Michael Rogers, Vice President Communications for the Small Business Association of Michigan, talks with Derek Sommer, owner of Spud Software (a Michigan 50 Companies to Watch). Derek Sommer started Spud Software in 1997, providing simple, customized software solutions. Before long, Derek and his small team caught the attention of the likes of General Motors and MSX International.

To date, the Spud team has worked with more than 200 clients ranging from small, local start-up businesses to Fortune 500 companies. They specialize in programming, database and software development. Their software is used in all 50 states and has been written in Spanish, French, German, Italian and Japanese.