About Sprung Interactive

On the web since 1995. Sprung since 2010.

Sprung Interactive is a Minneapolis software development studio founded by Clay Johnston in 2010. Clay has been building for the web since 1995, back when the internet made dial-up noises. Since then: websites, web apps, and mobile apps for everyone from Twin Cities small businesses to some very large brands you've heard of.

We stay small on purpose. You work directly with Clay, and every project gets a team built for it, drawn from senior developers and designers he's trusted for years. No account managers, no hand-offs, no game of telephone. It also means we remember your project. Even the weird parts.

The Stone Arch Bridge and Minneapolis skyline at night

What sets us apart

Why clients stick with us for years.

You talk to the developers

The person answering your email is the person writing your code. Questions get answered, not escalated.

We've seen a lot

Three decades on the web and more than 400 projects. Whatever broke on your site, we've probably fixed it before. Twice.

We ship our own apps

ShedSpace, TrackRate, and more. We know what it feels like to launch something and wait for the first user.

We stick around

Launch day isn't goodbye. We host, update, and support what we build for as long as you need us.

Who you'll work with

One founder. The right team for every project.

Clay Johnston

Founder and developer

Clay has been building for the web since 1995, back when the internet made dial-up noises. He spent ten years at Internet Broadcasting leading developers who launched sites for local TV stations nationwide and NBC's Olympics websites. He started Sprung in 2010, and the project count is now past 400, for small businesses, start-ups, and a few brands you'd recognize.

These days, most of his time goes to web apps and mobile apps. Some are for clients: portals, booking systems, and tools that replace the spreadsheet nobody wants to touch. Some are his own. Clay is a bass player, so he builds apps for musicians, like ShedSpace for tracking practice and TrackRate for honest feedback on recordings. Being your own client is a great way to learn what users actually want. It's also a great way to get bug reports at 2 a.m.

He still loves WordPress, still writes clean, well-documented code built to last, and is your main contact on every project, from the first call to launch day and after.

Your project team

Built to fit the job

Every project is different, so every team is too. For each build, Clay brings in senior developers, designers, and specialists from a group he's worked with for years. They know how Sprung works, and they hold the same standards.

A quick WordPress fix might be Clay on his own. A new web app might add a front-end developer and a designer. A bigger platform with integrations, accessibility testing, and a mobile app gets more hands. You only pay for the people your project needs.

However big the team gets, you have one person to call. Clay runs the project, reviews the work, and stays your main contact from kickoff through launch and support.

How we work

Four things we don't compromise on.

Plain talk

No jargon, no mystery invoices. If it's going to cost more or take longer, you hear it from us first.

Built to last

Clean, well-documented code that's easy to maintain and easy to build on, year after year.

Accessible by default

Everyone should be able to use what we build. We test for it from the start, not the week before launch.

Have some fun

Serious work, unserious people. Projects go better when everyone's enjoying them.

The short history

How we got here.

1993
Dial-up days in Phoenix
Clay helps start the second internet provider in Phoenix, Arizona. Modems screech. Nobody has heard of a website yet.
1995
Hello, World Wide Web
Customers start calling about this new thing called the web. Clay builds one of the first web development departments in the country to answer them.
1998
Moving to Minneapolis
Clay trades desert heat for Minnesota winters to start the web development department at MRNet. He'd like to say he hasn't questioned it since.
2001
Ten years at Internet Broadcasting
Clay leads a team of developers building internal tools and launching websites for local TV stations across the country. Along the way, the team builds NBC's Olympics websites for two Olympic Games. No medals, but plenty of all-nighters.
2010
Sprung opens in Minneapolis
Sprung started with one job: give Twin Cities agencies the extra development help they badly needed. Almost right away, we were the behind-the-scenes dev team for half a dozen Minneapolis agencies. Also, one desk and a strong opinion about WordPress.
2024
Apps take center stage
Web and mobile apps become most of what we build, for clients and for ourselves: ShedSpace, TrackRate, Know the Tune, and more. Turns out we like being our own client. Most days.
Today
400+ projects and counting
Same small-shop approach, same motto: we can do anything with enough time and budget. WordPress is still in the family, and the apps keep coming.

Long-term clients

Some clients have been with us longer than their phones.

10+ yrs

Life Time Fitness

Dozens of sites launched, and we still maintain them more than a decade later. That's longer than most gym memberships last.

20+ yrs

A national auto transport broker

For one of the country's largest auto transport brokers, we built the custom website and tools behind thousands of cars shipped across the country and over the ocean.

Where we are

Based in Minneapolis. Working everywhere.

We're proud Twin Cities locals and happy to meet for coffee in Minneapolis or St. Paul. Most of our clients are in Minnesota, but plenty aren't. Video calls work fine, and we promise not to talk about the weather. Much.

Want to work with us?

We take on a handful of new projects each year. Tell us about yours.

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