App company goes from Michigan closet to worldwide stage

(WJBK) - They call themselves the worlds oldest start-up and, in some sense, that's right. A tech company that started in a Michigan closet is doing business all over the world.

jācapps is more than an app company, even though they've created over 1000 apps. They are worldwide leaders, jumping into apps before most people even knew what they were.

"We were looking at it and were like, wow, maybe we can start creating apps. We had no idea how to do it but we had a great idea so 100 days after the iTunes app store opened we went out and said we're about to go live with apps," says jācapps president, Paul Jacobs. 

And live they went! Since, they've created apps for WRIF, WDET and the City of New Orleans, to name a few.

Like any startup, they've grown a lot since those early days.

"I actually started in what was kind of a storage closet, not as small as that sounds but still all tucked away. Now, fast forward 10 years, yea and this is great. We just completed expanding our space here," says Ben Levy, director of software architecture. 

Their expansion doubled their office size and they hope by 2019 to double their work force from 22 to close to 50.

"We moved over here when we realized we can't all fit in a storage closet; we need more space. Since then we've added more and more people and and we knew, we're gonna need more space," says Kate Coyle-Levy, VP of software development. 

And, despite the sparkle of tech cities like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco, jācapps employees say the Motor City belongs on the same list as them.

"People who live here, who've gone to school here, they know how to use technology. It's all on a continuum, from Henry Ford and the assembly line to what we do here at jācapps. It's all a continuum and Detroit fits in perfectly," says Bob Kernen, Chief Operating Officer. 

Paul wouldn't elaborate on his favorite app, saying that's like picking a favorite child. But, he did shoutout Food Tripping, which like Yelp for healthy eating. He says that one that he cares a lot about.