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Russ Hart has been so success at growing a business making assay kits he decided to do it again.

Hart and his partners grew Assay Designs in Ann Arbor to the point it got so big it wasn’t fun for them to run it anymore. They exited it in 2007 and launched another, similar firm later that year, Arbor Assays.

"We just like doing what we do," says Hart, partner with Arbor Assays. "It's an opportunity do the things we enjoy and make money while doing it."

The 8-year-old firm is doing well researching and developing high quality assay kits. It has gone from three co-founders to a staff of 11 people, including two hires (sales & marketing, and manufacturing positions) over the last year. Those staff additions are justified by 35-40 percent revenue growth each year since Arbor Assays' founding.

"We sell to a whole bunch of different industries," Hart says. "We sell to pharmaceutical companies and bio-tech companies and academic institutions."

Arbor Assays has grown 40 percent in the last month alone, and expects to do it again each month for the foreseeable future.

"The month before we did slightly better than that," Hart says. "Each month is better than the last one."

Source: Russ Hart, partner with Arbor Assays
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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