Troy Startup Spurs 'Brain Gain'

Seattle is nice but there's no place like home. That's the word from Elvis Jakupovic, MatchRX's new Chief Technology Officer, who has returned to Michigan after three years as a systems engineer with Internet giant Amazon.

"I learned a lot at Amazon but there are more opportunities for growth and responsibility with MatchRX," said Jakupovic, 31. "I am so impressed with what the company has done in just a year."

Troy-based MatchRX is a fully automated Web-based marketplace that allows pharmacies across the U.S. to manage their inventory by buying and selling overstocked inventory with one another. The company has attracted more than 800 pharmacies in just its first year. A cost-effective alternative to the reverse distributor, MatchRX won first place in the 2010 Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition's IT Sector.

A native of Bosnia, Jakupovic came to America in 1994 at the age of 15. He graduated from Hamtramck High School and then earned a bachelor's degree in computer science from the University of Michigan.

Moving to Seattle for Amazon was "the chance to learn from the best in the industry," he said, but now Jakupovic is delighted to be able to return to Michigan, where he has settled in Rochester Hills. "I want to spend more time with my family," he said. "Michigan is my home and I'm so happy to be back."