Business & Tech
Best Friends Forge Career With Long Island-Based Software Business
"Cause of a Kind" focuses on helping companies with web design and software.
![Best friends for 20 years, Long Islanders Justin Abrams (left) and Michael Rispoli run the technology agency Cause of a Kind.](https://patch.com/img/cdn20/users/24966732/20221205/122302/styles/patch_image/public/dsc04725-1440px___05121058331.jpg)
ISLAND PARK, NY — Justin Abrams, an Island Park resident, is CEO of the creative studio, Cause of a Kind.
The technology company builds software for small businesses. Abrams said they partner with businesses of all shapes and sizes to help with their vision.
Abrams is partnered at Cause of a Kind with Michael Rispoli, from East Meadow. They have been friends since rock climbing in Plainview at age 15.
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Being an entrepreneur is in Abrams' blood as far back as when he was a 12-year-old caddy in Cold Spring Harbor.
While the business has been around for seven years, Abrams said it's taken a foothold in the industry.
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"At the end of the day, we're a team of artists and builders," Abrams said. "We all have full, multi-decade careers behind us. Today, it's a competitive marquee agency."
Abrams said there are many ways to work with companies but, "our core competency is truly around software and web creation."
He said the name "Cause of a Kind" came from a need to leave their full-time positions.
"One day we were out right here in Long Beach, and the idea came to us about creating some kind of a platform that would allow for regular people to bid on experiences with not-so-regular people," Abrams said. "We were really looking to partner with any kind of cause."
Their creativity has multi-facets, including television commercials, events and web design.
It was a side hustle for the six years of the Cause of a Kind life. Abrams and Rispoli left their careers last year for the full-time commitment.
"This was a very calculated, very long experience," he said. "There was no haste in making the decision."
Abrams, 34, said there had to be a sustainable position for themselves, other staffers and families.
They have seven employees in the fold and hope to triple the workforce in 2023.
Abrams brings a sales and marketing background to Cause of a Kind, but with a Long Island connection throughout. He was born and raised in Dix Hills, attended SUNY Old Westbury and met his future working partner on a business-to-business sales job in Mineola.
For those cautionary tales about starting a business with a friend, Abrams said "for me, it couldn't be more different."
Despite his title as CEO, "every decision is made between the two of us. We make 'very simply,' non-emotional decisions."
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