Media Coverage

We want to give you $500 for helping us hire 100 Nerds in 100 Days

That’s right, you read that correctly, we’re giving people $500 if we hire a nerd you referred and they work here for 90 days. We’re not messing around! Go take a look at the 100 Nerds in 100 Days site. While you’re there make sure you take a peek at the PBS-like Thank You gifts you’ll get along the recruiting process. A pocket-protector for a referral. A coffee mug for every nerd you refer who applies. Seriously, head on over and get to referring. Or, if you want more details hit the News Section. You can also read about the nerd-hiring marathon on Twin Cities Business.

And if you need to know to spot a Nerd, you can look at this.

The Nerdery ranks #9 on Business Journal’s Fast 50 List

For the fifth year in a row we’ve made The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal’s Fast 50 list, this year coming in at number nine. You can read all about the numbers, and how we’ve ranked for the past five years in the News Section. In the meantime I will leave you with this great quote from the Q&A with CEO Mike Derheim (which you can also read in the News Section).

Biz Journal: Compare your company to a superhero.
Mike Derheim: Our company is built around a collective of smart people and as such we’re less akin to a single superhero than we are to a group like The Avengers or The X-Men. Our real strength comes from the interplay and cooperation between the individual powers of the amazing team of Nerds that have assembled in an unassuming, mild-mannered office building in Bloomington, MN. Our mission is to actively seek out extraordinary people and empower as Nerds.

Banks building mobile platforms

The Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal wrote about Minnesota banks building mobile platforms, and included a few choice quotes from a few of our nerds, including this from user experience developer Jake Ward:

“Our mobile devices are becoming our wallets. The banks are doing everything they can do right now with the limitations of the hardware, the ecosystem and the stakeholders,” he said.

If you’re a subscriber you can read the whole article at The Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal. Not a subscriber? Head over to our News section.

The Nerdery’s Nerd Uprising

Twin Cities Business does a write-up on how we’ve continued to grow despite the tragic loss of our leader nearly two-years ago. The article features quotes from nerds & our partner’s alike, including this one about what it’s like to work with us:

The Nerdery is “a fairly sizeable company, but they’re all really passionate about what they do, which is evident when you work with them,” says Tom Flint, director of digital at Minneapolis ad agency Gabriel deGrood Bendt.

Going to the Dogs

The StarTribune features a fun story about offices going to the dogs today. The article highlights businesses in the Twin Cities who have an open door policy to dogs and includes The Nerdery, KTI the Transportation People, Bswing, and Risdall Public Relations. The article also mentions what a dog-friendly work environment means to employees and dogs:

The potential benefits for dogs and humans probably are tied to the office’s nature, said John Budd, the Department of Work and Organizations chair at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

“There are probably particular environments with a particular set of individuals where having dogs in the workplace is beneficial,” Budd said. “… I say this partly tongue-in-cheek. Many people are stuck working in lousy conditions. Who wants to subject their dog to their own misery?”

Make sure you head on over to the StarTribune to see a bunch of cute dog pictures.

Fun at Work

City Pages did a super nice article on The Nerdery this week. They did a great job talking about the perks of being a Nerd including talking about our weekly Bottlecap talks, bringing dogs to work, and just being an all-around great place to work. It also gets to the heart of what makes The Nerdery such a welcoming environment for nerds:

But software engineer Mark Seemann says the homey feeling goes beyond the office amenities.

“Those are the easiest things to see, they’re the artifacts of the culture,” Seemann said. “But the underlying message is that it’s okay to be who you are when you are here. If you have a dog, bring them with you. If you like to eat breakfast in the middle of the day, go ahead.”

Also, be sure to check out The Nerdery tour and 10 Awesome Events hosted by The Nerdery.

5 for 5: The Nerdery makes Inc. 5000 list for fifth year

Flyover 50: Nerdery makes list of fast-growing Mid-America companies

The Nerdery has debuted on The Flyover 50, a list recognizing fast-growing companies in the middle of the country.

“Flyover 50 aside, our Nerd cred has spread well beyond our stomping grounds here in Middle-earth,” said The Nerdery’s Chicago branch manager Dave Kam, seemingly confusing the company’s geolocations with the fictional setting authored by J.R.R. Tolkien.

“Flyover 50 honorees are proof that there are plenty of reasons to land in the central U.S,” said Fred Coulson, managing partner of Five Elms Capital. “We created the Flyover 50 to highlight great companies in the middle of the country for potential employees and customers.”

The New War for IT Talent

Angelo Spinello, a solutions engineer, is shown Thursday, May 31, through a “tron circle” on his bookcase at The Nerdery, a Bloomington web development company. Pioneer Press photo by Jean Pieri

Over the weekend Leslie Brooks Suzukamo of the Pioneer Press wrote about the New War for IT Talent. Since The Nerdery’s always on the look out for the best and brightest nerds, they asked us about how we recruit (besides pointing blog readers to the Jobs section).
“‘The Nerdery also cruises the colleges, but leans heavily on the soft sell, touting its 15 employee clubs ranging in topics from Japanese anime to knitting, said Hillary Heinz, a marketing producer.

It also holds open houses and “tech talks” in its “Nerditorium” — a modern amphitheater with beanbag seating — on esoteric topics that attract software engineers.

So far this year, the company of 350 has hired 75 people, said Mark Hurlburt, vice president of marketing.

The Nerdery screens first for personality fit and then makes candidates take a test to show they have the right technical skills.

‘The only thing we have to sell people is our people, their skills and their time,’ Hurlburt said. ‘So, for us, it’s important to have the best people.’”

Visit the Pioneer Press to read the whole story and learn why some of our newest nerds chose The Nerdery.

Twin Cities Business on Facebook’s Preferred Marketing Developer Program

The Nerdery and 8thBridge, Inc. got a nice shout out from Twin Cities Business about our recent induction into Facebook’s Preferred Marketing Developer Program. In the post, they spoke with Dan our go-to for all things Facebook who had this to say:
“Preferred marketing developers are granted access to information about new Facebook features before they are released to the public, Krueger said. They also have exclusive access to a team of experts at Facebook, and they can communicate and collaborate with other preferred developers from around the world.

‘And it gives us credibility in the land of Facebook,’ Krueger explained. ‘Lots of people can throw together a Facebook app,’ but the designation means that The Nerdery is “on the cutting edge” of development and up to date on Facebook’s changing platform and policies.”