Innovation & Job News

Networked to launch software that creates online biz communities

Metromode Thursday, August 26, 2010

Networked is about to change from a company that teaches people and businesses about networking to a virtual place where they can make that happen themselves.

"We will have a community platform," says Terry Bean, founder of Networked and Motor City Connect. "We're building infrastructure so businesses can build their own communities. It's similar to Facebook, but more business oriented.

The Bloomfield Township-based company and its staff of five had been teaching business development and networking to people who are good at their craft but need to supplement their interpersonal skills. Now the new software, set to launch later this year, will help companies do four key things � buy, sell, hire and inform � through their own networks.

Bean expects to roll this new business model out with the help of local social media consultants. He expects to have 70 companies signed on for its software or SASS package within it first year.

"We're talking to some pretty cool companies about it," Bean says. "It's an amazing thing."

Source: Terry Bean, owner of Networked
Writer: Jon Zemke

Clawson-based serial entrepreneur finds success in fire extinguisher technology

Metromode Thursday, August 26, 2010

Gerald Flood got into the fire extinguisher business about 20 years ago and has turned it into a entrepreneurial streak that keeps him swinging for the fences.

When a friend's fire extinguisher business went under, Flood bought the technology. He turned that technology into a successful company then sold it. That became the inspiration for his next venture � FireXonline, which sells fire extinguishers for computer servers. FireXonline, which Flood still runs today, became the inspiration for yet another venture � OnGuard, which is developing a safety measure to prevent dryer fires.

"It's one thing that led into another and another," Flood says.

FireXonline specializes in fire extinguishers for computer server racks. If the worst happens and an overheating server ignites it can be contained and extinguished in the rack, without disturbing other racks or equipment in the room. The 7-year-old company employs three people and is serving as the latest jump off for Flood's newest start-up OnGuard.

OnGuard is developing a dryer accessory that sense when something like a lint fire is about to happen. When that mechanism has been tripped, OnGuard fills the space with water, extinguishing it.

Flood plans to spend the rest of the year commercializing his new product and expects to hit $500,000 in sales in his first year, and $2-$3 million in sales in the next. If that happens he expects to grow his staff from one (himself) to up to 10 people.

"The potential in this dryer product is huge," Flood says.

Source: Gerald Flood, founder of FireXonline and OnGuard
Writer: Jon Zemke

North Carolina-based Ignite Social Media opens downtown Birmingham office

Metromode Thursday, August 19, 2010

It's been three years since Ignite Social Media spun out of Birmingham-based Brogan & Partners, and the start-up has returned to its roots with some jobs.

The Raleigh, North Carolina-based firm recently opened up a satellite office in the same downtown Birmingham building as its parent company. Ignite Social Media has brought seven jobs along and expects to have a local staff of a dozen people or more within a year.

"We're growing very quickly," says Jim Tobin, president of Ignite Social Media. "We've basically doubled in size every year since we were formed."

Ignite Social Media helps its customers filter through all of the noise in Facebook, Twitter, and other social media outlets while building and managing their brands. The company decided to tap Metro Detroit's deep talent pool to help make these things happen for their customers. The Birmingham office, where the COO is based, handles account service and media buying operations.

"There is some really serious talent in southeast Michigan," Tobin says. "A lot of it grew from the auto industry."

Source: Jim Tobin, president of Ignite Social Media
Writer: Jon Zemke

Global eServices & Solutions plans to hire in Troy

Metromode Thursday, August 19, 2010

Global eServices & Solutions is a small business in Troy specializing in protecting other small businesses. Think of it and its founder, Ashraf Samuel, as the little entrepreneur that roared at the big, bad guys in IT.

The 3-year-old firm specializes in providing IT security for other businesses. Its latest product provides a total package for small- and mid-sized businesses that goes beyond a small squad of long bowmen. It also provides online marketing tools and IT risk management services.

"We are growing because our company is unique with its services," Samuel says.

The company has grown from a one-person operation to five people and an independent contractor who came on board over the last year to help Global eServices & Solutions handle its increased workload. It also plans to hire two more employees over the next year.

Source: Ashraf Samuel, vice president of Global eServices & Solutions
Writer: Jon Zemke

Netarx seeks Midwest expansion; 40 open positions

Metromode Thursday, August 12, 2010

Thirteen years ago, a couple of techies gave rise to something big � Netarx.

The Auburn Hills company now employs 211 people, a few independent contractors, and five interns. It has 40 open positions today, six of which became available this week because the company won another project. It's come a long way from when inspiration first hit Duane Tursi and Sandy Kronenburg.

"The inspiration was a voracious love of technology and figuring out ways how businesses can leverage it," says Tursi, principal of Netarx.

Netarx came of age when the Internet began to go main stream and now focuses on providing IT, data center, and other technology integration services. It acquired Analysts International last year to broaden its product offerings, a move that helped save dozens of jobs in Metro Detroit.

"We kept about 100 jobs in Michigan," Tursi says. "The other suitors were not headquartered in Michigan."

The firm is seeking expansion to the west side of the state and into markets in Indiana and Ohio. It's also planning on capitalizing on the potential of cloud computing, an emerging technology in which Netarx has been investing and developing a customer base over the last two years.

Source: Duane Tursi, co-founder and principal of Netarx
Writer: Jon Zemke

Irma Elder turns hardship into entrepreneurship; 400 employees nationwide

Metromode Thursday, August 12, 2010

Irma Elder experienced her moment of truth 26 years ago when her husband died. The young woman was left with her three children and the auto dealership she and her husband had been building since the late 1960s. She could have sold it and moved on. She chose to take the reins herself and become a player in the car sales business.

It's a decision that ensured the economic future of her growing family and the community. Ford signed off on her takeover of the dealership. She bought another dealership, and then another. Today the Troy resident's business, Elder Automotive Group, employs 400 people across the U.S.

"There were many nights when I thought I was crazy," Elder says. "I thought I would wake up and quit the next day. But the sun came up and everything turned out fine."

That was far from a sure thing for Elder. She was born in Mexico to Syrian immigrants before eventually moving to the U.S. and taking citizenship. English became her second language and building successful businesses became her career. The recent economic downturn caught her by surprise, but she has faith that it's nothing her country resiliency and penchant for hard work can overcome yet again. Who can argue with a philosophy that took a widowed immigrant and her family so far?

"I never thought of myself as having done something extraordinary," Elder says. "I have always thought I survived."

Source: Irma Elder, CEO of Elder Automotive Group
Writer: Jon Zemke

EcoV electric car debuts at Maker Faire

Metromode Thursday, August 05, 2010

Last weekend's Maker Faire at The Henry Ford was all about showcasing the inventors, innovators, and entrepreneurs who are constantly creating new things. It was a perfect fit for Grosse Pointe Woods-based EnVironmental Transportation Solutions to showcase its invention � the EcoV.

The EcoV is a street-legal automobile that comfortably reaches 25 mph on surface streets. The all-electric vehicle has a range of 40 miles when fully charged and can run on 50 cents' worth of electricity for eight hours each day while producing zero emissions. It has a payload capacity of 1,000-1,500 pounds and retails for about $12,000.

"We've seen such a tremendous interest in the product that it's amazing to me," says Richard Marks, president of EnVironmental Transportation Solutions.

The six-person company has revamped its prototype vehicle so it looks "so much more finished and polished," according to Marks. It comes in both electric-only and electricity-generating propane versions. He has manufacturing lined up and is working to secure up to $4 million in seed capital to get the project into the market.

"We're looking to start production early next year," Marks says.

Source: Richard Marks, president of EnVironmental Transportation Solutions
Writer: Jon Zemke

Keep both hands on the wheel; safer driving with iQ-Telematics software

Metromode Thursday, August 05, 2010

Mouhamad Naboulsi has known for a long time that the path to a smarter, safer car requires better software. It's something that rings so true that he built his West Bloomfield-based start-up, iQ-Telematics, around it.

The one-year-old company and its nine co-founders are developing software for automobiles that can require drivers to practice safer driving habits, like disabling music and other extra activities if the driver isn't keeping two hands on the steering wheel. The idea is to make the driving experience safer for motorists, such as young drivers and people who haul hazardous waste.

"Your hands will always be on the steering wheel," Naboulsi says.

The technology is similar to what Ford's SYNC technology did for the driving experience a few years ago. The difference, according to Naboulsi, is the product will add an extra layer of security that helps ensure safety for everyone on the road. He and his partners are currently working on raising seed capital and getting approval for their patents before commercializing the product.

Source: Mouhamad Naboulsi, president of iQ-Telematics
Writer: Jon Zemke

iNetworks Michigan Fund commits $20M to biotech investment

Metromode Thursday, July 29, 2010

Pittsburgh-based iNetworks sees what is happening in Metro Detroit's economy and is not afraid.

"They're really looking at it as a really untapped area," says Greg Auner, manager of the iNetworks Michigan Fund. "Also, it's Pittsburgh that went through a downturn and rebuilt itself. To them this is a natural thing."

The $20 million investment fund will focus on startups developing biomedical technologies, such as the latest and greatest in medical instruments. Pittsburgh reinvented itself after the fall of the steel industry in the 1980s by diversifying its economy around new industries, such as bio-tech and life sciences, and iNetworks was one of its major players.

The Michigan Fund will provide seed capital with the idea of repeating that same strategy. Michigan has a strong background in developing and commercializing biotech and life sciences companies, thanks to its workforce and strong research universities.

The Detroit-based fund calls TechTown and a Stroh's River Place office home for its four employees, who are raising $20 million for the fund and expect to have it ready to go by the end of this year.

Source: Greg Auner, manager of the iNetworks Michigan Fund
Writer: Jon Zemke

LinTech Global hires six, plans to double staff

Metromode Thursday, July 29, 2010

Michael Linn had been his own boss for years before deciding he wanted to become the boss of others by launching LinTech Global three years ago. Linn had worked as an independent contractor before he decided he needed to take the next step in entrepreneurship.

"I felt it was time for me to build a business model rather than just keep doing independent contract work," says Linn, now the president and CEO of LinTech Global.

He started with a company of one (himself) and built the Farmington Hills-based firm into a seven-employee enterprise. He has enjoyed so much growth he expects to double his staff within the next year.

"We have a lot of projects in the pipeline, primarily in the federal sector," Linn says.

LinTech Global focuses on cyber security, software engineering and application support for a number of federal agencies in the defense and civilian sectors. Some of its customers include the Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Air Systems Command, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, Naval Supply Systems Command, Military Sealift Command, Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Strategic Systems Programs, and the U.S. Marine Corps.

Source: Michael Linn, president and CEO of LinTech Global
Writer: Jon Zemke

NextWave small-biz incubator opens doors for start-ups

Metromode Thursday, July 22, 2010

Not all small business incubators are publicly-funded enterprises. Some are privately funded operations with an eye on growing their piece of Metro Detroit's new economy, such as NextWave in Troy.

The small business incubator is occupying a few floors in the DuPont building on Stevenson Highway, making room for second-stage companies and entrepreneurs trying to get their businesses off the ground.

"We have a lot of opportunities for second-stage companies and endless opportunities for incubation companies," says Dick Blouse, chairman of NextWave.

He expects to start putting entrepreneurs and companies in their seats before the summer ends. The 50,000 square-foot space includes room for both offices and common areas, such as an auditorium and conference rooms. Three second-stage companies and a couple of incubation firms are expected to move in later this year. There is room for about 35-40 people at the incubator.

NextWave makes its money by taking an equity stake in the firms that grow up in the incubator. In return, the start-ups receive cheap Class A office space, business mentorship services, and an extensive rolodex of contacts to help grow their firm. The incubator is primarily looking for firms based in nanotech, software, healthcare technology, logistics, and alternative energy, however, the incubators organizers have an open mind when it comes to applicants.

"If it's a good fit and they make a good business case we would be very interested," Blouse says. "This is not chipped in stone yet."

For information on NextWave, click here.

Source: Dick Blouse, chairman of NextWave
Writer: Jon Zemke

Detroit Start-up Weekend inspires founding of SiteFog

Metromode Thursday, July 22, 2010

SiteFog is an example of entrepreneurial exercise that appears to be happening more and more these days.

The four-person start-up got going last May at Detroit Start-up Weekend where the young co-founders met and started pitching ideas back and forth. They decided to give Kyle Mulka's cloud computing concept a go, powering up their laptops from across Metro Detroit, which most of them call home.

"We're kinda spread around Michigan," Mulka says.

SiteFog focuses on using new lines of Javascript to make cloud computing more affordable. It is also creating a way for websites to monetize their products more efficiently, such as charging a few pennies to read a story online. The team is still working on its technology and making the rounds at local entrepreneurial events, such as a recent A2NewTech meet up. And its also looking to create a revenue source or two.

"Our biggest challenge is finding customers," Mulka says.

Source: Kyle Mulka, CTO of SiteFog
Writer: Jon Zemke

Detroit Start-up Weekend inspires locals to start SiteFog

Metromode Thursday, July 15, 2010

Restored Crofoot Ballroom doubles staffing to 50 people

Metromode Thursday, July 01, 2010

It's been three years since the Crofoot Ballroom project began in earnest, creating one of the more stunning turnarounds and successes in Metro Detroit today.

Blair McGowan took a condemned historic building (the oldest commercial structure in Oakland County) in downtown Pontiac, a Cool Cities grant, and some ambition and turned them into one of the hottest new music venues in the region, on par with Detroit's St. Andrews Hall and the Blind Pig in Ann Arbor. The Crofoot Ballroom now has 50 employees (up from 25 when the project started) and three interns. He expects to hire even more people this year as he continues to expand his business.

"The word is out that the Crofoot is here and it's a beautiful venue," says McGowan, who also helped start St. Andrews Hall and Clutch Cargoes in Pontiac. "It has great sound and lights. People appreciate it."

The musical venue features rock bands, hip hop groups, electronic DJs, and a host of other music genres popular with today's youth. It is branching out and bringing more shows to places like the Compuware Arena in Plymouth, MOCAD and CAID in Detroit, and The Factory in Rochester. The Crofoot is also experiencing a good bit of growth from helping some smaller bands grow by letting them play on the building's smaller stage (the Pike Room), the main stage, and then onto bigger venues like the Royal Oak Music Theatre.

"We treated them right the first time so they keep coming back," McGowan says. He adds that the venue is also hosting other events, such as wedding receptions, bar mitzvahs, political gatherings, and business meetings. "We're just responding and it's working," McGowan says.

This isn't the first reincarnation for the building at the corner of Pike and Saginaw streets. In the 1830s the Crofoot survived a fire that decimated much of downtown. In the 1840s it was renovated by Michael E Crofoot, a prominent business man who helped build the 1880s-era Soldiers and Sailors Monument in downtown Detroit. That resulted in a Mansard roof and Victorian-style tower, which were eventually removed by World War II. The building nearly fell victim to 1970s urban renewal projects, but survived.

It was abandoned and on the city's demolition list as late as 2005 before McGowan saved it. He restored it much to its 1850s state, preserving a number of interior details such as old wood beams and brick walls. Today it serves as a place with an incredible amount of character in a downtown filled with architectural highlights.

Source: Blair McGowan, owner of the Crofoot Ballroom.
Writer: Jon Zemke

Software firm uwemp shares in $104K microloan pot

Metromode Thursday, July 01, 2010

Software companies from different ends of Metro Detroit have taken two of the three microloans available in the latest round of funding from the Michigan Microloan Fund Program.

Software firm uwemp and KnowledgeWatch of Ann Arbor are splitting $104,000 with AWGET in Okemos. The microloans will support commercialization of their products.

"It's nearly all going into technology development," says Jordan Wolfe, CEO of uwemp. The firm splits time between Wolfe's base in Bloomfield Hills and Ann Arbor's Tech Brewery.

Its main product is Confidence-Based Learning, a web-based learning engine that uses Google Analytics-style method that gives educators a better handle on how their students are and are not learning. For instance, the program will show when a student is beginning to catch on to the lesson and when the student masters it or even when the student wanders off. The idea is to provide educators with the pertinent information to best reach their students.

KnowledgeWatch is developing software that aggregates, analyzes and sorts content in a way that is similar to Google searches. Among its target market are assemblers of trade publications or hobby sites (which number in the tens of thousands).

The microloans provide funding for start-ups to use for product commercialization and business growth. The $1.5 million program will make anywhere from 2-4 loans of a few thousand dollars each per month for 2010. That's another 24-48 fledgling local businesses receiving financing during a time when capital for small businesses is almost non-existent.

Source: Ann Arbor SPARK and Jordan Wolfe, CEO of uwemp
Writer: Jon Zemke

Entrepreneurship : Innovation & Job News