​Scott Resnick and Jon Hardin

The Authors of Apps

When Scott Resnick BA2009 and Jon Hardin BS2008 were undergrads, they weren’t busy downloading the latest apps on their smartphones and computers. They were developing them.

While living in Chadbourne Hall, Hardin and Resnick, along with several other students, founded InZum. This online video streaming software business won a $2,500 prize during the 2007 Steven Burrill Technology Business Plan Competition, hosted by the Wisconsin School of Business.

Despite the prize, the business didn’t survive. But Hardin and Resnick soon reunited when Hardin founded Hardin Design and Development. As president of the company, Hardin oversees the development of hundreds of web, iPhone, and Android applications tailored for businesses. And in his role as vice president, Resnick focuses on new business development, account management, and portfolio investments.

Together they’ve built the company into an industry leader in mobile applications and software development, and they’ve won numerous awards, including top honors at the cutting-edge Consumer Electronics Show. Their work has even appeared in Apple Computer’s popular iPad commercials.

The two were 2012 winners of the Wisconsin Alumni Association’s Forward under 40 award, which honors young alumni for significant achievement.

With clients such as Mercedes-Benz, Disney, CNN, IBM, AT&T, FedEx, and Sony, it might be reasonable to assume that would set up shop in Silicon Valley. But they opted to stay in Madison, although their success has recently led them to open satellite offices in Chicago and Dallas.

Hardin and Resnick often hire UW alumni and give Badger students valuable internship opportunities. The pair also helped found Capital Entrepreneurs, an organization dedicated to sparking new business development in Madison. Hardin serves as the chief technology officer of the Fischer Company, a commercial real estate agency in Dallas. And Resnick was named the first executive director of StartingBlock Madison, a 50,000-square-foot entrepreneurial hub in partnership with the university, and he served two terms on the Madison Common Council.

So when it comes to expanding their professional and community impact, these two clearly have an app for that.