Kevin Springer, a former Mainer, has been away for some time, but now he’s looking to extend his Web development company, Headspace Design, into what he sees as a burgeoning market here.

Springer’s company formed somewhat from his own troubles marketing his Kittery bar and music club, Norton’s, in the ’90s.

Additional Photos

Headspace Design, owned by a former Maine man, is designing an iPhone application for Perfusion.com, a resource for professionals who operate heart-lung machines during surgeries. Courtesy photo

Now, after a move to Nova Scotia — his wife is Canadian — Springer’s 2-year-old company helps other businesses by developing websites and creating online marketing strategies.

Headspace meets with clients to get a handle on the strategy and brand before Springer’s team of three employees and six contractors develop a plan. Springer’s team will train the client to become self-sufficient, but many choose to keep him on retainer for questions that pop up.

Customers hail from all over North America, though Headspace, based in Halifax, just opened a U.S. office in Kennebunkport six months ago.

“We see big opportunity there — huge,” Springer said. He plans on doubling his revenue this year but wouldn’t give specifics.

While Maine has roughly the same population as Nova Scotia, it has about half as many Web development firms, he said.

Other companies often attempt to jump into large markets like Boston without first establishing a foothold, Springer said, and Maine will help the company do that.

Tourism, especially, is a big market, he said.

Headspace designed a website for Points East Coastal Drive, an area of Prince Edward Island, that is “one-stop shopping” for events, lodging and information, said Glenn Saunders, the site’s webmaster.

“Certainly we are getting more hits,” said Saunders, who is also an innkeeper in the area. He said he is still looking to do more with the site, but it’s much better than the old, cumbersome one, which was developed by a now-bankrupt company that offered no tech support.

“Tourism operators need help,” Springer said.

His partner, Kyle Racki, agrees.

“They hear about (social media) a lot in the media but they don’t really know how to utilize it,” Racki said.

Mobile devices are also a growing market.

“We’ve only scratched the surface,” Racki said.

He thinks smart-phone applications are going to become to companies what websites were in the 1990s — essential and very popular.

The company is currently designing an iPhone application for Perfusion.com, a resource and networking site for perfusionists, professionals who operate heart-lung machines during surgeries.

Bryan Lich, president of the site and a former business partner of Springer’s, said the application will be an extension of the website, providing articles, information and a special function to do calculations needed in surgery for the roughly 3,600 perfusionists in the country.

“They’ve been timely with their development of our application, and it should be a nice addition to our portfolio of services,” Lich said, though he isn’t sure when it will launch.

While 70 percent of business is in Web development and the rest is in online marketing and applications, the company is looking to expand its offerings of Web products for users to add to their e-commerce strategy.

Media Badger, a product Headspace helped design, scours the Web to find out what users are saying about a brand and analyzes Internet activity.

Noetiq, another Headspace product, listens to the Web and media channels and is used in peacekeeping missions by the United Nations.

“Is the user having a good experience and is the user going where you want them to go?” Springer said. 

Staff Writer Stephanie Hardiman can be contacted at 791-6301 or at: shardiman@mainetoday.com

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