2010 – Page 5 of 78 – Concentrate

HistoSonics expands to 10 staffers, adds former FDA commissioner to board

By Newsroom

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December 1, 2010

HistoSonics is rounding out its staff and board of directors as the Ann Arbor-based startup begins to head toward clinical trials.The 1-year-old U-M spin-off is developing a medical device that uses tightly focused ultrasound pulses to treat prostate disease in a non-invasive manner with robotic precision. HistoSonics (histo meaning tissue and sonics meaning sound waves) landed $11 million in venture capital last year and has used it to build up its staff from five to 10 people and add a sixth board member, Dr. Andrew von Eschenbach, former commissioner of the FDA, that will help lead the firm through clinical trials."We'll be shifting into clinical trial phase late next year," says Christine Gibbons, president & COO of HistoSonics. HistoSonics has also spent the last year hitting key product development milestones. Gibbons expects her team to finish up product development over the next few months and begin the company's first pilot study in the summer. The company will probably add a handful of independent contractors at that time.More hires should be made as clinical trials progress, with commercialization of the product by 2014. The company's $11 million in seed capital is also expected to take product development well into the clinical trial phase.Source: Christine Gibbons, president & COO of HistoSonicsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ann Arbor’s WriteSteps goes national

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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December 1, 2010

Writing instruction always came easy for Suzanne Klein, a former elementary school teacher. Her methods were so popular among other teachers, they encouraged her to commercialize them before someone else did. That precipitated WriteSteps four years ago, an educational company that is gearing up to go national in 2011."The need is there for a writing program," says Klein, founder & CEO of WriteSteps. "Writing is the hardest thing for teachers to teach."WriteSteps, which came out on top at the most recent Ann Arbor SPARK Entrepreneur Boot Camp, primarily sells its educational kits in Michigan these days, after getting its start in the Taylor School District. More than 1,000 teachers use the kits today and Klein plans to begin rolling them out to other school districts across North America in 2011. This growth, a 200 percent increase in sales over the last year alone, has allowed WriteSteps to be cash-flow positive and hiring. It has added eight people to its staff, which now stands at 12, over the last year. Klein expects to add another 10-20 positions in 2011 as WriteSteps begins selling its kits across the U.S.Source: Suzanne Klein, founder & CEO of WriteStepsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Wine Country Is Just 90 Minutes Away

By Kristin Lukowski

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Community Development

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December 1, 2010

If you know wine, it's probably no surprise to you that Michigan ranks 8th in the nation for wine production. But if

Regenerating Our Economy With Stem Cells

By Dennis Archambault

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Kids and Education

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December 1, 2010

Not only does stem cell research offer a lifeline to patients with life-threatening diseases, it may also provide an economic lifeline to Southeast Michigan by growing our life sciences industry.

Ann Arbor’s Foodpreneurs

By Natalie Burg

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Arts and Culture

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December 1, 2010

In Ann Arbor the phrase 'you are what you eat' isn't just a another aphorism. It's an entrepreneurial reality. The proof? A trio of homegrown gastronomic start-ups with a mission to stuff local foodies with locally-made foodstuff.

Ann Arbor’s Fritz building to change brick into glass

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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November 17, 2010

People walking in the Main and Liberty area of downtown Ann Arbor will soon have a better view of what's for sale in one of the buildings there.The Fritz building, at the northeast corner of that intersection, will likely get some new display windows come summer, says Ben Curtis, one of the building's property managers. That corner space has housed Occasionally Gift Shop for years, and dates back to the turn of the century. The owner is looking to retire soon, he says, and they've gotten approval from the historical society to renovate after the storefront is vacated.The plan is for two new display bay windows, at 8 feet and 16 feet in length, respectively. They've wanted to improve the building for a while, Curtis says, but didn't want to disrupt the business to do so."Display windows definitely bring value to the store," he says. "Passersby can see the product the store is selling. Right now it's quite a stretch of just brick wall on Liberty Street."The three-story Fritz building is also home to a barber shop, a salon, Kilwin's chocolate and ice cream store, as well as second floor offices and a club. He says the corner retail space is about 1,300 square feet, with a full basement."We're not really considering restaurants or food establishments, because there's plenty of places (already)," he says. "The building isn't really fit for a restaurant."But its location makes it an important corner, he says; they've had several inquires. "It's definitely going to enhance the building's look, and that whole intersection will be spruced up a little," he says. The project falls in line with others they've done, while keeping buildings true to their historical character. "It should definitely enhance the building -- make it look a little bit more crisp and sharp, add value to the building, and value to the space which the new tenant will be in," he says.Source: Ben Curtis, downtown Ann Arbor property managerWriter: Kristin Lukowski

Ann Arbor DDA provides energy audits, improvement grants

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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November 17, 2010

Downtown Ann Arbor businesses considering energy-efficient improvements have until the end of the month to apply for a Ann Arbor Downtown Development Authority program that pays them back.The program gives grants for energy savings, giving free audits and then rebating half of the money back, up to $20,000, for improvements that the businesses make as a result of that, explains David Konkle, the DDA's energy program director -- who also goes by Lord of Energy or Energy Czar, depending on the audience. It's a DDA program that addresses how businesses can be healthier and run with less money, he explains."This is part of doing business," he says. "It's expensive to own a small store. There are plenty of businesses that have gotten money to reduce their energy costs."The list of participating businesses, and their buildings, is pretty varied - Ann Arbor Brewing Company, First United Methodist Church, the First National building, The Real Seafood Company, and many of the small shops along Main. First, a technical energy analysis is done, which results in a 20-30 page report about every aspect of the business’ energy use. "They just have a whole new vision of how their business operates energy-wise," Konkle says.Then, they're shown opportunities for saving money, ranging from new light bulbs to front window replacements, many of which are old, single-pane glass. Oftentimes that makes for a more comfortable environment for the customer, too, he says.Most have taken on lighting projects, but the Methodist Church, for example, made improvements to an old steam boiler, which often prove too difficult to get rid of completely. In one case, MAVDevelopment, in its building at Main and William, invested in solar and geothermal energy.Konkle says he hopes that when businesses receive an energy report, they start to think about the projects they could do. So far, the DDA has provided for 75 audits of 1 million square feet of building space, and so far $264,000 has been spent by businesses, with the DDA rebating $126,000. The investments work out to $49,370 in annual energy savings -- which, including the DDA rebates, works out to a payback in less than three years.Ben Curtis, a downtown property manager, says he's taken advantage of the program for insulation, lighting, windows, and front doors. "It makes it easier to convince property owners that we should go ahead and do this project, especially since it's 50 percent off, basically," he says.Konkle says Ann Arbor's program is the best conservation program for commercial businesses in the country. "I don't think you can go anywhere in the United States and get a better deal than what's available now in Ann Arbor," he says.Businesses can find the application form at the DDA's website.Source: David Konkle, DDA energy program director and Ben Curtis, downtown property managerWriter: Kristin Lukowski

Ann Arbor start-ups dominate Accelerate Michigan semi-finals

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 17, 2010

Ann Arbor-based start-ups are dominating the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, taking half of the 50 spaces in the semi-finals.Elizabeth Parkinson, director of marking and public relations for Ann Arbor SPARK, says this sort of showing isn't an anomaly. Tree Town-based start-ups regularly take half of the cash from Michigan's statewide Pre-Seed Capital and Microloan funds. "We used judges from across the state," says Parkinson. Ann Arbor SPARK is the lead organizer behind the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. "Everyone has three looks from three different judges. Everybody got a fair look."And Ann Arbor firms shined through. On top of that another three startups are based in (Saline-based Sensors and Brighton-based Spinal Ventures) or have ties to (ShadePlex started in Ypsilanti) communities nearby. The list includes a number of firms that are well known for a variety of reasons, including Discera, which emerged as an issue in the recent gubernatorial race.Among the companies are Accio Energy, Advanced Battery Control and POWERleap in alternative energy, along with Arbor Photonics and ePack in next generation manufacturing. The medical device companies include Compendia Bioscience, Epsilon Imaging, Hygieia, OcuSciences, Vir(Sn) and ImBio. The life science firms are FreeStride Therapeutics, Life Magnatics, NextGen Metabolomics, and RetroSense Theraputics. The rest include Current Motor Company (advanced transportation); ElectroDynamic Applications and Mayaterials (both in advanced materials); Evigia Systems and Pixel Velocity (both defense & homeland security); Ix Innovations and Monarch Antenna (both products and services); TherapyCharts, and Reveal Design (IT).The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is offering $1 million in prizes to start-ups in Michigan or planning to move to Michigan. The idea is to showcase the state's entrepreneurial ecosystem to a large audience of investors in town for the Big Chill hockey game at Michigan Stadium on Dec. 11.Source: Elizabeth Parkinson, director of marking & public relations for Ann Arbor SPARKWriter: Jon Zemke

Leon Speakers turns speakers into art, jobs

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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November 17, 2010

Leon Speakers got its start in 1997 when a trio of University of Michigan graduates who loved music, art, and engineering decided to combine art with audio by creating a custom speaker company."We're still trying to mix art with audio and business with Bohemia," says Noah Kaplan, president of Leon Speakers and the only one of the original three co-founders still with the company that reinvented the speaker industry. The firm got its start building custom speakers using silk screens and exotic hardwoods, taking advantage of a market that wanted better looking stereo speakers that could be installed in odd places. Kaplan says Leon Speakers came up with sound solutions for flat-panel TVs, developed the first speakers specifically for plasma TVs, and invented the sound bar."We were always trying to get the momentum," Kaplan says. "We knew plasma would take over the world. We have been working our faces off to keep up with technology."That has allowed Leon Speakers to establish a downtown Ann Arbor retail presence, a Whitmore Lake factory, $3 million in annual revenues, 650 dealers and a staff of 30 people. It expects to grow its revenue 55 percent in 2011 and make a few more hires on top of the six people it added this year."We're just starting to hit our stride," Kaplan says.Source: Noah Kaplan, president of Leon SpeakersWriter: Jon Zemke

Synergy Broadband acquires A2 data center, adds employees

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 17, 2010

With its recent purchase of a data center in Ann Arbor, Synergy Broadband continues its backyard expansion.The 12-year-old firm bought the data center in the Waterworks Building on State Street from an un-named company. The facility features state-of-the-art technology, including high-capacity cooling systems and diesel generators, around-the-clock security, redundant Cisco-powered networks, and multiple-carrier fail-over Internet connectivity."It was a very good fit for us," says K. Jenean Kaiser, vice president of operations for Synergy Broadband. "We have the infrastructure and staff to manage it. It's a very good complement."The data center will increase the Internet company's bandwidth. Its fiber reach now stands at more than 1,000 megabytes of capacity for data services in the local area. Synergy Broadband has been growing its staff recently to help meet this demand, adding three jobs over the last year to build a staff of 10 employees and a few independent contractors. It has one job opening now and plans another two or three in 2011.Source: K. Jenean Kaiser, vice president of operations for Synergy BroadbandWriter: Jon Zemke