Behind the Counter: David Cosgrove Los Angeles Web Design Featured on MSN Money, StartupNation

An East Granby web design business was highlighted last month on MSN Money as one of "America's best home businesses" and was also a category winner for StartupNation's annual feature on home-based entrepreneurs.

Simsbury resident David Cosgrove, 42, who opened David Cosgrove Los Angeles Web Design ten years ago, was named 2012's "most slacker-friendly" home business by StartupNation. Every year, StartupNation recognizes 100 entrepreneurs chosen by a panel of judges after nominating their businesses, according to money.msn.com. StartupNation ranked Cosgrove's home business seventh overall.

In a description of Cosgrove's business, StartupNation wrote that Cosgrove works with "corporations, organizations and friends," locally and internationally, including "start-ups," "Fortune 20 companies" and "Emmy Award winning Hollywood celebrities."

In 2012, Cosgrove developed a website for historian and Pulitzer Prize winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin, who wrote New York Times bestselling book Team of Rivals that Steven Spielberg's Lincoln film is based on, according to StartupNation. The website is www.doriskearnsgoodwin.com.

Patch asked Cosgrove to give us the scoop on his web design business and here's what he had to say.

Patch: When did your business open? Is it family-run?

Cosgrove: "David Cosgrove Los Angeles Web Design opened in 2003 and is a one-man shop owned/operated by David Cosgrove."

Patch: What services do you offer at your company?

Cosgrove: "Web design and development, search engine optimization, Internet marketing, E-commerce, mobile website development."

Patch: Why did you decide to open in East Granby and what made you interested in your field?

Cosgrove: "My good friend (and President of the Peter L. Brown Company) Ted Brown made me an offer I couldn't refuse...and the office is only five minutes from the house. I've been designing and developing websites since 1993; I graduated the University of New Haven with a BA in music and sound recording, but the job market was much more receptive to web designers."

Patch: Do you have a business mantra you live by?

Cosgrove: "To quote one of my favorite poets (Willa Cather), 'Where there is the greatest love, there are always miracles.'"

Patch: Can you tell us about your business background?

Cosgrove: "I did freelance web design from 1993 to 1998, then I joined the corporate world for five years. I was very lucky and was able to work with some incredible people, some that I still work with today; and I got to travel internationally on the company dime. After 9/11 everything changed, and then in 2003 I left corporate and opened up my own shop."

Patch: Finish the sentence. When I'm not working I'm...

Cosgrove: "When I'm not working I'm spending time with my family or writing and recording music. I released my third album "Space Toucan (A Neotropical Dream)" in 2012 and I'm working on my next album, which is slated for release in the summer of 2014.  More information and all of my albums/singles are available at http://www.davidcosgrove-music.com."

BUSINESS INFORMATION

Business name: David Cosgrove Los Angeles Web Design
Owner: David Cosgrove
Location: 133R Hartford Ave., East Granby
Phone number: 860-986-9602
Business hours: Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., office hours by appointment only
Website: http://www.davidcosgrove.com
Email: david@davidcosgrove.com

Want your business featured on Behind the Counter? Email Jessie.Sawyer@patch.com.