Nexosis Departs Rev1 Labs, Moves to New Corporate Location in Westerville
Nexosis is celebrating an exit—not an exit in the “Wall Street” sense, but a significant milestone all the same.
Last week, the company exited the Rev1 accelerator and moved into a new headquarters location in Westerville, OH.
“There were benefits to being in the Rev1 space,” said Ryan Sevey, Nexosis co-founder, “especially being able walk down the hall and have a conversation with someone from the Rev1 team. We don’t want to lose that overall atmosphere of entrepreneurship; we’ll need to recreate our own.”
Happily, Ryan and his co-founder Jason Montgomery are leading a startup company that’s created eight (soon to be 10) jobs in its first year, plus a number of contracted positions. So, no matter how much is gained from co-locating with other entrepreneurs and startup advisors, Nexosis needs more room to grow.
“We’re in hiring mode and actively looking to expand our team,” Sevey said. “We’ve just hired one full-time software developer. We’re adding sales people and are looking to build out our model for training data scientists. Within a year, we could have 30 employees.”
Westerville offers a welcoming environment for companies, individuals, and families
“There were lots of reasons Nexosis chose to locate in Westerville,” said Sevey.
“The city’s economic development team helped set us up with recommended properties. They were very responsive to our questions throughout the process,” he said. “It was important to us, no to just move into some random city. We wanted the support of the city and felt very welcomed by Westerville. That’s critical for a small business like us.”
Westerville’s future vision also appealed to Nexosis.
“All the things they have planned for the area really attracted us,” Sevey said. “They are looking to the future and have a vision that we want to be part of. They have lots of hotels and are building more. There are great restaurants—places to take clients and to take our team after work and bond. Plus, it’s important that Westerville promotes wellness in its overall environment—with parks and outdoor activities.”
Working closely with Rev1 to expand Westerville’s entrepreneurial ecosystem
“Westerville has a long tradition of success helping business start and grow here,” said Jason Bechtold, economic development administrator.
“We want to support growing companies that put roots here in the community by connecting them with all the options available here,” he said. “Rev1 does a great job of helping us start that conversation. Westerville is doing our part to be prepared and ready to become home to those great companies.”
A great example of that is WēConnect®, Westerville’s public fiber optic network started in 2012 in response to the need for secure data storage and high speed Internet and to connect city, business, and community.
“This is a differentiator for our community,” Bechtold said. “Westerville has our own electric utility and WēConnect® goes hand in hand with that utility model. We believe that fiber optics and data storage needs are just as important as water, sewage, and electric.”
“Westerville is a great place to do business. It’s an established community that has been very forward thinking in constructing a world class data center and fiber optic network to serve Westerville businesses,” said Rick Coplin, Rev1 vice president, community partner ventures.
Westerville has companies in a variety of sectors, including a cadre of technical companies, a number of corporate headquarters, as well as a medical community that continues to garner investment and attract more business to the Cleveland Avenue corridor.
“Westerville has done a phenomenal job of creating the “Medical Mile,” an industry cluster of medical facilities, and service providers,” Coplin said. “Rev1 and Westerville help startups like Nexosis connect with the city’s medical community to gain future customers right in our own backyard. The medical industry has the potential to greatly benefit from Nexosis’ expertise.”
“Three weeks ago, I would have said it would be September before Nexosis would be able to make this move,” Coplin said. “Our partnership with the City of Westerville was key to making this happen for Nexosis, a startup that continues to move at smart warp speed.”
