Innovatemap acquires Carmel-based web development firm, opens New York office

Innovatemap, an Indianapolis-based digital product agency, this week announced a strategic acquisition of a Carmel firm, additional hires and a new office in New York City.

With six new hires, the company—founded in 2014—now has 26 employees. The staff size will increase to 28 when the company adds two Orr Fellows in June.

Innovatemap, a three-time Inc. 5000 and two-time IBJ Fast 25 honoree, serves high-growth software-as-a-service startups and scaleups through product management, marketing, design and branding.

The company’s growth is in direct correlation with the accelerated trend of startups and scaleups investing in a stronger digital presence for their brand and for product-led growth strategies, company officials said. Innovatemap’s expertise in both, followed by a growing national customer base, has fueled its strategy, said Mike Reynolds, the company’s CEO.

“The market acceleration for those needing our help has poised us to make investments into our clients, our process and our product—which is our people,” Reynolds said.

“Innovatemap clients have widely requested website development as a service to complete the implementation of their site designs, and we have now made it a core service,” he added.

Innovatemap hit an all-time high in the fourth quarter of 2020 for revenue, client growth and retention, Reynolds said. That growth is carrying Innovatemap into 2021 and is a big reason for the hiring and geographical expansion, he added.

The agency’s recent acquisition of Amarok Creative, a Carmel-based web development agency run by Brad Elsmore, allowed the agency to expand its client services offerings in late 2020. Elsmore, who graduated from Purdue University in 2014 with a degree in computer science, will serve as senior web designer at Innovatemap.

The new employees—which include three product designers, a senior web developer, a product researcher and a marketing manager—will help meet the increasing need for digital and design work, company officials said.

Sara Croft, Innovatemap principal marketing partner, said Innovatemap’s plan to open a New York City office is part of its growth plan.

“There is a trend occurring with direct-to-consumer business that we are not only aware of, but think we are poised to support more than any other agency,” she said. “New York City has a high concentration of these D-to-C companies because New York is a mecca for luxury brands and retail.”

The New York office will include two designers.

“Design is a need of nearly every client project and continues to be a core service for the agency,” she said. “Brand is what sets these companies apart from their competitors. Their consumer-friendly brands catch consumer attention, and it’s what allows these brands to gain market share quickly over their old and stodgy, old fashioned competitors. And brand is not only a core competency of ours, but something we truly think is a differentiator that others simply cannot do as well.”

Innovatemap’s customers include some of the best-known local firms in tech and venture capital, including 120Water, Allos Ventures, AgriNovus, Allied Solutions, Boomerang Ventures, DemandJump, Encamp, Formstack, Greenlight Guru, Pondurance, Powderkeg, Purdue Foundry, Salesforce and Zylo.