ideahaus : creative + intelligence

“What we’ve done is abolish the traditional business model. We’ve cut the cord,” says Kevin Popovic, the 36-year-old Founder, President, and primary creative force behind Ideahaus.

There is a company in Pittsburgh that has no office. It has no bills. It offers no benefits. It doesn’t even have a steady payroll. How does it get away with all of this?

It is virtual.

It is Ideahaus, a creative marketing firm and Pittsburgh’s entry in the ever-growing field of virtual business. “What we’ve done is abolish the traditional business model. We’ve cut the cord,” says Kevin Popovic, the 36-year-old founder, president, and primary creative force behind Ideahaus.

Virtual business is a recent trend that essentially trims all the fat from the typical corporate structure, and Ideahaus follows this philosophy to the letter. There is no office; all employees work by computer from home or on the road, eliminating the need for costly office space and the bills that come with it. There is no payroll; workers are paid when there is work to be done. There are no taxes or benefits; that is the worker’s responsibility. In short, it is everything that is necessary; it is nothing that is not. This approach maximizes revenue for the company and gives the client a direct return on their investment. What remains at Ideahaus is Popovic and his streamlined corps of ultra-efficient employees.

But Ideahaus’ employees aren’t really employees at all. They are a roving band of about 15 industry professionals that collaborate on projects and share directly in the company’s revenue (minus a small percentage from each project that is put back into the Ideahaus coffers). Popovic is merely their shepherd. His three affiliates direct projects and serve as liaisons to the clients. The dozen or so remaining associates do all the grunt work: creating, copywriting, designing web sites, etc. “They’re my mercenaries,” Popovic says. “We come together when there’s a battle to be fought.”

Finding proverbial battles to fight is no problem with Ideahaus’ short but loyal list of clients. The company is currently working on six active projects, including a new brand identity for a consulting firm, and an interior web community for GlaxoSmithKline. Popovic has no problem with his comparatively small customer roster, saying he would “rather have a few clients and do a really good job for those clients, giving them something they won’t get anywhere else.” In the crowded marketing and advertising battlefield, it is increasingly important for companies to distinguish themselves from each other, and Popovic believes that Ideahaus does that.

Rather than act as a typical we-make-what-you-want type of design house, Ideahaus is more of a creative communications company. Clients come to them with an idea of whom they want to communicate to. Ideahaus helps their clients determine the best way they should do it, and then goes to work making it happen, whether it means instituting an email campaign, redesigning an entire brand identity, or buying a Super Bowl commercial. As an added bonus, clients receive a special section on the Ideahaus’ web site where they can check real-time status on any part of an active project. This approach keeps the product fresh, the clients happy, and the workers productive and creative.

“All I ask of my colleagues is that they give me 100 percent effort all the time,” Popovic says. “And in return I provide them with everything they need to get the job done well, and on time.”

“We’re just a bunch of kids in a technological playbox,” he says. “It’s really a great gig.”

Popovic, a Pittsburgh native, got his start in the design and marketing field as a teen, making skateboard stickers and painting band emblems on his friend’s denim jackets. The next step was Duquesne University, where he majored in communications and psychology. He coordinated events for his fraternity and for his side career as a DJ, making fliers and advertisements for parties and concerts. After graduating he worked for Shadyskates, a local skateboard shop, advertising the stores various events, contests, and promotions. He eventually landed a job with TGIF Productions, a California-based events-planning firm. It was here that he got his first exposure to Fortune 500 companies, and the interaction of marketing and big business. After a while, Popovic became fed up with working for someone else, and set out to create his own company, Kevin Popovic Image Design, the company that would eventually morph into Ideahaus.

Obviously, Popovic would not be where he is today without the Internet. Ideahaus relies on online technology for almost every aspect of business:intercommunication, research, marketing strategies, etc. The company can supply direct project information to the client, the client can provide feedback, and the company can respond quickly based on that feedback. The Internet eliminates the need for the typical bureaucratic process. And because the Internet is so immediate and universally accessible, a small company like Ideahaus can run alongside the bigger companies, and in many cases, run circles around them. “The Internet is the great equalizer,” Popovic says. “We couldn’t do what we do without it.”

Starting in the next few months, Popovic plans to use the Internet to take Ideahaus farther than it has ever been before. Due up in April is Ideahaus.com 4.0, a beefed-up version of their previous web site with online classes, design portfolios, and a stock gallery where prospective clients can buy unused design concepts left over from earlier projects. Also in the works is Ideahaus.tv, a web-based channel for Ideahaus-mates to broadcast their business approach to the world.

Popovic himself has some ongoing projects outside of Ideahaus. He is currently writing two books: one is an updated version of “How to be a star in your company”; the other outlines his methodology to web site planning. His ultimate professional plan is specific, if not a little extravagant. He wants to be the next David Ogilvy, a man many consider the father of modern advertising. “I figure I can be there by 50. Definitely by 60,” Popovic said only slightly joking. His goal may seem a little far-fetched, but no more than any of the other visions he has made a reality. He has taken a lot of flak during his career from people convinced that he can’t make his ideas concrete, but he continues to prove his detractors wrong. “People have called me an idealist a lot in my life,” Popovic says. “I think that’s just a copout for not making the ideal happen.”

-Jay Fanelli