24 BRAND STORY PRODUCED BY THE OREGON BUSINESS MARKETING DEPARTMENT BY JON BELL When he was a young student at the University of Chicago in the 1990s, Mike Biglan enrolled in two computer science classes. The first one, he crushed. The second one? It crushed him. “I did horribly,” he says. “I never took another one after that.” Yet Biglan, who went on to earn his degree in economics, never lost his affinity for computers. He would read computer science textbooks in his spare time, and eventually, he made his way to the University of California, San Diego, where he earned a master’s in computer science and engineering. Fastforward through about a decade’s worth of tech experience — as a programmer, developer and chief technology officer — and Biglan was ready to head out on his own in 2014. That’s when he founded Twenty Ideas, a digital product agency that develops custom software solutions for companies in health care, education and a range of other markets. “I had really enjoyed what I’d done before that, which was taking ideas and turning them into realities,” says Biglan, who had headed up technology for the widely adopted video sharing startup Marco Polo before launching Twenty Ideas. “I like leading a team that enables origin stories.” Today, Twenty Ideas comprises 60 designers and engineers across four time zones, with headquarters in Eugene and Portland and a team in Thailand headed up by Biglan’s brother. Prospective customers usually come to Twenty Ideas with a challenge or issue in search of a solution, which the company delivers through custom software. Its specialties include artificial intelligence — which it has been utilizing for more than a decade — user experience and user interface design, front- and back-end development and mobile apps. Biglan says the Twenty Ideas team listens to customers, then asks them loads of questions to help identify and define the challenge, the solution and how they’re going to get there. That’s followed by design creation , coding, customization and other steps, from ideation through implementation. “The best technology is invisible, but when it’s not, it can be frustrating,” Biglan From Idea to Reality Twenty Ideas creates custom software solutions to help companies thrive. “We do a good job providing the feel of an ambitious startup and bringing that energy to a larger organization. We come in, create a solution and get you to the finish line.” MIKE BIGLAN
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