Featured Stories
Amanda Edmonds
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
Nonprofits are on a mission to become more enterprise-focused: entering business plan competitions, even seeking start-up cash. Repeat blogger Amanda Edmonds, executive director of Growing Hope, reflects on her nonprofit's social enterprise role and on the value of diversified funding sources.
Patrick Dunn
Wednesday, January 09, 2013
Maybe they learned it from playing games. After the four partners who owned toy company Giddy Up sold their business in 2011 they had to decide what to do next. So, they moved their pieces back to start and launched another toy company - Kahootz. First on the agenda? Introducing a new generation to a classic favorite: Spirograph.
Natalie Burg
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
When shopping in your favorite downtown store, ever wonder what's upstairs? For decades, the answer has been "not much" for many Michigan cities. Take a look at how that trend is changing across the state, in communities like Manistee, Portland and Detroit's Eastern Market, where local property owners are redefining downtowns by reviving upper floor residences.
Tanya Muzumdar
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Business incubators have become a vital driving force in southeast Michigan's growing high-tech economy. But what about the state's second largest economic sector, food and agriculture? Enter Food System Economic Partnership and the Tilian Farm Development Center. Concentrate gets the skinny.
Natalie Burg
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
A new restaurant opening in downtown - on Main St. no less - is hardly a surprise. Vellum will, no doubt, be a welcome addition to Ann Arbor's "Restaurant Row." What makes Peter Roumanis' entrepreneurial approach a little different is that he has chosen to make the vintage space at 209 South Main his home as well.
Veronica Gracia-Wing
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Affordable energy, reliable energy, and protecting our environment were part of the governor's recent 'Ensuring Our Future' message. Veronica Gracia-Wing digs into the details with the governor's deputy legal council and senior policy advisor.
Concentrate Staff
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
The writers, photographers, and editors of Concentrate wish all of our readers a happy holiday and jubilant new year! We'll be taking two weeks off to spend time with family and friends, wear embarrassing sweaters, catch a few movies, and, most importantly, catch up on sleep. We'll return on Jan. 9 with more stories of innovation and growth.
Ingrid Ault
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The consumer habit of shopping at big-box stores and online giants in order to save comes at a high price to local economies. Besides buying from local small businesses, Ingrid Ault, executive director of Think Local First, opines on other ways to effect economic change for the better.
Constance Crump
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Rumors of the printed word's demise have been greatly exaggerated. While it's true that digital publishing grows every year, books and those who sell them will be with us for a very long time. Enter Above The Treeline. Offering a wide range of online catalog services the Ann Arbor-based company has found an important and profitable bookselling niche.
Omari Rush
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
K-12 arts education should be more than just a shrinking line item on public school budgets. Clarinetist Omari Rush, education manager for U-M's University Musical Society, opines on why we should say yes to arts programming in schools.
Dennis Archambault
Wednesday, December 05, 2012
It's no surprise that folks in the Ann Arbor area are an inventive bunch. Having one of the top universities in the country in your backyard helps. So, what's in the works? How about a telescope that listens to outer space? Or cars that learn how to avoid crashes? Or, best of all, head phones that won't tangle in your pocket?
Tanya Muzumdar
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
The name kind of says it all. Then again, maybe it doesn't. Spontaneous Art is a trio of guerilla (and sometimes gorilla) performance artists who have dedicated themselves to making life in the Ann Arbor-Ypsilanti region a little funkier, a little sillier, and, most importantly, a little less predictable.
Doug Coombe
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
The Ann Arbor Art Fairs inspired The Shadow Art Fair. The Shadow Art Fair begat The Krampus Ball. And so it goes, on and on, one artistic endeavor fueling the next. Concentrate's ace photographer Doug Coombe introduces you to the crafty folks who populate winter's ever-growing indie art fair scene.
Larry Eiler
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Michigan has always been ground zero for cutting-edge engineering. And with the technological sophistication of today's auto industry, that fact couldn't be truer. Larry Eiler, CEO of Eiler Communications, thinks the state could do a much better job of telling the world that story.
Concentrate Staff
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Poetry Slams, The Moth Story Hour... entrepreneurs have a story to tell too. That's where the Entre-Slam comes in. Concentrate has asked its creators -Christa Chambers-Price and Jeanne Ballew- to explain why live storytelling is an important business skill and to hold a slam for us. Come be a judge or participate. There's a cash prize ...and pickles! Sign up now for Thursday's event!