Verona-based engineering company designs, manufactures, and integrates custom machines, robotics, and industrial products
Matt Moseman’s entrepreneurial journey began at age twelve, when he was told he was too young to get a local job—so he created his own. He launched his first lawn care business when Chuck McFarlane, owner of Wisconsin Ag Management, hired him to take care of yard work. That first opportunity laid the foundation for what followed. Kenny
Nonn, owner of Nonn’s Kitchen Bath and Flooring, soon asked Moseman to maintain several of his local properties. Soon after that, Craig Culver, founder of Culver’s, brought him on to deliver firewood to both his home and commercial locations. Moseman says these early clients helped shape his passion for service, hard work, and business ownership.
“I took advantage of those opportunities and ran with them,” Moseman says. “Those experiences opened my eyes to a different form of career, and since then, I have had the itch to own and run my own business.”
Moseman made that happen after earning his B.S. in mechanical engineering at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
Throughout a series of jobs in mechanical engineering and product development, Moseman worked late nights and weekends as an engineering consultant. In 2014, he founded DEVELOP as a consulting business and pursued his vision of transforming manufacturing–to deliver high-value products by uniting intentional design, advanced manufacturing, and automation at every step. At the same time, he earned his MBA, with a focus on new product development, at the Milwaukee School of Engineering.
Moseman planned to stay at his day job and grow DEVELOP’s revenue to a point where he could financially run the company full-time. His vision, discipline, and skill set landed him a growing slate of devoted customers that forced him to take the leap.
“Since I started DEVELOP as a moonlight gig, I got to a point where I had so much work that I had to decide whether to say no to the work or quit my full-time job,” he says.
In 2019, Moseman left his full-time role and transitioned to running DEVELOP, an engineering company that designs, manufactures, and integrates custom machines, robotics, and industrial products. Originally based in Sauk City, the company is now housed in a 20,000 square foot manufacturing space in Verona and has ten team members.
Moseman describes the company as solving a labor gap.
“On your manufacturing floor, machines can fill a body, quality, or safety gap,” he says. “For our industrial product development, we provide engineering services for companies for whom it doesn’t make sense to develop an internal team. Our products increase efficiencies for engineers and manufacturers.”
Moseman says he has relied on his positive attitude and discipline to start and grow the company.
“Many people like to correlate my mechanical engineering degree or my MBA to my success, but those degrees couldn’t prepare me for the level of unknown or unplanned events, along with the different levels of relationships and the economics of a small business,” he says.
Working with SBDC and Partnerships
Moseman began working with the UW-Madison SBDC in 2019, about six months after dedicating himself to DEVELOP full-time. SBDC director Michelle Somes-Booher is his business consultant, coaching him through operations, financial, and planning questions.
“I’m still learning how to lead a team as we scale,” Moseman says. “This is something I continue to learn as we grow.”
Moseman believes in listening to his team and researching ways to solve pains, or reaching out to advisors to address issues. In addition to the SBDC, Moseman also relies on guidance from MERLIN Mentors. In fact, Moseman says, “Partnerships have been my number one resource.”
That includes relationships with lenders who have bet on the company’s future; customers who act more like partners, growing their businesses in conjunction with DEVELOP, rather than a transactional relationship; and suppliers who have invested in the business.
“In the beginning, we had several large companies provide us with tools and services at reduced rates because they bought into where we are going, and now we are beyond loyal to them,” Moseman says.
“Last, but possibly the most important, is a loyal team of engineers that is invested in making DEVELOP the best automation company in the world,” Moseman adds. “We have built a culture that is driven and collaborative, to grow everyone as a whole.”
Moseman is enthusiastic and optimistic about the company’s future.
“I like creating opportunities and jobs,” Moseman says. “DEVELOP has a very young team, but everyone on our team has the drive to build something bigger than themselves. That’s what we’re doing as a team and why we will continue to create more jobs and opportunities at DEVELOP.”