Two 20-somethings are hoping to make their mark on their hometown by creating opportunity for themselves and others.
Philip Hoberg and Justin Shatto, lifelong friends who grew up in Superior's East End, are making plans to expand their direct marketing firm, Hoberg-Shatto Group, 1419 Belknap St.
The company that provides direct marketing services for the telecommunications industry got its start with 10 employees in January. Now with 43 on staff, they are planning another expansion.
Over the next three weeks, the two are hoping to add 10-15 people each week, Hoberg said.
"Today, were selling AT&T on the West Coast," Hoberg said. "Tomorrow, we could be selling on the East Coast."
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The goal behind the company was to serve a nationwide market from the city where Shatto and Hoberg grew up. Many of the friends they grew up with, like Chadd Thompson, are among the company's growing number of employees.
Hoberg, a graduate of the University of Michigan, said his research in brain, behavior and cognitive sciences earned acknowledgement in scientific journals, but it felt like something was missing.
"I continued to think about my home town of Superior and how what I always really wanted (was) to stay near my good friends and find a way to be successful near home, even if that meant smaller success," Hoberg said, who decided to return to Superior to be close to his family, roots and childhood friends.
"Growing up here you've got all these resources ... lakes, great friends, schools," Hoberg said. He said the group of friends he and Shatto shared stuck together through thick and thin.
Then around 2007, Shatto said, there was a buzz among the group of longtime friends to try to stay together as friends.
Shatto remained in the Twin Ports and worked his way up at a local telemarketing center and began working as a program broker in the industry. He considered moving his family -- a girlfriend, stepson and his toddler son -- to New York City for the opportunity to become an entrepreneur.
Meanwhile, Hoberg's own ambitions of becoming an entrepreneur were coming to fruition. In summer 2008, he launched the Northland's first text-message marketing company, Northland SMS.
"The moment I saw that Philip Hoberg had started a company, I knew I wanted on board," Shatto said.
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"Justin saved Northland SMS," Hoberg said. "If Justin hadn't bought into half of the company, my one-man sales force was going to starve and so would the attention a new company needs."
Hoberg said with credit cards maxed and his savings invested in the start up, he thought it was going to fail until Shatto got involved.
In January, the friends opened another marketing company with a focus on direct-marketing. The 96 seat telesales center provides marketing and sales services nationwide, for companies like Verizon and AT&T. It also aims to provide 96 new jobs locally by the end of this year.
"We have the ability to service the entire country," Hoberg said "Here we can jump from market to market. Today, we're selling for AT&T on the West Coast. Tomorrow we could be selling on the East Coast."
Tapping national markets for their service was part of the partners' strategy, allowing their sales force to skip across the nation from workstations in Superior.
"A company like this just made sense for us," Hoberg said. "In a tough economy, it's important to keep jobs near home ... With our employee staff growing from 10 to 42 in our first 5 months, it shows how committed we are to reinvesting our profit so we can grow to cull capacity and provide fun, quality jobs for people here in the Twin Ports."
People interested in working with the Hoberg-Shatto Group or Northland SMS may apply online at HYPERLINK " https://owa.forumcomm.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.hobergsha... " "_blank" www.hobergshattogroup.com or apply in person at 1419 Belknap St., Superior. Checkout Northland SMS at HYPERLINK " https://owa.forumcomm.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.northland... " "_blank" www.northlandsms.com , currently under construction.
