Downtown Now: A Mission of Innovation

Smart businesses understand the importance of being mobile when it comes to having an online presence or content delivery. A casual look at people on the sidewalk staring into their phones supports the data that reveals how people consume content.

At Robots & Pencils, a digital innovation agency started by Michael Sikorsky, the creation of useful, engaging, delightful and future-proof mobile user experiences is just one of the things it does. When the iPhone was introduced in 2007, Sikorsky saw the potential for innovation and started Robots & Pencils in 2008 with his first office in Calgary. Since then, the agency has expanded internationally, with additional offices in New York, London, Austin, Denver, Pittsburgh, San Francisco and, yes, Downtown Cleveland.

“Cleveland was strategic,” Sikorsky says. When the Beachwood web design firm Brulant Inc. sold to Rosetta Marketing Strategies, acquired by Publicis Groupe in 2011, Sikorsky saw a talent market that was ripe for the Robots & Pencils model.

Robots & Pencils views talent as Ferraris. As a company with a mission of innovation, it wants to design the organization to be the best race track its ever been on. “In the classic, corporate architecture, you have the Ferraris, but the race tracks are boring or full of toll gates. And you can’t ever get out of first gear,” he notes. 

The company is in it for the long haul, trying to build a heritage business powered by talent that wants to stick around. Another attraction to the Cleveland talent pool for Sikorsky was the resilience and long-haul mentality found here. “For us, it was a very strong cultural match,” he says. The company wants to grow, but they want to grow and curate wisely.
Since January 2017, Robots & Pencils has made 30 new hires and built a waiting list of another 20 for its Cleveland office. 

When Sikorsky, who lives primarily in California, is asked about what he loves and what could be better about Downtown Cleveland, it is all love. “There’s a beautiful energy here and I love the direction it’s going in.” 

Robots & Pencils will soon open an office space on Superior Avenue in
Downtown Cleveland. 

robotsandpencils.com