From grad to company head

After developing Web Pyro as a sideline during his junior and senior years at Miami, Brian Boyer will take the company's helm full time, now that he has graduated.

David Lohnes, Boyer's boss during the student's summer internship, is a partner in Web Pyro, providing programming expertise.

When he graduated from Miami this May, Brian Boyer already had a job lined up: as managing partner of his own web development firm. Moving back to his hometown of Wooster, Ohio, Boyer settled in to work full-time for the company, Web Pyro, he founded two years ago.

Boyer’s career path changed as a result of opportunities he saw – and seized – during an internship after his freshman year of college.

“I had originally planned to go to law school, but started taking business classes and got interested in web design,” said the new grad, who majored in management and minored in MIS and political science. “An internship at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center (OARDC) in Wooster got me involved with the web. My boss at the center, David Lohnes, is now my business partner.”

Boyer said that he realized that many small businesses and non-profits were not being well served by their web consultants. He thought he could do a better job.

“A lot of web developers out there charge exorbitant amounts of money but don’t provide very useful systems to their clients,” he explained. “We focus on ease of use, such as a content management system that allows the user to update the content and upload new material very easily, and at minimal cost.”

An application that enables users to change web content from any computer or mobile device has proved popular as well.

“I am finding Web Pyro to be a very practical and useful set of tools for maintaining an active web presence as a state representative in the Ohio House,” said Ron Amstutz (Ohio District 3). “I'm busy much of the time, so being able to quickly log on and post to my site from any browser is valuable. I also like the capability to go "under the hood" and tweak such things as style and direct html.”

Web Pyro offers a related array of services, including design and implementation of web sites, search engine optimization, social media marketing, and pay-per-click advertising. The firm also provides branding services, creating a coherent portfolio that reflects an organization’s identity and mission. Lohnes, who is in charge of information technology for the OARDC, is Web Pyro’s chief programmer. Boyer’s focus is marketing and project management. The young firm contracts out graphic design and some programming work.

Boyer’s accomplishments and aspirations don’t surprise MIS faculty member Jeffrey Merhout.

“He came to Miami ready. He was already technically proficient,” Merhout said. “We just didn’t mess him up. What he did learn from the Farmer School was how to run a business: how to market it, how to keep clients happy, how to deal with legal, tax, and HR issues.”

Boyer has forged a strategic alliance with the Miami chapter of marketing fraternity Pi Sigma Epsilon to help generate business for Web Pyro. The relationship will help him maintain cherished ties with Miami, as will his plan to develop a web site connecting Miami students with Oxford area resources such as housing, dining and shopping. He’s running the social media campaign in Butler County for gubernatorial candidate John Kasich. His search for new clients isn’t limited to the Cleveland area, or even Ohio: Boyer is talking with businesses and organizations as far away as Edmonton, Alberta.

“I take advantage of opportunities, whenever they present themselves,” Boyer said.

Content maintained by External Relations