Mike Litman
Co-founder
Out of the Box Technology Apps LLC
Mequon
www.outoftheboxtechnology.com
Employees: 8
2013 revenue: $5 million
Variety, and a fair amount of risk, have fueled Michael Litman’s entrepreneurial journey so far, and he has no plans to slow down.
Litman, co-founder of Mequon-based Out of the Box Technology Apps LLC, has owned and operated a money management firm, a real estate company, an IT software development firm focused on video games, a software company focused on mobile application design and a social media company focused on private ecosystems. He is also a professor of computer science at Concordia University Wisconsin, serves on the boards of several companies and competed as a professional eater for a number of years.
“I definitely have a unique personality,” Litman said. “I really enjoy marrying technology with business, and I’m passionate about taking an idea and turning it into a business model.”
Litman likes the process of vetting the ideas and discovering whether or not it’s a viable business and how much it will cost.
“I subscribe to the idea that even the ideas or businesses that fail can teach you a lot,” Litman said. “I’m a dreamer, and I’m not afraid to fail. I can put up with a certain amount of volatility and ride out the ups and downs to see where ideas can go.”
Litman has earned his Ph.D. in computer science.
He recently sold a majority of his Milwaukee-based software development company, AwesomeFat, to Out of the Box to round out the company’s mobile app development team. He’s a working partner in the company and regularly brings in new business while he pursues other ventures.