on, however, it's the first one that is all his own. The others include Arbortext, an IT services company and a childrens book company.
But it's all business, good business, to Baker. Which means jobs, good jobs, to Ann Arbor.
Source: Bruce Baker, founder and CEO of Radius Garden
Writer: Jon Zemke
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