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Interface
Bringing digital media to nonprofits

STEVE RINGMAN / THE SEATTLE TIMES Steve Mack and Halley Bock are the co-founders of LUX Media.

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What: LUX Media, a media and Web-services company

Who: Steve Mack and Halley Bock, co-founders

What it does: Develops media presentations, animations and Web sites for clients, including nonprofits.

Employees: three

A "Real" history: Bock and Mack ran RealNetworks' media lab in the late 1990s and produced "anything that moved or made noise" on the company's Web site, according to Mack. As it became clear that digital media had a big future, both left to start their own businesses.

Joining forces: The two kept in touch and would ask each other for help on Webcasting projects. Eventually, they decided to just form one company. The hardest part was finding a name, Mack said, and it took nine months to decide on "lux," which is Latin for "light."

Big and small: The company focused initially on producing Webcasts and animations but quickly expanded to design and host Web sites. It created a presentation on three computer monitors documenting a dance troupe and developed animations explaining fuel-cell technology for Bothell-based Neah Power Systems.

Working with nonprofits: From the beginning, Mack and Bock set aside time to work with nonprofit groups. "We've always had one foot down in the nonprofit arena just because it really kind of makes it easier to get up in the morning," Mack said.

Taking over a business: That interest led Bock and Mack to buy RealImpact on March 1. They turned the little-known branch of RealNetworks that helps nonprofits into a subsidiary called LUX Media 501, which they plan to launch today at www.luxmedia501.com.

And making money: LUX Media is profitable and has no debt, and Bock and Mack aim to make their new subsidiary profitable as well. That means assuring RealImpact's clients that they'll be happy with the new management. They flew to the East Coast recently to meet with some and got new projects as a result. "These people were so grateful that somebody was going to continue the business," Mack said.
 
Old clients, new work: RealImpact's clients included Amnesty International, the Humane Society of the United States and MoveOn.org. "We want to continue the original mission" of RealImpact, Mack said. "Just grow it into the nonprofit powerhouse it can be."

— Kim Peterson