12:00a.m. 2nd April 2008

After he founded leading software publishing company Typefi at the Innovation Centre at Sippy Downs in 2001, life has come full circle for entrepreneur Steve Huff.

The firm, which is about to move its international headquarters from California to Philadelphia because of tax and financial incentives, plus proximity to the New York market, has gone from strength to strength.

Typefi’s software is now used by the world’s biggest publisher, Random House, Lonely Planet and leading US companies in areas like health care and insurance.

Mr Huff said the business really had no choice but to set up a major presence in the US.

“We might have developed the technology here, but the US represents 45% of the global publishing market and Australia just 2%, so we really had to go there,” he said.

As well as having its own sales people, Typefi has agreements with three companies in the US, one in the UK and one in Australia to re-sell its publishing software.

These days, while Mr Huff is still the company’s second-largest shareholder and a board member, he has little to do with the day-to-day running of the firm.

But after outgrowing the Innovation Centre and relocating its Australian office to Peregian Beach in 2005, Mr Huff has now moved back into the Innovation Centre with a new company he has founded called Sixty Second Parent.

He also has another new venture on the go called Club & Course.

Sixty Second Parent is a new parenting website, which will be launched on July 1. It will provide information and advice on parenting issues and will generate revenue through an online store and from advertising.

Club & Course has purchased the Typefi Publishing System and will use it to produce publications such as newsletters, program guides and annual reports for sporting clubs and other organisations such as RSLs.

Mr Huff said he was excited to be back with more start-up companies at the Innovation Centre.

“I’m good at the creation side of things, bringing the right people together to execute the plan up to a certain point,” he said.

“And the Innovation Centre is a great place to do that.

“We’re using one of the companies in here to do our website and another one, which has outgrown the centre and moved to Coolum, to do our marketing.”

Despite the extraordinary success of Typefi, Mr Huff said he wasn’t planning to move away from the Coast anytime soon.

“Living here has been fantastic. Most people I meet are entrepreneurs ... the Coast seems to attract those sort of people,” he said.

“I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.”