2010 – Page 26 of 78

Ann Arbor’s Buycentives enters auto incentive market

By Newsroom

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August 11, 2010

Conventional wisdom dictates that a company whose business model is based on automotive sales would not have done well over the last year or two. Buycentives is not that kind of firm."Even in the downturn we have gotten a lot of interest because our product allows them to spend their marketing dollars more effectively," says David Goldschmidt, co-founder of Buycentives.The 1-year-old start-up housed in Ann Arbor SPARK's downtown incubator specializes in making sense of this big, bloated morass of incentives for both sellers and buyers. Its software lets automakers target small groups or even individual consumers with the right incentives, helping auto manufacturers eliminate inefficiencies in the buyer incentive pool.Buycentives has spent the last year introducing its principal product to the market and is readying it for other types of Internet sales leads. The 3-person firm expects to hire a few sales people to facilitate its growth over the next year."We have made significant progress," Goldschmidt says. "We're gaining some traction with local car companies and dealership groups."Source: David Goldschmidt, co-founder of BuycentivesWriter: Jon Zemke

Deal of the week: Tektronix acquires Arbor Networks

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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August 11, 2010

When local leaders talk about the economic potential of higher education spin-offs, ideally they're speaking about start-ups like Arbor Networks. The brainchild of a U-M professor and a doctoral student in 2000, it spun out of the University of Michigan 10 years ago and grew into one of the leading IT firms in the world. It has been acquired for the second time this week, this time by Texas-based Tektronix Communications. Arbor Networks specializes in network security and data centers, which is also the forte of Tektronix. Arbor Networks handles network security for about 70 percent of U.S. service providers. It is now headquartered in Massachusetts but maintains a research and development center in Ann Arbor. "It's actually pretty good for Ann Arbor," says Rob Malan, co-founder and CTO of Arbor Networks. "It basically means Arbor is going to stay Arbor. They really value the team here."That team has been growing. Its staff is up to 20 new members in the Ann Arbor office over the last two years, rounding out to 90 people. Malan expects that trend to continue. "We have been hiring strong for quite a while. We don't see that stopping.""We hire strongly out of the university," Malan says. "We bring in talent from around the world here to Ann Arbor." A sales price has not been disclosed, but the deal should be consummated by September. Tektronix is a subsidiary of Danaher Corp, a multi-billion dollar firm based in Washington, D.C. Source: Tektronix Communications and Rob Malan, co-founder and CTO of Arbor Networks Writer: Jon Zemke

Far From Standard expands in Ann Arbor, plans to open in new U.S. markets

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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August 11, 2010

Far From Standard is growing both inside and outside of Ann Arbor as the 3-year-old tutoring service adds staff in Tree Town, expands its offices near the University of Michigan, and looks to open new locations nationwide."We have been growing steady so everything looks good," says Neel Chheda, president of Far From Standard. The company provides highly trained and specialized academic tutors for university science and business students. These are focused on the University of Michigan and Michigan State University classes. Over the last year, Chheda, a U-M graduate, has added one new employee in Ann Arbor and a couple of tutors to round out his staff to three full-timers and 20 tutors.The downtown-based firm has also moved to bigger office space, upgrading from two tutoring rooms to eight. Chheda is also looking at opening in other markets across the U.S., such as Los Angeles, Chicago, or New York. Far From Standard has also revamped its website and is focusing on providing more video content. "We have basically been creating our own database of material," Chheda says. "It creates an identity and brand for ourselves."Source: Neel Chheda, president of Far From StandardWriter: Jon Zemke

Workantile Exchange adds members and space

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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August 11, 2010

The Workantile Exchange in downtown Ann Arbor is heading towards capacity, picking up speed and even expanding its space to accommodate demand."We'd like to continue expanding if we can," says Trek Glowacki, co-owner of Workantile Exchange. "If we can't we might cap membership and create a waiting list."The 3,200 square-foot co-working space on Main Street, a few doors down from Vinology, has 89 members and adds an average of four new members each week. It expects to hit its capacity of 120 people by the end of the year. To help accommodate this growth it's adding about 400 square feet by taking over the Mighty Good Coffee Shop property, which is moving to 217 Main St. Workantile's community is still deciding how to use the space.Potential uses include expanding the general work area or utilizing its street frontage to display the work of members, potentially a pretty eclectic mix. Workantile's membership is primarily knowledge-based workers but encompasses a broad variety of professions. Some examples include award-winning authors, teachers, attorneys, software developers, real-estate agents, and archeologists."It's sort of all over the map," Glowacki says. "People ask, 'What's your biggest demographic?' We don't know. It changes everyday."Workantile Exchange got its start last summer as a local grass roots effort to provide a working area for the new economy's 1099 workers who are primarily home- and coffee shop-based. Glowacki and Mike Kessler turned the old Arcadian Antiques building into community workspace with two conference rooms, a kitchenette, a phone room, a loft area for training, and a cafe space. Monthly memberships run $160 including a monthly bus pass valued at $50.Glowacki and Kessler are looking at expanding into the third floor of the late 19th-century building or perhaps even finding more adjacent space. Those plans are tentative for the time being as the partners focus on continuing to expand their business' membership.Source: Trek Glowacki, co-owner of Workantile ExchangeWriter: Jon Zemke

Start-ups Ergun Technology and Local Orbit score microloans

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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August 11, 2010

Start-ups from Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti took two of the three loans announced by the Michigan Microloan Fund Program earlier this week.Ypsilanti-based Ergun Technology and Local Orbit (Ann Arbor) received loans, along with Detroit Electric. The three start-ups will split $140,000 in funding. Each microloan runs anywhere between $10,000 and $50,000. Own is the principal product for Ergun Technology. Own connects cash registers to the Internet, providing store owners real-time remote access to their transactions. The 4-person firm plans to use its loans to complete Beta testing of its product and begin marketing it to coffee shops across the state. "Our goal is to have 200 locations using our system by the end of 2011," says Verdi Erel Ergun, president of Ergun Technology and a former eatery owner. Local Orbit is creating a web platform that simplifies the process of buying food directly from local farmers for restaurants, institutions, and consumers. The state-created Michigan Microloan Fund Program provides seed capital to growing new economy start-ups. The $1.4 million program, which is run by Ann Arbor SPARK, became instantly popular because of the lack of financing available in the wake of the financial crisis. Source: Verdi Erel Ergun, president of Ergun Technology and Ann Arbor SPARKWriter: Jon Zemke

White Pine Systems expects to double headcount

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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August 11, 2010

Conifers have a reputation as a fast-growing tree. Keep that in mind while watching White Pine Systems grow in Ann Arbor this year.The 4-year-old firm is a provider of online medical records and spent most of last year securing new client business. It has continued to grow its relationship with its initial client and secured a health information exchange in Washington that covers five hospitals and 217,000 people. The company ensures that doctors get the most information about a patient's medical history so they can maximize the effectiveness of treatment and avoid misdiagnosis."We think we are in an ideal position," says Doug Dormer, president of White Pine Systems. "What we picked up in the last year is strong. We will easily double in size in the next year."Dormer sees White Pine Systems growing from 10 employees and the occasional independent contractor to a staff of 20 and a handful of 1099 workers in the next year. Source: Doug Dormer, president of White Pine SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke

Concentrate Speaker Series Event: Young & Sticking Around

By Concentrate Staff

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Community Development

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August 10, 2010

One of Michigan's mantras is that we need to do a better job of attracting and retaining young professionals. And Ann Arbor is not immune to the challenge. For our next Speaker Series Event Concentrate has invited a group of local young entrepreneurs to discuss why they've decided to live and set up shop here. Think of it as a beer-fueled brainstorming session on Ann Arbor's future. Sign up now for this August 26th event!

Ann Arbor, Clean Energy Coalition deploy new hydraulic hybrid trucks

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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August 4, 2010

The city of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti's Clean Energy Coalition have partnered to make Tree Town's newest green toy (single-stream recycling) a little more sustainable.The Depot Town-based non-profit is using some of its federal grant money to outfit four of the city's trucks with a fuel-saving hybrid technology. Those trucks will be the first to collect Ann Arbor's newly established single stream of recycling, a process where residents put all of their recyclables in a single container."It represents a large amount of fuel savings," says Lisa Warshaw, a spokeswoman for the Clean Energy Coalition. "It's also a reduction in vehicle emissions."The project is funded with approximately $120,000 from the federal stimulus to purchase four hydraulic hybrid trucks, which utilize technology pioneered by the EPA's National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory in Ann Arbor. That technology stores braking energy in hydraulic fluid instead of in a battery pack. It's designed for heavy-duty trucks that do a lot of stop-and-go driving."I was kind of awestruck by this technology," Warshaw says. "I would like to see this technology distributed to more sectors of the transportation system."Source: Lisa Warshaw, a spokeswoman for the Clean Energy CoalitionWriter: Jon Zemke

Life Magnetics spins out of U-M, lands investment from Arboretum Ventures

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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August 4, 2010

Life Magnetics was a combination of technology and an idea to commercialize it before Arboretum Ventures gave both a chance at life earlier this month.The Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm invested an undisclosed amount in the University of Michigan spin-off. The two-person start-up will use the funds to begin clinical testing on an infection test and build out its management team to 5-10 strong over the next year."This money is helping us launch the company," says Brandon McNaughton, founder and chief technology officer of Life Magnetics. "We're looking for some laboratory space now."Life Magnetics' technology provides a rapid diagnostic test for bacterial infections, providing both the identity of the bacteria and recommendation of an antibiotic for treatment. "What that translates to is you get the best antibiotic as soon as possible," McNaughton says.Source: Brandon McNaughton, founder and chief technology officer of Life MagneticsWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s Locavorious spreads local produce

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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August 4, 2010

Many locavores want to raise all of their own food, with a few dedicated diehards coming pretty close to accomplishing that. An Ann Arbor start-up is putting that goal within reach for more and more people.Locavorious partners with local farms to freeze fresh produce and keep it in a community freezer. The 3-year-old start-up then sells that produce on a subscription basis. The idea is to capture produce at its peak freshness and then save it for locavores who would rather eat Michigan-grown vegetables than those trucked up from the other side of North America or beyond. "I just wanted to be part of a solution," says Rena Basch, owner of Locavorious. "It just seemed like the right thing at the right time."The company employs five people on a part-time basis. It started with 100 subscribers and now has 200 on its list. It hopes to hit 300 within the next year. All of this growth comes from viral marketing and word-of-mouth campaigning at local farmers markets.Basch got started on promoting local food when she left the auto industry in 2006. The Ann Arbor Township Clerk became involved in government efforts to preserve local agriculture. One of the ways was to find more customers for area farms, so Basch began experimenting with pickling to maximize the shelf life of produce. The CFL went off over her head when a friend and serial entrepreneur suggested freezing the food."My experience with the township got me interested in preserving local agriculture," Basch says. "I wanted to be in sustainable agriculture but my husband didn't want me to plow up the front yard."Source: Rena Basch, owner of LocavoriousWriter: Jon Zemke