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SUMO Heavy on the Move: Announcing the Opening of Our First Office

February 2, 2012 by John Suder

We’re happy to announce that we’ve just signed a lease on new office space.

Our new home is at  525 South 4th Street, Suite 593, in the Foremost Building. We’re just a half block from South Street (4th and South), right on the border of Society Hill and Queen Village.

The New SUMO Heavy HQ

It was just a few weeks ago that SUMO Heavy was part of an Inc.com feature about businesses started from home (11 Businesses You Can Start in Your Pajamas).

While we strive to run a lean business, we stumbled upon an opportunity for a place that was too good to refuse. The price was right and the location is just about perfect for everyone. We also realized that it was time to make a move. While we loved working together in the Pine Street apartment, once we hired our newest developer (Sean Kennedy), we were officially out of space. We needed a place that we could grow over the next 6-12 months. And at the pace we’re growing, we’ll probably max out this space sooner than later.

The truth is, having a physical office makes our company more attractive to potential hires. To bring in good talent, you need to offer more than a seat on a couch and free coffee. And while it’s not the most important thing, we now have a space where clients can meet with us. (Also: parties!) Plus, we’re steps away from the legendary South Street. The area has had its up and downs the last 20 years or so, but it’s still a thriving scene for arts and music. And within walking distance of our office we have access to some of the best (and weirdest) bars, restaurants and music venues in Center City Philadelphia.

Once we get settled in, we’ll be posting pictures of the new digs (Sean can only build so many bookshelves in one day).

 

Inc.com Profiles SUMO Heavy. We’ve Come a Long Way…

January 11, 2012 by John Suder

SUMO Heavy Industries was featured in an Inc.com profile “11 Businesses You Can Start in Your Pajamas” that briefly interviews its subjects on how they got their start running businesses from their homes. (Check out the full article here or skip to the good part.)

Photo: Jessica, Bob and Bart watching cat videos on YouTube hard at work.

We’ve come a long way in the (almost) two years we’ve been in business. We’ve got great clients, an awesome, growing team and we enjoy the hell out of what we do.

Here’s a few things we’ve learned along the way:

Dinner for Startups

It’s Not Easy. It took a lot of hard work to get here. On top of the usual challenges of starting a business (Where will the clients come from? Can we keep the lights on?), there was the added challenge of the horrific financial climate. Not exactly the ideal time to start a business.  But, we pushed through, persevered and (eventually) thrived because we believed it what we were doing and had a true passion for the business.

We’re true believers in making our own way and using our entrepreneurial spirit to build something we could be proud of.

This isn't reality.

Stop Watching and Start Doing. If you’re out there thinking about making the leap, of starting your own company, doing you own thing – our advice is: DO IT. Got a full-time job that’s bringing you down? All the more reason to DO IT.

No excuses: Play one less video game, get your face out of Facebook, go out for happy hour a few less times to drown your sorrows, and stop watching TV – channel your energy into doing something that makes you happy. If you have the passion, the money will follow.

Right on Schedule!

Fall Down. Get Back Up. Repeat. You might fail. A few times. But wouldn’t you rather fail on your own terns than to be pushed aside (or out) with nothing to show for it at the end of the day? Or, even worse, at the end of your career?

Get your name out there, find your community and just ship something.

 

No one will confuse us with business consultants or life coaches. We can’t tell you how to run your life or your business. We do know that following your passion pays off and the rewards are greater than just money.

Oh, and we also learned it’s a lot of fun.

 

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Say Hey to Sean Kennedy, Our Newest SUMO

January 4, 2012 by John Suder

This week we’re seriously excited to have Web Slinger Sean Kennedy join the SUMO Team.

Sean is your friendly neighborhood web developer, navigating the tubes of the internet so others don’t have to. When he’s not busy eating PHP for breakfast, he can be found playing games or reading books – generally geeky ones.

He’ll be assisting the team with various code-like duties and picking up Bob Brodie’s lunch making snarky comments whenever possible.

Sean's got a real ear for coding and a face made for radio.

 

Sean’s Quick Stats:

Born: Willingboro, NJ

Currently lives: Philadelphia, PA

Education:  Art Institute of Philadelphia, Bachelor’s in Multimedia and Web Development.

Sean is exceptionally nerdy: He writes code at work, goes home and writes more code. When not writing code, he’s most likely thinking about it.

Life-changing event: Getting an internship at a small company called Atrixware. “It was my first programming job — being new to web development, I knew next to nothing about programming. My boss at the time, Anthony, took me under his wing and spent the next 9 months teaching me everything I needed to know to succeed in the business.”

Obsessed with: Eating. Seriously, this guy will try eating anything at least once.

Likes: Programming, Video Games (mostly on the iPhone these days) and Coffee. Especially Coffee.

Dislikes: Cold Weather, Long Sleeves and small, annoyingly loud children.

Send Sean some love at sean@sumoheavy.com.

Happy New Year 2012: Our Mission

January 3, 2012 by John Suder

We’d like to wish everyone a happy and prosperous 2012!

The new year signifies a fresh start and new beginnings (at least that’s what the calendar says). You resolve to be better, do better, or do less.

We decided that instead of coming up with a list of resolutions we’ll probably break in a week or two (I’m looking at you, Bob Brodie) we’d set the bar a little higher and share with you our goals and mission for the coming year. As with any goal, the first step is to write it down, because if it’s not on paper, it’s not a goal. It’s a wish.

We realized that as a growing company we needed to create a unified mission – something that describes what we do but also describes what we plan to achieve. Something to hang on the wall. Something to shoot for. Something that will keep us on track:


O U R   M I S S I O N   f o r   2 0 1 2 :

SUMO Heavy Industries is committed to providing the best service to customers in the marketplace and strives to be the premier eCommerce agency in Philadelphia.


We realize a mission statement isn’t the be-all and end-all of what we do. A mission statement is meaningless if there’s a lack of commitment – the true ‘mission’ springs from the dedication behind it. But we feel we’ve got the right team and the right energy to make big things happen in 2012. We’re going to strap ourselves in and enjoy the ride.

Unless, of course, the Mayans were right and the world will end on 12/21/12 – then all bets are off and we’re headed to the beach.

2011: Our Year By The Numbers

December 22, 2011 by John Suder

We’re wrapping up the year with a giant bow and seven miles of Scotch® tape, so we decided to throw together an infographic showing you ‘Our Year By The Numbers’. Enjoy.

See you on the other side in 2012!

 

Happy Holidays from SUMO Heavy Industries!

December 19, 2011 by Bart Mroz

SUMO Heavy Holiday Card

As the year draws to a close, I’d like to take a moment to wish a happy and joyful holiday season to our clients, partners and friends.

It’s been an amazing year here at SUMO HQ. New faces, new clients, new challenges.

2012 is already shaping up to be our biggest year yet. We’ve added staff and resources to better serve our clients and we’re also looking forward to some really exciting projects in the new year (both internal and external).

As we always do, we’ll be giving our fellow SUMOs time off for the holidays to spend with friends and family and recharge their batteries. Please note that our offices will be closed starting December 24, 2011 and reopen Monday, January 2, 2012

All the best to you and yours.

Wesołych Świąt!

– Bart Mroz, CEO, SUMO Heavy Industries

We’re Hiring: PHP Developers Wanted

December 12, 2011 by John Suder

SUMO Heavy Industries is growing and once again we’re seeking talented PHP developers. This is a location-independent, contract-to-hire position.

Job Description

As a Team Member, you’ll be involved in working with us to build and customize ecommerce sites and building new tools for retailers. You’ll be working with our global team of branding, design, development, and marketing professionals designing, developing, implementing and maintaining web software applications under the direction of Senior Technical staff.

Some of the things you’ll be doing:

• Debugging and troubleshooting software defects • Creating and maintaining code documentation • Participating in the review of business requirements and functional specifications providing analysis and feedback • Delivering software code that is built to scope and within the agreed upon goals • Working as a team member on large accounts, understanding how a team operates and what is expected of the various roles on the project • Shifting between a creative and a technical focus depending on the project need and/or the type of project • Rapidly producing interim deliverables (such as prototypes, proofs of concept, etc.) in addition to the final live site or application. • Providing day-to-day support, troubleshooting and bug fixing for our existing clients • Reporting to project managers any risks or possible delays • Taking initiative to research and learn emerging technologies

What we need you to know:

• 1-3 years experience working with PHP5.x and MySQL • 1+ years experience with MVC frameworks and CMS platforms (Drupal, WordPress, Zend Framework, etc) • Good understanding of object oriented programming concepts • Comfortable developing and debugging applications in a Unix/Linux environment • Experience with AJAX techniques using modern JavaScript libraries • Knowledge of web application security considerations • Experience with source control software • Comfortable documenting code • Comfortable working closely with a UX team • Basic Knowledge of SEO best practices • Effective verbal and written communication skills

We’d love it if you have these skills:

• Experience with the Magento Platform or Zend Framework • Capable of debugging a web application from hardware to client browser • Familiar with UML and ERD • Experience with unit testing, specifically phpUnit • Interactive web agency experience

Apply Now

To Apply please send the following to careers@sumoheavy.com

• Name* • Email* • Cover Letter * (briefly tell us who you are why we should hire you) • Linkedin* • Phone • Website • Twitter • Location (* – required)

About Us

SUMO Heavy Industries is an eCommerce Design, Development and Consulting firm located in Philadelphia. We’re a group of developers and designers focused on the eCommerce space. We help build successful brands and create online retail solutions with proven results. Meet our Team and check out our Work. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Happy Thanksgiving From Our Family To Yours

November 23, 2011 by John Suder

We at SUMO Heavy Industries would like to wish our clients, partners, friends and their families a happy and safe Thanksgiving.

We’ll be off feeding our faces and most likely starting our Christmas shopping (online! of course!) so we’ll be closed for business on Thursday, November 24th and Friday, November 25th.

Our Newest SUMO: Jessica Victor, Project Manager

November 17, 2011 by John Suder

Please join us in welcoming our newest Team Member, Jessica Victor. Jessica will be taking the reigns (and bullwhip) as our new Project Manager.

As the SUMO family grows, so do the amount of projects, tasks, to-dos, odds-and-ends and general minutiae that need to be addressed on a daily basis.

We’ve hired Jess to keep us on track.

While some might think project management is akin to herding cats, it’s something that’s necessary in a growing company to keep us moving in the right direction.

 

Jessica’s Quick Stats:

Born: Staten Island, NY

Currently lives: Philadelphia, PA

Education:  University of Delaware, Undergrad degrees in Psychology and Theatre Production. Masters in Counseling Psychology from Arcadia University.

Jessica is well-traveled: Has visited most of Europe, India, Dubai, Japan. She plans on visiting all of the continents in her lifetime.

Life-changing event: Jessica participated in two Habitat for Humanity projects (one in New Orleans, the other in Trivandrum, India for tsunami relief.)

Obsessed with: M.C. Escher. “Somewhere in college I picked up an unhealthy obsession with M.C. Escher, which resulted in 8 small Escher tattoos, and attempting to see as many of his original works in person as possible.” (We think the Escher obsession will hep with translating Bart’s thoughts and writing…)

Likes: Futurama, Sci-fi novels, and driving like a cabbie.

Dislikes: Slow-moving pedestrians, improper use of ‘their’, ‘they’re’ and ‘there’, and coconut.

Contact Jessica at jessica@sumoheavy.com

We’ve Got a New Phone Number: (888) 998-SUMO

November 16, 2011 by John Suder

Take Note:

We’ve got a brand-new, easy-to-remember phone number: (888) 998-SUMO.

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