This Toledo Startup is Enabling Innovation by Delivering Software Solutions

From apps on your phone to websites and ordering systems, almost everything we do throughout the day has a piece of software making it go. For companies with software engineers and development teams, establishing those systems isn’t always so challenging. But when companies have big ideas without the knowledge to create that software, innovation can be stifled. Toledo startup Wynhouse Software is here to make sure that innovation keeps moving.

“We’re an innovation agency; we work alongside our clients to develop and launch new products,” said CEO and Co-Founder Evan Marsh. “Our typical clients are health care, manufacturing or professional services. We work with them to improve business processes through digital transformation. Over the last two years, we’ve found that companies have this exciting backlog of innovative ideas, both internally and externally. That innovation process is really where we focus. We work with the client to design and develop software that integrates into an existing team or partner with the client to commercialize software in development as a new line of business for them.”

Wynhouse projects are rarely the same as the project that came before them. For instance, they recently worked with a tier-one auto manufacturer who needed a solution amid the peak of the country’s microchip shortage, of which cars require dozens. Wynhouse developed the company software that reports the exact geolocation of over 6,000 vehicles stored on 1,500 acres of indoor and outdoor parking so that they can keep track of what they have. Compare that to their work with an accounting firm specializing in truckers, where they created a way to track payments and tax documents that Marsh compared to tracking your pizza delivery. Creating those specific solutions is what Marsh appreciates most about his company, along with what those challenges enable his workers to achieve.

“I love solving problems and I also enjoy working with our team. We get the opportunity to solve exciting projects for all kinds of businesses, and I love working with an entrepreneurial team. We’re creating an environment where innovative, technical and entrepreneurial people can come and excel. It’s all focused on achievement and flexibility and letting everyone highlight their strengths. That’s what’s most exciting to me about this company.”

And while many companies struggled through the pandemic and the trials and tribulations that came along with it, Wynhouse has been able to maintain their growth. By providing other organizations with what they needed to improve efficiency, the company made themselves invaluable even in a difficult time.

“There are so many different things happening in the world, and those things all impact businesses differently across the board,” he said. “We’re really grateful to have accelerated our growth through all the COVID-19 uncertainty. Now, we have products out with several Fortune 500 companies and we’re fortunate to be working on those projects because they’re impactful for those entities and communities that they serve. It’s really exciting.”

The company’s Toledo roots run back to its founding, when Marsh and two co-founders formed their original company with the idea of launching a “campus life” product. When they accidentally attracted attention from other entrepreneurs who needed software for their own ventures, they realized that they needed to pivot toward enabling those ideas. And while Marsh loves living and working in the city he calls home, Toledo has also played a key role in the company’s development of its workforce.

“Toledo and northwest Ohio has been a great home for us,” he said. “The University of Toledo has played a significant role in building out our internship program, hiring pipeline and general strategy. Every summer since we started, we’ve hired two or three interns from UT, many from Toledo. We really make sure that program gives them the opportunity to work on actual projects. It’s rewarding to give them the opportunity to see four or five major projects with brands they’re aware of.”