Ann Arbor entrepreneurial community wins with HandyLab sale
Source: Concentrate, 12/16/2009
This story originally ran 10/28/09
The sale of Ann Arbor-based HandyLab is the story that entrepreneurial dreams are made of.
And in this case they came true.
A published report on AnnArbor.com puts the price Becton-Dickinson paid for HandyLab
at $300 million (a BD spokeswoman declined to confirm the price), and
if that's true it's a very big start-up win for the region. The type
that reinforces, if not proves, the idea that entrepreneurs can hit it
Silicon Valley-big in Ann Arbor.
"This kind of success
demonstrates that you can do this very well and allows local venture
funds to leverage more capital," says Tom Kinnear, executive director
of the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business.
He
adds that there is a trend of these sorts entrepreneurial wins,
including the acquisition of Ann Arbor-based HealthMedia last year and T/J Technologies before that. These also symbol investment wins for local venture capital firms, such as Ann Arbor-based EDF Ventures and U-M's Wolverine Fund.
"It's
the tip of the iceberg in a sense because there are a lot of other
investments underneath it by the VC and angel communities," Kinnear
says.
HandyLab specializes in conducting miniature laboratory
experiments using technology developed by two former University of
Michigan graduate students. The company started off in 2000 and
employed 40 people as of last year. It started to form a partnership with Becton-Dickinson earlier this year.
Becton-Dickinson
is 112-year-old firm based out of New Jersey. It develops, manufactures
and sells medical devices, instrument systems and reagents.
Source: Becton-Dickinson and Tom Kinnear, executive director of the
Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies at the University of
Michigan's Ross School of Business
Writer: Jon Zemke
Ann Arbor's Lycera receives $36M in venture capital, to add 6 jobs
Source: Concentrate, 12/16/2009
This story originally ran 4/22/09
Just when the local venture capital landscape looks its bleakest, a big silver lining appears. Right now that’s the $36 million Ann Arbor-based Lycera recently locked down.
The pharmaceutical company plans to use that cash to continue research and development of small molecule drugs for treating autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis and lupus. It won't take the firm to commercialization of these items, but at least to the next step of FDA approval.
"It takes us to the next steps probably," says Gary D. Glick, founder and chief scientist of Lycera.
Glick is also a chemistry professor at the University of Michigan. His research of the immune system led to the initial drug development and start of Lycera two-and-a-half years ago. Today it employs nine people (including a number of former Pfizer scientists) and is currently looking or six more people. That could mean even more hires in the near future as the company continues its research.
Lycera has received the first $10 million of the venture capital. The rest will come in two installments as the U-M spin-off reaches certain milestones. Ann Arbor-based EDF Ventures, which provided the initial seed money for Lycera, is providing this latest installment of venture capital with InterWest Partners, Clarus Ventures and ARCH Venture Partners.
Lycera works out of the Michigan Life Science Innovation Center, the old Pfizer labs.
Source: Gary D. Glick, founder and chief scientist of Lycera
Writer: Jon Zemke
TechArb takes up permanent residence in Google building
Source: Concentrate, 12/16/2009
This story originally ran 11/11/09
Student entrepreneurs at the TechArb are
moving on up... from a basement in downtown Ann Arbor into the building
that houses Google's AdWords headquarters.
TechArb
is a business incubator for student-run start-ups, similar to the
downtown Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti incubators controlled by Ann Arbor
SPARK. TechArb is relocating to 2,600 square feet of office space on
the fourth floor of the McKinley Towne Centre (201 S Division) next to
the offices of Google, the Bodman law firm and Ann Arbor SPARK.
"We see this as a great way to integrate student companies with the community," says Doug Neal, managing director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan which runs TechArb. "This is a great way to broaden the entrepreneurship eco-system."
U-M's
Center for Entrepreneurship started TechArb earlier this summer in the
basement of a downtown building. The idea was that student
entrepreneurs had unique needs compared to their older compatriots,
plus being surrounded by peers who aren't afraid to fail would free
them to take more chances and try more ideas.
Ten student-led
companies started this summer and the surviving firms are moving into
the new office space over the next three weeks. A new class of
student-led firms will be allowed admittance in January as part of a
two-year experimental pilot program. Ideally, the organizers would like
to see about 10 firms occupying TechArb at any given time.
"We're going to run this on a semester by semester basis where student groups can apply for a semester at a time," Neal says.
Source: Doug Neal, managing director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke
University Islamic Financial bank takes root in Ann Arbor
Source: Concentrate, 12/16/2009
This story originally ran 3/11/09
Banking in the Western Hemisphere is different than banking in the Middle East, except at the University Islamic Financial in Ann Arbor.
The subsidiary of University Bank doesn't operate the same way as say Comerica or the Bank of Ann Arbor. The 4-year-old institution observes Muslim rules, traditions and customs to service the growing Islamic population in not only southeast Michigan but North America.
For instance, making money off of interest isn't allowed in the Islamic world. To accompany this University Islamic Financial is FDIC insured but doesn't guarantee its customers a profit for keeping their money there. Instead they are stakeholders in the bank so their money is safe as long as the bank's bottom line remains black. University Islamic Financial's mortgages are more like lease-to-own agreements, so the bank isn't making money off of interest.
University Islamic Financial employs about 15 people and serves mostly followers of the Muslim faith. University Bank noticed this segment of the population wasn't being adequately served, even though it mainly consists of younger families with higher-than-average incomes.
"It's obviously a very large and growing market," says John Sickler, corporate director for University Islamic Financial. "We're finding that people are really attracted to this."
That has propelled the bank to grow its revenues by 30 percent in each of the last two years. The firm also does most of its business out of state even though Dearborn is the center of Middle Eastern population outside of the Middle East.
"Islam stretches across so many different cultures," Sickler says.
That has also allowed the bank to recruit quite a diverse staff. Its employees include Asian-, Caucasian- and African-Americans. It also has both Muslim and Christian employees.
Source: John Sickler, corporate director for University Islamic Financial
Writer: Jon Zemke
EMU grads hit it big with Blabberize.com in Ann Arbor
Source: Concentrate, 12/16/2009
This story originally ran 2/18/09
The story behind Blabberize is cool enough to warrant making millions of theoretical Internet dollars
- all because of a hit YouTube video. See, the website has a video
about its serendipitous beginnings, and that's helping it rake in some
real cash.
First, know that Blabberize
is based on Blabbers, a website widget that allows users to make
pictures talk. Mo Kakwan came up with the idea while going to Hack Day
at Yahoo!'s headquarters in 2006.
"I thought it would be interesting to have a postcard that had a talking picture," Kakwan says.
He intended to make this idea a reality atHack Day, a journey now immortalized in the YouTube video here.
Long story short - after scrambling, coding and sleeping through the night
Kakwan
only had half a project to present to the crowds of nerds, geeks,
brains and all-out techies. But he went ahead and made his presentation
anyway.
"I felt so horrible so I said, 'I'm just going to go
back home,'" Kakwan explains. "I said, 'No, no, no. I'll just tell them
what happened and present it."
It turned out to be a good move.
The crowd loved the program and every word Kawan made come out of
Patrick Stewart's mouth. The next thing he knew he was heading home to
Ann Arbor to make his quick idea a reality.
Four months of
coding later, Kakwan and his friend Alex Peer (the company's
co-founder) unveiled Blabberize. The two Eastern Michigan university
graduates created a small Internet sensation that is starting to not
only take off but make serious money as well. Nearly 16,000 people use
Blabberize every day.
"We're not making tons of profit," Kakwan says. "We're still finding was to make money off it."
The
company is based in Ann Arbor even though Kakwan lives in Boston where
he works for a tech start-up and Peer, who does live in Ann Arbor, is
applying for PhD programs. The pair have no plans on moving it.
"Home is always Ann Arbor," Kakwan says. "I'm always bouncing back to Ann Arbor."
Source: Mo Kakwan, CEO and co-founder of Blabberize
Writer: Jon Zemke
Sakti3 expands in Ann Arbor, plans to create 112 jobs
Source: Concentrate, 12/9/2009
This story originally ran in: 5/13/2009
One of Ann Arbor's most promising
start-ups is going after a lot of federal money this summer and
creating a few jobs along the way.
Sakti3
is applying for $15 million U.S. Department of Energy funds. That money
will be part of a $30 million round of financing its aiming to gather
together this summer to continue its development of lithium-ion
batteries for hybrid and plug-in cars, like the Chevrolet Volt. The
University of Michigan spin-off is working with officials from the
federal government and General Motors to secure the funding.
"We're told decisions will come down in July," says Ann Marie Sastry, founder of Sakti3 and an engineering professor at U-M.
The
Ann Arbor-based company is also looking to add to its team this year,
but plans to pick the next members very carefully. Right now less than
20 people work for the company, which is looking for specialized
employees. Think PhDs and the like.
That's because the company
is in the prototyping stage of creating the new lithium-ion battery. It
hopes to jump to manufacturing it on a small scale and then a pilot
line within three years. Once that happens it could means thousands of
new jobs (both white and blue collar) in Metro Detroit.
"We'll be in prototyping for a while and then growing," says Ann Marie Sastry, founder of Sakti3.
Source: Ann Marie Sastry, founder of Sakti3
Writer: Jon Zemke
Accio Energy casts growth spell with magic wind system
Source: Concentrate, 12/9/2009
This story originally ran:
7/1/2009
The origins behind the name Accio Energy have some of the more random, yet interesting roots for a start-up.
The Ann Arbor firm takes its name for a spell in Harry Potter
called Accio. Co-founder Dawn White's child was a big fan of J.K.
Rowling's books, which means White knew more details about wizardry
than the average Hogwarts student. That includes the spell Accio, which
means "to summon".
Today, the start-up, which focuses on an innovative new form of wind energy system, thinks the moniker is a perfect match.
"In this case we're summoning electricity from the wind," says Jeff Basch, General Manager for Accio Energy.
The
design of wind turbines has enjoyed long-term design stability, like
the internal combustion engine or AK-47. But like those world-famous
items, the wind turbine must evolve, too.
"Energy that is
captured from the wind hasn’t changed in 700 years," Basch says. "There
has to be a way to harness that energy without a moving propellor."
Accio
Energy's wind energy system has the potential to do that. It doesn't
have any moving parts. Instead it harnesses the static electricity
created from wind, so it’s almost like it's magically creating the
electricity.
White and David Carmein founded the company in
2007. Today it employs four people as it develops the prototype. They
just proved the concept and are working on creating an alpha and beta
prototype for testing. It hopes to commercialize the technology by 2011
and employ tens of people by next year.
"It will grow quickly," Basch says. "It’s a very large commercial market."
Source: Jeff Basch, General Manager for Accio Energy
Writer: Jon Zemke
Ypsilanti's Clean Energy Coalition lands $15M federal grant
Source: Concentrate, 12/9/2009
This story originally ran: 9/2/2009
The Clean Energy Coalition will take a
major step forward this fall now that it has roped in a $15 million
federal contract, a hit that is expected to result in an expanded staff
at the Ypsilanti-based non-profit.
"Obviously our staffing could grow significantly from this," says Sean Reed, executive director of the Clean Energy Coalition.
The non-profit currently has a staff of six full-timers and two part-timers at its offices in Depot Town. The staff normally handles six-figure state and federal grants that focus on sustainability projects.
The
$15 million grant comes from the U.S. Dept. of Energy and is part of
the $787 billion federal stimulus package. The money will be used as
part of the $31 million Michigan Green Fleets project, a program that
looks to integrate more alternative fuels and advanced fuel-efficient
technology (think bio-diesel and hybrids) across Michigan.
The project will assist nine partners, such as the state, DTE Energy and the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority,
in purchasing 271 alternative fuel vehicles. These include hybrids,
electric vehicles and compressed natural gas vehicles. It will also
install 19 alternative fueling stations across the state. The end goal
is to save more than 5 million gallons of fossil fuels and 500 million
pounds of vehicle emissions over four years.
"This is a very significant project for us," Reed says.
And
it might not be the only one. The Clean Energy Coalition is still
waiting on word for another $9-10 million in grant projects this fall
to potentially be used to ramp up the non-profit's hiring.
Source: Sean Reed, executive director of Clean Energy Coalition
Writer: Jon Zemke
Ann Arbor's CarBuddy turns car pooling into Internet start-up
Source: Concentrate, 12/9/2009
This story originally ran 6/10/09
CarBuddy.com is an Internet start-up but its founders fancy it as a brick-and-mortar business, too.
"We're not just a website," says Dan Rodriguez, co-founder of CarBuddy.com. "We are a real company you can call."
The Ann Arbor-based firm specializes in adding an new twist (Internet) to an old idea (car pooling). The website works sort of like a dating site. It allows people interested in carpooling to enter in information about themselves and what they’re looking for, such as whether they have a driver or passenger preference. The website also figures out the cost structure for riders.
The founders plan to focus on Metro Detroit first because the region is so car dependent. They expect their website will become more in demand as gas prices continue to rise and people keep tiring of battling traffic jams with car horns and single-finger salutes.
"This has the potential to reach a lot of people," says Albert Rodriguez, co-founder of CarBuddy.com.
The start-up launched in April and now employs six people and three independent contractors. It has office space near Briarwood Mall. It plans to expand as it grows. One of its first priorities is to start hiring for a call center so people using the service who get stranded won't remain so for long.
Source: Albert and Dan Rodriguez, co-founders of CarBuddy.com
Writer: Jon Zemke
Ann Arbor's POWERleap plans to harness wasted kinetic energy
Source: Concentrate, 12/9/2009
Elizabeth Redmond's college thesis could
soon become the basis for her life after school. POWERleap practically
jumped off the pages of her thesis at the School of Art + Design at the
University of Michigan and said, 'Commercialize me!'
The idea is to create a system that can capture electricity from
something as simple as body movements. How? Well, imagine a technology
that could use the kinetic energy produced from someone walking on
flooring tiles to supply a house with electricity.
"I wanted to find ways to harness electricity and wasted energy," says Redmond, director of product development for POWERleap.
The Ann Arbor-base start-up has two other partners in New York City. It received a generous grant from a contest held by Metropolis magazine.
It's now developing the product and trying to raise more capital funds,
a plan that will continue well into 2010. It's in the final phase of
negotiating a licensing contract this year.
Source: Elizabeth Redmond, director of product development for POWERleap
Writer: Jon Zemke
NextServices grows to 6 people in Ann Arbor, hiring
Source: Concentrate, 12/2/2009
NextServices is yet another example of entrepreneurial gown turned into successful town.
The
Ann Arbor-based firm was founded by a trio of U-M business school
students who decided to stick around after graduation and create a few
jobs for themselves. Today the IT company focuses on the health care
industry while employing six people and a summer intern from U-M's Ross
School of Business.
It also has a couple job openings right now and plans to hire yet more people next year.
"We've been doing extremely well the last few years," says Satish Malnik, CEO of NextServices.
He co-founded the company with Praveen Suthrum. The third co-founder
has stepped aside and is no longer involved with the company.
Most
of the company's growth has come in the health care sector, especially
in network-based services. It expects even more growth in these areas
as federal stimulus dollars start to roll out in 2010.
"We expect to do tremendously well as long as things are on track," Malnik says.
Source: Satish Malnik, CEO of NextServices
Writer: Jon Zemke
Ann Arbor's Adaptive Materials hires 4 in 10th year of biz
Source: Concentrate, 12/2/2009
Adaptive Materials has some high expectations for the next decade, now that its first one is behind it.
The
Ann Arbor-based firm recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with 58
employees, including four hired this year. The company expects to
continue that growth in the next decade as it gets ready to put its
products in every RV, boat, ambulance and, well, any place that can use
a highly efficient fuel cell.
Adaptive Materials is the
brain-child of University of Michigan grad Aaron Crumm. He came up with
a way of turning fuels like propane into electricity instead of heat.
That means its technology can convert a small propane tank used for
camping into a generator that can keep a fridge going during a
blackout. Think an emergency generator strong enough to power
appliances but small enough to carry in your pocket.
The company
started out as a research-and-development firm, but has since grown
vertically, taking on more manufacturing. It recently moved to a
60,000-square-foot space on Ann Arbor's south side, allowing
manufacturing to take up about half of the firm's resources.
"We'll continue down that path," says Michelle Crumm, chief business officer for Adaptive Materials.
Adaptive
Materials' plan is to roll out its products into more and more niche
markets. It would like to see it used in places, like third-world
countries, by soldiers, by first responders and ever for things like
border protection.
Source: Michelle Crumm, chief business officer for Adaptive Materials
Writer: Jon Zemke
Roomations takes custom home improvements to the web
Source: Concentrate, 12/2/2009
A trio of University of Michigan MBA
students/grads is working to put the power of home improvement back
into the hands of the homeowner.
Their home improvement customization software and service company – Roomations - is based out of the TechArb student business incubator in downtown Ann Arbor. It hopes to launch its Beta website early next year.
The
website will provide step-by-step guidance and professional advice for
improving single-family homes. It will also serve as a resource for
local tradesmen and designers so homeowners can re-create their home
room by room.
"We hope to help homeowners achieve their
remodeling goals," says Katie Miller, director of design and
construction for Roomations.
Miller got the idea for the website
will working in local community development in Detroit's Mexicantown
neighborhood on the city's southwest side. She, Lakshmi Bhargabe and
Jessica Goldberg decided to make a go of it as a start-up earlier this
summer after they met at U-M's Ross School of Business.
Source: Katie Miller, director of design and construction for Roomations
Writer: Jon Zemke