Innovation & Job News

Wisdom Consulting charts biz plan on idea mapping

Metromode Thursday, November 18, 2010

Lisa Harvey Roach used to work for a big automotive supplier, teaching project management and helping things run smoothly. That is until she was told her services would soon no longer be needed, even after 20 years.

"They told us we had two years to find another job or we would lose our jobs," Roach says.

The Farmington Hills resident made a decision at that point in 2008. She decided to start her own company, Wisdom Consulting, and base it around her expertise in idea mapping. She teaches time and project management in a way that is different than the normal linear learning process. Think of it as organizing and problem solving in a manner similar to how one would brainstorm. "Not everyone learns the same way," Roach says.

That knowledge turned into a consultancy and education firm. She regularly teaches seminars on project management and helps businesses in need of that sort of help. She is also looking to expand into the education community by instructing teachers about idea mapping as part of their in-service training.

Source: Lisa Harvey Roach, business consultant and educator for Wisdom Consulting
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Auto engineer's hobby morphs into job-creating business

Metromode Thursday, November 11, 2010

Kevin VanDette's new career started as a hobby earlier this decade. The automotive engineer liked to build websites and started doing it for his son's sports teams and his band. The demand for his services began peaking about the same time the automotive engineering field started faltering, allowing him to start Affordable Website Specialists.

"I kept getting more and more requests," says VanDette. "I thought I might as well make it a business."

That was four yeas ago. Today the Rochester-based firm employs three people, an intern, and an independent contractor after adding another position this year. The company's consistent growth, doubling in size each year, has occurred despite the trials and tribulations of the local economy and automotive firms.

"We're on a pretty steady growth pattern even in a bad economy," VanDette says.

Most of Affordable Website Specialists' clients come from referrals and are local small- to medium-sized businesses. The company's roots are in website building but it has spread to search engine optimization. VanDetter expects his business to double its revenue next year and hopes to add 1-2 more positions as well.

Source: Kevin VanDette, owner of Affordable Website Specialists
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The Benefits Edge decodes employee perks

Metromode Thursday, November 11, 2010

Jan B. Sherman faced a decision about a dozen years ago. The Farmington Hills resident had been climbing the corporate ladder for 17 years, making vice president of national marketing. The job made him a jetsetter but it also took precious time from his young family. He left it all for the flexibility of starting The Benefits Edge.

"I never miss a dance recital or a sporting event," Sherman says. "I am happy about that."

The Benefits Edge helps people decipher the contents of their benefits package, with a focus on health insurance. Sherman, the company's only employee, also advises clients on life and disability insurance. The business has been growing an average of 10 percent a year, almost entirely from referrals.

"The phone keeps ringing when you treat people right and give them sincere, good advice that helps them solve their problems," Sherman says.

Leaving the safe corporate job for the uncertainty of being your own boss isn't the easiest decision, especially with a young family depending on you. But the decision became an easy one for Sherman when a friend told him that everyone is self-employed. They either have one customer (an employer) or a number of customers (from a business). It was a piece of advice that set Sherman free and let him see his kids whenever he wanted.

Source: Jan B. Sherman, owner of The Benefits Edge
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

MSU grad's PT college biz becomes successful FT job

Metromode Thursday, November 11, 2010

Kurt Hines started HLC Technology Solutions while getting his business degree at Michigan State University. He has since turned it into his full-time job, helping small businesses choose the best technology options.

"I always loved technology," Hines says. "I always felt it could make life simpler. I try to give everyone a little bit more time back in their day."

The Plymouth-based company switched its strategy over the last few years as it adapted to a challenging economic climate. It went from a small firm with a couple of big clients to a growing company with an expanding client list of small businesses. So far his revenue is up 50 percent, and in 2011 Hines hopes to make his first hires in the 9-year-old company's history.

"My small businesses are the ones that kept growing," Hines says.

Source: Kurt Hines, president of HLC Technology Solutions
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Accelerate MI Innovation Competition attracts 570 entries, exceeds expectations

Metromode Thursday, November 04, 2010

The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is firing on all cylinders now, exceeding organizers' expectation for the number of applicants and their geographic diversity.

The $1 million business plan competition brought in 570 applications from across the U.S. and from around the world. The applications were evenly split between established, growing startups and college students pitching a business concept.

About 90 percent of the applications came from Michigan-based businesses and a little more than 10 percent of the applicants came from those age 55 or older. The most popular sectors were products and services, IT, and life sciences, but the contest received business ideas from all walks of life.

"It touched on all the sectors," says Michael Finney, president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, the lead organization behind the competition. "We're very pleased with that. We think it's going to be a very good competition."

The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is offering $1 million in prizes to start-ups in Michigan or planning to move to Michigan. The idea is to showcase the state's entrepreneurial ecosystem to a large audience of investors in town for the Big Chill hockey game at Michigan Stadium on Dec. 11. There will also be a Student Idea Competition with $50,000 in prizes. Students must submit a one-page business plan, a three-minute video pitch, and formulate a 15-minute live pitch.

The competition is being run by the Business Accelerator Network, which is composed of southeast Michigan's major business accelerator agencies. Judges will start narrowing down the list of entrants to 45 company semifinalists and 25 student semifinalists by Tuesday. The Top 10 companies and students will be selected just before the event in December.

Source: Michael Finney, president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Urobiologics guides parents in choice of baby gender while creating jobs

Metromode Thursday, November 04, 2010

Some decry choosing a child's gender as playing God, but would that argument still hold up if the parents did so naturally? Religion politics aside, a startup is offering these services to new parents in its own version of natural family planning.

Urobiologics is the brainchild of Kuldeep Verma, who has a PhD in biochemistry and biotechnology from Punjab Agricultural University. The 11-year-old Livonia-based company, of which Verma is the sole employee, offers consulting services to let potential parents know which menstrual cycle is most likely to produce a child of one sex or the other during conception. No hormones. No injections. Just good timing.

"We're advising them to conceive at the right time if someone wants to plan for something," says Verma.

However, he is developing a unique lateral flow test strip for use before pregnancy. The strip will guide couples as to the best cycle for conceiving a baby of the desired gender. It well also help them to identify the gender of the baby during the pregnancy.

Verma recently presented Urobiologics' technology at the MichBio Expo and Conference in Ann Arbor last week. He expects it will spur Urobiologics on a big growth streak in 2011 that should allow it to hire "at least 15 people."

"We have a cool technology," Verma says.

Source: Kuldeep Verma, owner of Urobiologics
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

hiredMYway employs a web dating-service model for job hunters and employers

Metromode Thursday, November 04, 2010

When we last checked in with hiredMYway, the downtown Birmingham-based startup was just getting its feet underneath itself by preparing to hold its first job fair. A few months later the company has locked down an outside investor, held a couple of job fairs, and is launching its website this week.

"It's really growing quick," says Matt Mosher, CEO and co-founder of hiredMYway. So is its staff. It went from half a dozen this summer to nine employees, five independent contractors, and two interns today. It's also looking to hire a sales associate and plans to add a handful of new hires over the next year.

The website for hiredMYway features technology that uses a dating-service model on the Web to help people find jobs. It basically pairs employers and job seekers with matching needs and skills in the same way a dating service would. The company also plans to hold a job fair today to accompany the launch of the new site.

Its job expos have helped put 300 Michigan residents back to work, and similar results are expected over the next year. Mosher expects the website to attract 10,000 new people per month looking for work.

Source: Matt Mosher, CEO and co-founder of hiredMYway
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ring Ring expands telecom products, plans to hire

Metromode Thursday, November 04, 2010

In 2005, Aaron Beals decided to start chasing the American Dream of owning his own business with his startup, Ring Ring. The idea of being responsible for his own destiny by following through on his vision was appealing.

That vision is a telecom startup based in West Bloomfield that sells local vanity phone numbers. The firm, which has a team of about 10 people, is now moving into the business of helping people with toll-free numbers contain costs. After five years of chasing down new business like that, Beals is ready to reverse the flow.

"The goal is to make the companies come to us instead of going to find the companies," says Beals, president of Ring Ring.

To accomplish that, Beal plans to make himself and his team more available at networking events and social media outlets, as well as traditional building on the company's reputation. He hopes these efforts will allow the firm to expand its client base by 25 percent over the next year, and even add a few more people to its team.

Source: Aaron Beals, president of Ring Ring
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Outside Hub plans to hire 6-10 in next year

metromode Thursday, October 28, 2010

It should come as no surprise that the people at Outside Hub Media are big fans of the outdoors. So much so that the leadership team asked if we could do the interview for this story a few days later so they could finish a bow-hunting trip. But don't be too shocked that the members of the growing startup's staff are all big fans of hunting, fishing, camping, and the like.

"It's not a prerequisite to work here," says Stephen Dooley, president of Outside Hub Media. "We just attract like-minded souls. We believe in what we're doing."

The Southfield-based company started out as a broker specializing in Internet advertising for outdoors-related sites, mainly selling banner ads. Four years later it has grown into a full-service media company, offering marketing and media services of all shapes and sizes for websites and brands associated with the outdoors.

"It is an underserved market with a large demand," says David Farbman, CEO of Outside Hub Media.

So much so that the company has grown from an initial staff of three to 22 employees and about eight independent contractors and interns today. It has hired half a dozen people over the last six months and expects to hire another 6-10 over the next year.

Source: David Farbman, CEO of Outside Hub Media and Stephen Dooley, president of Outside Hub Media
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

IPS Technology Services plans for healthcare IT growth

Metromode Thursday, October 21, 2010

Pradip Sengupta had climbed to the heights of the corporate world, attaining the title of chief information officer. But he needed something more, so seven years ago he started his own company, IPS Technology Services, in his spare time.

"I wanted to do something special," Sengupta says.

Today the Troy-based IT company employs a handful of people, normally fewer than 10, depending on the project it's tackling. Sengupta made IPS Technology Services his full-time job almost three years ago when the side projects began demanding his full attention. He hopes to expand his staff to 10 employees in 2011.

"This year is much better," Sengupta says. "I have a goal of being a $2 million company by 2015."

IPS Technology Services provides end-to-end IT services for small businesses. Sengupta expects most of his growth in 2011 to come from healthcare IT service demands. He sees the digitizing of doctors' and dentists' offices requiring more robust networks to handle the increased workload. To him that will mean a lot of opportunity for his IPS Technology Services, at least enough to demand all of his time and that of many others.

Source: Pradip Sengupta, founder of IPS Technology Services
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

U-M Dearborn names Livonia, Wixom top biz cities

Metromode Thursday, October 21, 2010

University of Michigan-Dearborn's Center for Innovation Research, commonly known as iLabs, has named Livonia and Wixom as two of the seven top-performing communities at fostering entrepreneurial growth and economic development in its eCities 2010 study.

These top performers were recognized for their ability to communicate with businesses and capitalize on that ability to listen with their entrepreneurial programs. For instance, 94 percent of the businesses surveyed by iLabs said they wanted to be contacted by their local government. However, local officials have not reached out to a third of them.

"We approached it as the cities as businesses and the businesses as their customers," says Tim Davis, director of iLabs. "That left a lot of cities scratching their heads."

That wasn't the case with Livonia and Wixom. The two suburbs both had business programs that focused on communications. Livonia's Business Ambassador program leveraged the city's mid-sized firms to find smaller companies and reach out to them so it could create a more hospitable entrepreneurial ecosystem. Wixom created an online networking hub that created a number of synergies and lines of communications between both businesses and the local government.

The eCities research surveyed more than 100 communities in the state of Michigan that are home to 128,242 entrepreneurs earning $3.4 billion in annual income. These communities also had commercial development projects valued at $1.2 billion last year and account for nearly half the state's commercial property.

Source: Tim Davis, director of iLabs
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Your People PR firm makes first hires

Metromode Thursday, October 14, 2010

Your People is taking on some of its own in Southfield these days. The public relations firm has recently made a couple of hires after adding clients to its growing roster.

Today the 3-year-old company has a staff of six, including independent contractors and the occasional summer intern. It plans to have six full-timers by late next year; however, Lynne Schreiber, Your People's founder, plans to keep her company more on the boutique side.

"We want to maintain the relationship focus," Schreiber says. "I want to have a hand in every project."

Your People has added seven new clients this fall, ranging from Global Consulting to Lynn Medow's Yoga By Design to M.L. Liebler's Working Words. She started the company the three years ago after working as a journalist for 15 years in Washington, D.C., New York, and most recently as a freelancer for The Detroit News.

Source: Lynne Schreiber, founder of Your People
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Mortgage start-up Hall Financial opens in Birmingham, makes 14 hires

Metromode Tuesday, October 05, 2010

David Hall, the name and voice that once graced the marketing materials of Quicken Loans, is now the brains behind Metro Detroit's newest mortgage company -- Hall Financial.

The Birmingham-based company is in its first year and has grown to a staff of 14 employees, three independent contractors, and a few interns. Hall points out that growth is organic and he expects it to continue as he focuses on creating commerce, jobs, and a successful business.

"We're hoping to have 20 employees by the end of the year," says Hall, president of Hall Financial. "We think we're going to make it."

The company specializes in residential home mortgages, but hopes to grow its product offerings as it expands. Hall would also like to become more involved with the local philanthropic community as Hall Financial establishes itself over the next year. He may even be open to doing a commercial or two in the not-too-distant future.

"Maybe in the future," Hall says.

Source: David Hall, president of Hall Financial
Writer: Jon Zemke

Auto engineers go solar with Applied Energy Technology

Metromode Thursday, September 23, 2010

Automotive worker refugees have found a new home in alternative energy with their start-up, Applied Energy Technology.

The 1-year-old business based in Clinton Township got its start when the automotive world took a dive recently. A small group of friends who did everything from engineering to manufacturing decided to put their skills to work creating rack systems for solar panels.

"It made a lot of sense to us," says Craig Winn, president & CEO of Applied Energy Technology. "We know automotive product development and energy."

Today the company employs 12 designers of solar rack systems and another 10 people at a manufacturing plant. It also has a couple of independent contractors and summer interns. It expects to double its staff within the next year on the expectation that the solar industry will continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

"We survived the crisis," Winn says. "Now is the time when the people who will prosper in the next economy start doing things."

Source: Craig Winn, president & CEO of Applied Energy Technology
Writer: Jon Zemke

University Research Corridor, Business Leaders for MI form strategic alliance

Metromode Thursday, September 23, 2010

The University Research Corridor, a partnership between the state's three research universities, has formed an alliance with the Business Leaders for Michigan called Accelerate Michigan to help push forward economic development in Michigan.

The new partnership will connect the top minds and innovations from the cream of the crop of Michigan's universities with the biggest corporations in the state. The idea is to use those synergies to make Michigan a Top 10 state for economic growth.

"This is one of the keys to successfully transforming and strengthening our economy," says Jeff Mason, executive director of the University Research Corridor.

Accelerate Michigan was developed over the past year based on benchmarking industry-university partnerships in other states, conducted by McKinsey & Company, and identifying the most critical factors that have driven innovation-based growth in places like Silicon Valley, Massachusetts' Route 128, and North Carolina's Research Triangle.

Mason says more similar partnerships could develop in the future, but for now local leaders will focus on Accelerate Michigan. "We're always open to looking at strategic alliances and partnerships," Mason says. "This is one of the most important things for us right now."

Source: Jeff Mason, executive director of the University Research Corridor
Writer: Jon Zemke

Entrepreneurship : Innovation & Job News