Innovation & Job News

Accelerate Michigan expands with $50K Student Idea Competition

Metromode Thursday, September 23, 2010

Local leaders are expecting a sizable turnout of studentpreneurs at the Accelerate Michigan Student Idea Competition, an offshoot of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, to vie for $50,000 in prizes.

A number of local universities are encouraging their students to participate, including Southfield-based Lawrence Technological University. School officials are working with local student groups, such as Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization, its leadership curriculum and faculty.

"This is something that is very important to the university," says Pavan Muzumdar, Entrepreneur in Residence at Lawrence Tech. "We're advertising it in all of our channels."

The Accelerate Michigan Student Idea Competition offers three prizes totaling $50,000. Any college student attending school in the state is eligible. Participants must submit a one-page business plan, a three-minute video pitch, and formulate a 15-minute live pitch.

The deadline for applications is October 22. For information, click here.

The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is offering over $1 million in prizes and in-kind awards 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.

Source: Pavan Muzumdar, Entrepreneur in Residence at Lawrence Technological University and Katie Hayes, entrepreneurship and leadership coordinator at Lawrence Technological University
Writer: Jon Zemke

zferral launches out of N Woodward Tech Incubator

Metromode Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Troy's zferral is Metro Detroit, international, and virtual-based, all at the same time. The North Woodward Tech Incubator-housed start-up has founders and programmers here and in Poland who constantly work over Skype to build their new business.

"We're definitely growing," says Jeff Epstein, co-founder of zferral. "I expect to add some staff here in Michigan soon."

zferral allows entrepreneurs to scale their business by crowd-sourcing sales and marketing. The technology allows them to create and manage their custom affiliate and referral programs from a single dashboard. The company launched earlier this summer and has attracted close to 300 customers.

Epstein started working on another online advertising project at the North Woodward Tech Incubator earlier this year. That venture went in one direction, and he went in another.

"I decided to focus on this full-time and it has really paid off," Epstein says.

Source: Jeff Epstein, co-founder of zferral
Writer: Jon Zemke

HESCO Sustainable Energy harnesses energy from sludge

Metromode Thursday, September 16, 2010

HESCO Sustainable Energy isn't a head-turning, flashy, glamorous start-up. However, the Warren-based company has a lot of potential to cut out a huge chunk of energy costs for sewage treatment plants by harnessing the power of the sludge it's trying to clean.

The 4-year-old company recently received a patent for its technology that harnesses the energy produced by organic sludge in wastewater and food processing plants. That energy is then rerouted into the plant, accounting for anywhere from 50-70 percent of its energy needs. "It really depends on the scale of the facility," says Kevin Livingston, president of HESCO Sustainable Energy.

Livingston and his partner Glenn Hummel have both worked in the waste industry since college. In that time they developed the system that harnesses the energy from turning Class A solids into pathogen-free material.

"We came up with an innovative way to solve a problem in our industry," Livingston says. "We got excited about it."

For good reason. HESCO Sustainable Energy made its first hire earlier this summer and expects to add 5-10 more within three years; it projects 100 employees within 15 years. The company has tested its technology at a sewage plant in Delhi Township and expect to open a second system in Grandville by the end of the month.

Source: Kevin Livingston, president of HESCO Sustainable Energy
Writer: Jon Zemke

InvestMichigan! VC fund pumps $96 million into Michigan companies

Metromode Thursday, September 16, 2010

The InvestMichigan! Growth Capital Fund is putting up some impressive numbers these days. It has invested $95.78 million in 20 Michigan-based companies which employ 2,800 people.

That list of companies reads like a who's who of promising start-ups, including Ann Arbor-based Accuri Cytometers, Salon Grafix of Auburn Hills, and InTouch Health. That last company is moving from California to Michigan, thanks in part to that investment.

"It's evidence that there is a vibrant, emerging economy taking shape," says Charlie Rothstein, founder and senior managing director of Beringea. The Farmington Hills-based venture capital firm, the largest in Michigan, is co-managing the InvestMichigan! Growth Capital Fund with Credit Suisse's Customized Fund Investment Group.

The fund is made up of institutional investors such as the State of Michigan Retirement Systems and Municipal Employees Retirement System of Michigan. The fund invests in early stage and mature companies that are either headquartered in or moving to Michigan, or have a significant workforce in the state.

So far about 46 million, or 40 percent, of the total program capital has been allocated or reserved. The fund has proven to be quite popular with local start-ups, having received applications for 846 potential investments since the fund's inception.

Source: Charlie Rothstein, founder and senior managing director of Beringea
Writer: Jon Zemke

Safford & Baker law firm caters to Metro Detroit's start-ups

Metromode Thursday, September 16, 2010

Attorneys Ralph Safford and Donald Baker had hit the top of their profession in the late 1990s, making partner in prominent local law firms and aspiring to serve Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial economy. Problem was, their firms didn't share that sentiment; accordingly the pair decided to break out and start Safford & Baker, a law firm geared towards entrepreneurs.

The Bloomfield Hills-based practice got its start in 2000 and has since grown to four employees. It serves start-ups and entrepreneurs almost exclusively, representing and consulting with dozens of them across southeast Michigan. The firm has been able to carve a niche by molding its practice to suit client needs.

"The traditional law firm isn't built to serve entrepreneurs," says Matt Bower, an attorney with Safford & Baker. "Typical legal bills are too high for start-ups that want to stay lean and watch their capital."

Safford & Baker accommodates by keeping overhead low and offering reasonable quotes. It offers flat fees so new companies will be certain on costs. Plus, the three lawyers love the positive aspects of the practice and can avoid the drudgery of bankruptcy law or litigation.

"It's just fun to watch entrepreneurs get something started and to be a part of that," Bower says.

Source: Matt Bower, an attorney with Safford & Baker
Writer: Jon Zemke

Livonia's Talan SBS turns small-biz consulting into new jobs

Metromode Thursday, September 16, 2010

Josh Holowicki and Todd Luthanen have been businessmen for years, but it took a while to decide which market to serve. That is until last year, when the two decided to go into the business of helping small businesses.

"We have always been passionate about small business," says Holowicki, director of business development for Talan SBS.

The Livonia-based consultancy is on target to reach $350,000 in revenue this year and $500,000 next year. It now has a staff of two employees, six independent contractors, and one intern. It expects to add another 6-8 independent contractors over the next year as it grows its customer base from three full-time clients and a smattering of projects.

Holowicki and Luthanen, both serial entrepreneurs, believe a business is a business at its core. They are there to make sure that purpose stays on track.

"We're not teaching dentists to be good dentists," Holowicki says. "We teach dentists how to run a good business."

Source: Josh Holowicki, director of business development for Talan SBS
Writer: Jon Zemke

Renaissance Venture Capital Fund raises $50M

metromode Thursday, September 09, 2010

The venture capital fund of all funds in Michigan is now fully operational, and it has ties all over Metro Detroit.

The Renaissance Venture Capital Fund closed a $50 million investment vehicle earlier this week from a number of local business institutions. The downtown Ann Arbor-based firm, which also has an office in downtown Detroit, plans to invest that money in both local venture capital firms and out-of-state venture capital firms with the intent to invest in local companies.

"It's probably going to invest exclusively in other venture capital funds," says Chris Rizik, CEO of the Renaissance Venture Capital Fund and a Northville resident. "We feel we will have more leverage that way."

The fund of funds has already invested almost $6 million (for a total commitment of $20 million) in half-a-dozen venture capital firms. Those firms in turn have invested more than $23 million into 12 Michigan companies, creating about 200 new jobs. Those companies have leveraged that investment to receive over $146 million in further venture funding. Renaissance Venture Capital Fund expects its money will touch 100-150 companies, creating hundreds of new jobs rooted in the new economy. It has already disbursed its first profits to investors.

The fortunate six venture capital firms include Ann Arbor's Arboretum Ventures and RPM Ventures, along with Kalamazoo-based T-Gap Ventures. Out-of-state firms receiving an allocation include San Francisco-based 5AM Ventures, Houston's DFJ Mercury Ventures, Illinois-based MK Capital, and Florida's Arsenal Ventures. The last two are opening Michigan offices following Renaissance Venture Capital Fund's investment.

The Renaissance Venture Capital Fund was put together by the Business Leaders For Michigan and is funded by the likes of DTE Energy, AAA, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, and Huntington Bank. Most other funds of funds are supported with public money. Michigan's private model makes it an industry leader and example of how Michigan is breaking new economic ground when it comes to reinventing its economy.

"That isn't happening anywhere else in the country," Rizik says.

He expects his 3-person firm, which is looking at adding interns next summer, to finish disbursing the money over the next year or two. Fundraising for the next investment vehicle, which might also make investments directly into companies, will begin in 2012.

Source: Chris Rizik, CEO of Renaissance Venture Capital Fund
Writer: Jon Zemke

NextWave incubator welcomes start-ups

metromode Thursday, September 09, 2010

The start-ups are coming soon to the NextWave incubator in Troy. And they're bringing more than a little creativity to the suburban business-class suburb.

The exterior of the small business incubator at 950 Stephenson Highway looks like your typical suburban office building, measuring three stories in height with a big corporate logo on the side (DuPont is on the third floor). The interior is shaping up to be something much different. Office walls are coming down and bright, vibrant colors are going up on whatever walls are left. Stale cubicles are leaving, making room for office furniture that looks like it was taken directly out of a cutting edge, new economy firm in Ann Arbor or Royal Oak.

"We want to create a culture here," says Jeff Sloan, director of early stage portfolio at NextWave. "This isn't just a place to work. This is a place to be successful. We believe that creative space fosters creative thinking."

Creative is the right word for what Sloan, of StartupNation fame, and his partners are doing at NextWave. They are turning old offices into white-wall rooms where teams can lock themselves in and brainstorm in dry erase marker wherever they want. A small auditorium is being turned into a media center so companies on the verge of making an announcement can invite TV crews for press conferences or one-on-one interviews and broadcast directly from the building, hassle free.

NextWave controls two floors of the 80,000-square-foot building. It will host first-stage start-ups just getting on their feet and second-stage firms looking to take the next big step. All of these firms will have access to business mentoring, coaching, networking, and investment resources in exchange for a stake in their firm or technology.

So far, seven first-stage companies and five second-stage firms have signed on, with some already moved in. Sloan hopes to finish building out the space by this fall and be at capacity (30 companies) by the end of the year. The incubator is focusing on firms based in the new economy but is open to all ideas.

"We tried to keep it high-tech but we have seen some great consumer companies that we're going to invite in," Sloan says.

Source: Jeff Sloan, director of early stage portfolio at NextWave
Writer: Jon Zemke

Quantitative Capital Group develops stock trading software

metromode Thursday, September 09, 2010

Matt Dahn and Tony Castiglione are two guys who like to play the stock market. They're also two guys who are using their considerable skill creating a start-up, Quantitative Capital Group, that is rooted in stock trading.

The two friends have been working on a new piece of software that takes the highs and lows out of the stock market. They're calling it a quantitative trading system, and they believe it will provide a smoother mental ride to trading on the stock market.

"We have been in different trading floors with different trading teams and we saw a need for technology that takes the emotion out of trading," Dahn says.

The duo have just started putting this together at the NextWave small business incubator in Troy earlier this summer. They expect to add a few programmers this fall and finish a prototype within 60 days. They expect to continue growing their start-up within the newly established incubator over the next year.

"NextWave came along at the right time," Castiglione says. "It's a really good fit."

Source: Matt Dahn and Tony Castiglione, co-founders of Quantitative Capital Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

U.S. Dept of Commerce backs Statewide Entrepreneurial Support System project

Metromode Thursday, September 02, 2010

This is Detroit. We make things here. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke blew through the metro area Wednesday to help drive home that point, explaining that this means everything from traditional exports to job creating start-ups.

The U.S. Dept. of Commerce will open a CommerceConnect office in Pontiac, which will serve as a clearing house for businesses looking for resources to grow. Federal officials will work with state and local stakeholders to organize, coordinate, and facilitate these resources for local businesses.

"What CommerceConnect is all about is providing a one-stop shop for small business owners," Locke told a gathering of business owners at Automation Alley. Representatives from that office will not only work to direct businesses toward those resources, such as where to find seed capital or customers, but also serve as an advocate for those businesses. "I am confident we are moving in the right direction, but there will be a learning curve," Locke said.

Locke also announced that the U.S. Dept of Commerce will partner with the Michigan-based non-profit The MORE Program to develop the Statewide Entrepreneurial Support System. That initiative, headed up by downtown Detroit-based Digerati, will catalog and make available resources of all shapes, sizes, and sources that could help entrepreneurs. Think everything from Ann Arbor SPARK programs to local grassroots business meet ups, such as the Soup meetings in southwest Detroit. The idea is to create a Google-like system that connects entrepreneurs to what they need with minimum hassle.

Locke also drove home the point that the Obama Administration plans to capitalize on its goal of doubling U.S. exports within five years and Michigan, which is the fifth largest state when it comes to export-related jobs, will play a key part in making that happen. For Metro Detroit, that could mean everything from alternative energy manufacturing to building lithium ion batteries for the next generation of electric automobiles. A conference room full of local manufacturers at Automation Alley applauded the goal.

"You can sense the hum and activity of all of the work that is done here at Automation Alley," Locke said.

Source: Gary Locke, secretary of the U.S. Dept of Commerce
Writer: Jon Zemke

First Tech Direct expands into Grand Rapids, Chicago

Metromode Thursday, September 02, 2010

Nearly a decade ago, John Silvani took an old company apart and rebuilt it into a growing new economy firm that's hiring in Royal Oak.

Along with five employees from his former firm, Silvani started First Tech Direct. Today it has 39 employees, 12 independent contractors, and an intern after making nine hires over the last year. Five more openings are expected by the end of the year.

"We just have a lot of demand from our clients right now," says Silvani, president and CEO of First Tech Direct.

First Tech Direct helps business streamline their operations by providing software from the likes of Microsoft Dynamics Academic Alliance. It has grown continuously since its founding. With revenue up 25 percent over the last year alone, the company has landed a place on the Inc. 5000 list.

The software firm has a varied client roster ranging from the Detroit Lions to Motor City Casino to a number of auto suppliers. This diversity has led to an office opening in Grand Rapids, plus a new Chicago location is in the works.

"The company has done a fantastic job," Silvani says. "We're doing great."

Source: John Silvani, president and CEO of First Tech Direct
Writer: Jon Zemke

Troy's Dynamic Advisory Solutions opens Ann Arbor office

Metromode Thursday, September 02, 2010

Want a sign that Metro Detroit's entrepreneurial ecosystem is on the rise? Take a look at Dynamic Advisory Solutions.

The Troy-based financial firm credits its growth to helping small- and medium-sized businesses make smart financial decisions -- the kind that let their money work them. The company has actually seen its business go up in the recent economic downturn by providing the advice that helps these businesses keep their financial house standing.

"We help companies ride through chaos in a crazy environment," says Ren Carlton, president and CEO of Dynamic Advisory Solutions. "We help them ride through the tough times."

Which now equals good times for the 10-year-old firm. It has expanded its staff to 10 employees and an intern after two hires in the last year. It also recently opened a satellite office in Ann Arbor to take advantage of that growing entrepreneurial ecosystem. It expects to add two more people in Troy over the next year and a handful more in Ann Arbor.

Source: Ren Carlton, president and CEO of Dynamic Advisory Solutions
Writer: Jon Zemke

Northville's Green Light Productions spotlights local films, Elmore Leonard adaptation

Metromode Thursday, September 02, 2010

Green Light Productions is moving a couple of local movies into the starting blocks, beginning with an adaptation of an Elmore Leonard book, Freaky Deaky, this fall.

"It's going to be a Michigan book by a Michigan author filmed in Michigan," says Keith Simon, president of Green Light Productions. "We're not shooting California in Michigan. We're shooting Michigan in Michigan."

The downtown Northville-based firm is working on a couple of other productions for later this year and next. This isn't how the former banker saw the company, now nearly two years old, taking off. It was founded with the idea of connecting local filmmakers to funding sources, with the idea of finding another Kevin Smith, the Michigan-raised director of indie-film cult favorite Clerks.

However, that hasn't happened yet. The pair have gone through nearly 2,000 project pitches and have worked on getting a few of those off the ground, but to no avail as of yet. That hasn't stopped the seven-person firm from hiring over the last year. While Green Light Productions continues to pursue that business angle, it's focusing more on production work now.

"We've worked on funding several small budget films, but we haven't been able to make anything work," Simon says.

Source: Keith Simon, president of Green Light Productions and Kevin Weedmark, CEO of Green Light Productions
Writer: Jon Zemke

Biz accelerators, NEI team up for Accelerate Mich Innovation Comp

Metromode Thursday, August 26, 2010

They're calling it the biggest business plan competition in the world.

They are the Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan - Automation Alley, Macomb-OU INCubator, TechTown and Ann Arbor SPARK.

It is the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition.

What's at stake is $1 million in cash and services for local start-ups.

"This is going to be a great opportunity for southeast Michigan companies to make a pitch for some big rewards," says Dave Spencer, executive director of the Macomb-OU INCubator.

The competition take place around the Big Chill hockey game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University at Michigan Stadium on Dec. 11. Organizers plans to use that game as a draw for out-of-state alumni with significant business acumen and deep pockets into the local entrepreneurial ecosystem. The plan is to introduce local entrepreneurs and start-ups to these venture capitalists, angel investors and executive talent; highlight the local start-up scene and put a spotlight on entrepreneurial resources in the area, such as Automation Alley.

"This is a partnership designed to do things more effectively together than we could individually," says Ken Rogers, executive director of Automation Alley, describing the regional aspect of both the Business Accelerator Network for Southeast Michigan and the competition. "We feel this is a great example of that."

The New Economy Initiative gave $750,000 to Ann Arbor SPARK to take the lead on the competition. It is open to start-ups and entrepreneurs from both inside and outside of the state that are willing to set up shop in Michigan. Those companies should be early-stage businesses and student concepts with long-term viability in the advanced materials, advanced transportation, alternative energy, homeland security and defense, information technology, life science, medical devices, next generation manufacturing and products and services sectors. Students attending any Michigan university or college can submit their business concepts in a separate category.

"We have to strike the match to light the fire," Rogers says. "This is a great way to inbed the entrepreneurial spirit in our students."

For more information about the Accelerate Michigan Innovation competition, click here.

Source: Dave Spencer, executive director of the Macomb-OU INCubator and Ken Rogers, executive director of Automation Alley
Writer: Jon Zemke

BBCetc helps SE Michigan start-ups attract millions in seed capital

Metromode Thursday, August 26, 2010

The people at BBC Entrepreneurial Training Corp like to use the words "Return On Investment" or ROI, which makes sense for a company that specializes in helping entrepreneurs and start-ups secure seed capital.

The Ann Arbor firm's latest example is the 20 times ROI it is claiming the state has enjoyed through BBCetc's services. The company received funding from the state's 21st Century Jobs Fund to help early stage technology companies write applications for things like government grants. The end result so far has been $80 million in non-diluted funding (meaning the entrepreneurs didn't have sell part of the company for the cash) to 150 companies in the state since 2002 as part of the Statewide SBIR/STTR Consulting Services Program.

One of the local companies that received this help was NeuroNexus Technologies. The Ann Arbor-based firm used BBC etc's training and consulting to land federal grant funding. "That money helps them develop the next generation of their products," says Lisa Kurek, managing partner of BBC etc.

Other companies that have utilized BBC etc's services, which employs half a dozen people and about as many consulting partners, include Compendia Biosciences, T/J Technologies, NanoVir. The last is a start-up founded by ex-Pfizer scientists.

"They're moving quite rapidly down the development pipeline and are ready to secure their next round of funding," Kurek says.

Source: Lisa Kurek, managing partner of BBC Entrepreneurial Training Corp
Writer: Jon Zemke

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