What is the value of fringe arts? Editor Jeff Meyers discusses how seeding the ground for a new generation of arts and culture means providing more accessible creative third places. He also weighs in on this week's eclectic entertainment opportunities.
How Shepherd Intelligent Systems got its start is the way University of Michigan officials anticipate a lot of future start-ups will launch.The 5-month-old U-M spin-off began as the project of U-M engineering student Jahan Khanna. He was creating software that gives riders the real-time position of university buses and realized it had broad commercial potential. So Jahan teamed up with U-M MBA student Adrian Fortino to start the firm, which now employs four people in downtown.Today the self-funded firm (it doesn't want to go the venture capital route) is working on a pilot project with the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority. The program would let users of one of AATA's routes see the location of their bus and its estimated arrival time on their computers or smart phones. The idea is to eliminate long wait times or missed buses."I'd like the company to become the key transportation service for several mid major cities across the country," Fortino says. "We'd like to be at least dominating Ann Arbor with our service."The company plans to target mostly college towns across North America next year. The idea is the software works better for smaller transportation systems at this stage of its development."Those college towns will be a really good fit for us," Fortino says.Source: Adrian Fortino, CEO of Shepherd Intelligent SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke
NanoBio isn't as small as its name implies... especially after nailing down millions in a federal research grant.The Ann Arbor-based firm is splitting the $9.3 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, a division of the National Institute of Health, with the University of Michigan. NanoBio's slice of the pie is $4.1 million.That means three research job openings at NanoBio right now. The company's staff currently stands at 17 employees and three interns, and is expected to continue to grow."I expect we'll be adding a couple more to that in the near future," says John Coffey, vice president of business development for NanoBio. He hinted that a few more deals are expected to materialize this fall, describing them as "commercial opportunities."The grant is expected to support research to develop nanoemulsion-based mucosal vaccine adjuvants for a wide variety of antigens. The idea is to leverage the body's natural immune defenses to protect it against a wider range of diseases.The U-M spin-off has nailed down a variety of funding so far this, totaling more than $20 million. It has received $60 million in private equity since 2006.Source: John Coffey, vice president of business development for NanoBioWriter: Jon Zemke
$5,000 means a lot of Drew Leahy and his co-workers at Mybandstock. The start-up made up almost entirely of college students and recent college graduates needs every dollar it can get to push its company forward.It's why the Ann Arbor-based firm is pretty excited about winning one of the "Dare to Dream" grants from the University of Michigan's Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. The money will help the firm develop its business plan, cover some travel expenses and even pay a few of its web programmers. But more importantly it will help the start-up's 15-member team keep its focus."It keeps us away from part-time jobs so we can focus on our business," says Leahy, the president of Mybandstock. "It definitely really, really helps us out."The Dare to Dream program offers $500-$10,000 grants to help student entrepreneurs jump start their businesses. About $50,000 in grants were awarded this fall to the likes of Mybandstock, which is a web-based fundraiser for local musicians. The business allows people to invest in the development of the bands they enjoy.Source: Drew Leahy, president of MybandstockWriter: Jon Zemke
The Detroit-Ann Arbor area has made the Top 15 list of metro areas in the U.S. for clean-tech job activity, meaning its green-economy job creation is emerging as a factor in southeast Michigan.The list comes from Clean Edge's Clean Tech Job Trends 2009 report. Detroit-Ann Arbor clocks in at No. 14 just below the Austin-San Marcos area in Texas. "Michigan's commitment to clean tech as the next engine of economic growth is clear, and the initial signs of activity are positive with Hemlock Semiconductors, A123 Systems, United Solar Ovonic, and others expanding their operations or making new commitments to the region," says Dexter Gauntlett, senior research and marketing associate with Clean Edge. "But obviously the state has long way to go. And as our report shows – there's a growing level of competition by states for clean-tech companies – particularly for those that would bring coveted manufacturing jobs. Continued investment in education and training, regulatory support, and government-supported clean-tech procurement is key for any region to attract clean-tech companies so we would expect the most competitive states to continue to invest in these areas." Among the factors driving the ranking is the metro area's ability to attract investment from new advanced battery and hybrid-electric technology firms. Other growing alternative energy firms like United Solar Ovionic played a significant part in the ranking.The ranking was determined by an analysis of job postings, investment and patent activity, among other data. The San Francisco Bay area scored the top spot.Source: Dexter Gauntlett, senior research and marketing associate with Clean EdgeWriter: Jon Zemke
The University of Michigan's Wolverine Venture Fund has struck again, this time making an investment in a California-based company.The VC fund, run by MBA students at the University of Michigan, has invested in Direct Flow Medical, an emerging medical device company developing a catheter-based, percutaneous-delivered prosthetic aortic valve. This investment is part of Direct Flow Medical's Series C financing, which has raised $40 million from the likes of EDF Ventures, New Leaf Venture Partners and Spray Venture Partners.The Wolverine Venture Fund is part of the University of Michigan's Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies in the Ross Business School. The fund is worth $3.5 million and has invested in more than 18 companies in industries like information technology, life sciences and alternative energy. These firms typically have some sort of U-M connection."That's how we get our deal flow," says Erik Gordon, clinical professor and associate director of the University of Michigan's Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies. "The University of Michigan is one of the most connected places."Source: Erik Gordon, clinical professor and associate director of the University of Michigan's Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial StudiesWriter: Jon Zemke
One of the stars of "In Living Color" reflects on his colorful days in Ann Arbor.Excerpt:David Alan Grier is an actor and comedian who became famous as a member of the cast of the groundbreaking TV series “In Living Color” from 1990-1994, and went on to land roles in a range of movies and TV shows. Born in Detroit in 1955, he started acting while attending the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the mid-1970s.Grier has another Ann Arbor connection, too. In 2007, he hosted an NBC improv show, "Thank God You’re Here" – a cast member of that show, Nyima Funk, grew up in Ann Arbor and is the daughter of former city councilmember Wendy Woods.Read the rest of the story here.
Ann Arbor-made music radio has an international appeal at the "Acoustic Cafe."Excerpt:Rob Reinhart has the kind of voice — rich and resonant — that's made for radio, which is where you'll find the producer/host of the weekly, made-in-Ann Arbor, nationally syndicated radio program "Acoustic Café."Reinhart's guests over the 15 years since the show launched have included top talent as well as up-and-comers from a variety of musical genres."Beck, Joan Baez, John Prine ... we consider Pat Metheny a singer-songwriter, even though he’s working in the jazz world. James Taylor; his brother, Livingston; his son Ben — all of those people are in that category. … Ani DiFranco was one of our earliest guests back in the '90s. John Mayer was on the program, Norah Jones was on the program early on ... It's been fun to watch their careers launch over time.”The show is heard on more than 75 stations, commercial and non-commercial, around the country. Voice of America carries the show worldwide to Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and South America. Acoustic Café can also be heard on the web, or fans can “friend” them on Facebook, where video is also included.Read the rest of the story here.
Green has several meanings in downtown Ann Arbor, and the city's DDA is out to promote both in local businesses.Excerpt:About 50 businesses were approved by an Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority committee today to enter the second year of a program designed to bolster the energy efficiency of downtown buildings.The businesses, large and small, represent about 560,000 square feet in downtown Ann Arbor — roughly 200,000 square feet more than last year, when the DDA launched its Downtown Energy Saving Grant Program and had 40 downtown businesses participate. Susan Pollay, executive director of the DDA, says the program has clear environmental benefits."More importantly, this is about saving money," she said. "If we can get our businesses and our building owners to rein in some of their overhead costs, some of their energy costs, that may be some of what helps to keep them going. ... This is absolutely about helping businesses and building owners get through this tough time."Read the rest of the story here.
Dexter and Saline's libraries are watching more and more people take advantage of their services these days. Those free DVD rentals are an obvious hook, but could it mean we'll see an uptick in literary appreciation?Excerpt:Library directors across the area are reporting increases in usage, in part, they say because of the economy, and in some cases because of new or expanded buildings.Computer usage is at an all-time high in area libraries with people job hunting or applying for unemployment benefits.Read the rest of the story here.
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