Apply Groupon-like marketing strategies to fine art and, voila, you get the highly successful 1xRun. The brainchild of 323 East Gallery and Ohm Creative Group owners Dan Armand and Jesse Cory, this Royal Oak-based company is bringing art (much of it local) to the masses (much of it international).

Capturing the news is one thing. Connecting what's going on with how investors can react to it is something else. Jason Raznick's Benzinga has carved out a successful niche in Metro Detroit's start-up culture and, like his business, the CEO isn't afraid to call things as he sees them.

Moose Scheib is the living embodiment of the American dream. Born in Beirut, raised in Dearborn, the 30-year-old entrepreneur played college football, attended Columbia Law School, and returned to Michigan to start a company and raise a family. Metromode's Jon Zemke sits down with the founder of LoanMod.com to discuss foreclosures, business, and the region's Arab-American community.

Social media, "tweeting" and "friending". These days, it's hard to tell screen time from face time. Meet Jeffrey MacKie-Mason, associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Michigan School of Information. This week, he'll be talking about the knowledge economy opportunities emerging from a unique graduate program that blends information systems with the social sciences.

Anthony Morrow knows just how much Detroit rocks. He's the editor & publisher of Detour --a music, film and culture blog out of Royal Oak--, the creator of both Metro Times' Blowout, and Detour's Rock City music festivals. Anthony has also shot videos for the White Stripes, Von Bondies, and Specs Howard. That enough street cred for you? He'll be writing about what it takes to start an Internet publication, and keep it going.

Candy and Detroit rock n' roll - two great tastes that taste great together! Royal Oak's Bellyache Candy Company is taking the web by storm, pushing Goo Goo Clusters, Pop Rocks and Charleston Chews along with CDs, vinyl LPs and 7-inch singles from bands like  The Amino Acids, The Hentchman, and Gore Gore Girls. Can you say, "Yummy"?

For eight years Royal Oak's IBC has been a stealth company, pulling in customers and profits with its old school ideas about servicing clients. Now the e-commerce and credit card processing firm is ready to step into the sunlight and school other companies about the power of topnotch customer service.

The virtual world is their oyster. Royal Oak's RTT, USA has turned its virtual prototyping technology into a must-use strategy for companies developing new products. It can then use that same technology to virtually market the product to an endless Internet audience. Cool.