Ann Arbor Spark, the incubator space for early-stage companies, just finished the build out of 6600 additional sqaure feet to its space dedicated to entrepreneurial development. Excerpt: “The challenge in Ann Arbor is the real estate market is really tough. There’s very little inventory, and people are asking for long leases for what is available, so it’s really put a damper on the ability of our incubated companies to grow.” Read the rest here.
Southfield-based V-Max USA, which produces high-end batteries, is planning a new Ypsilanti Township facility in order to expand its developing solar energy business. This means producing "advanced" solar packages that can be distributed to contractors who install solar energy systems into customer homes. Excerpt: "Preliminary site plans submitted to the Ypsilanti Township Planning Department call for a 30,000-square foot facility, and the project could be in front of the planning commission later this month, said township planning coordinator Joe Lawson. The building is planned for an 18-acre vacant property at 1879 W. Michigan Ave. near the Ellsworth Road intersection." Read the rest here.
Coherix recently landed $12 million to help rapidly grow sales of its manufacturing software around the world. But the Ann Arbor-based startup nearly perished before getting to this point. The company launched in 2004, making software that help streamline the advanced manufacturing process. Business grew quickly and the startup’s leadership had visions of going public. Then the Great Recession hit. The company's investors, never losing faith in Coherix's potential spent $9.6 million between 2008 and 2010 to keep the company afloat through hard times. "We have a tremendous group of investors," says Dwight Carlson, CEO of Coherix. When the economy turned around and Coherix extinguished its cash burn, Carlson had high hopes to raising a lot more money to fuel its growth. "I thought they would be throwing money at me because we survived (the Great Recession)," Carlson says. It didn't turn out that way. Investors saw that Coherix specialized in manufacturing, strike one. It is based in Michigan, strike two. Carlson cut his loses and went back to growing Coherix organically and further developing its technology. Today its principal technology provides high-speed, high-definition 3D measurement and inspection services for manufacturers that streamlines their production capability. It creates efficiencies through high-tech, optical-based measurement and inspection of the assembly processes. Coherix has found most of its success deploying this technology in China where 40 percent of that country’s gross domestic product is created through manufacturing. It employs 50 people globally, including 35 in Ann Arbor. It has hired two marketing people in Ann Arbor over the last year now that it has landed its latest investment round. Carlson expects to hire a lot more people as he starts to put the $12 million in new seed capital to work. One third of that money will go toward building out Coherix's operations in China. The rest of it will be spent building the business in Ann Arbor. Taking Coherix public in the next few years is a dream again. "Now we're pedal to the metal," Carlson says. "We are going from survival mode to rapid growth mode. We will be hiring an awful lot of people." Source: Dwight Carlson, CEO of Coherix Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Huron Valley Financial got its start selling mortgages to people in Washtenaw County in the mid 1990s. Today it's doing the same across the country and offering a whole lot more as it grows at its fastest clip to date. "We have had some of our best months ever in 2015," says Casey Daniels, vice president of business development for Huron Valley Financial. The Ann Arbor-based company can now sell mortgages in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, California, Florida, Texas, Georgia and North Carolina. It is also in the process of getting approval to sell mortgages in South Carolina. To accommodate that growth the firm has hired 18 people in sales and operations over the last year and is looking to hire another six now. It currently has a staff of 90 people. The bigger staff and geographic footprint helps with Huron Valley Financial's growth. But its biggest gains are coming from its larger portfolio of services it can offer. Huron Valley Financial has been approved to service loans (a function it formerly had to outsource to larger financial institutions) and sell loans to Fannie Mae. "Us getting our Fannie Mae approval was pretty big," Daniels says. "It allows us to streamline a lot of our processes." Huron Valley Financial also launched a wholesale division earlier this month. It can now sell its mortgages and other lending products, like construction loans, to community banks and credit unions. The mortgage lender is also planning to further broaden its product portfolio, but Daniels declined to elaborate on those plans. "We are always looking at additional products to add," Daniels says. Source: Casey Daniels, vice president of business development for Huron Valley Financial Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
A new co-working space called The Back Office Studio is under construction in downtown Ypsilanti and should be open this fall. Construction workers with JC Beal Construction have begun working on 13 N Washington with a target of having the space completed in time for a Halloween opening. In the meantime, The Back Office Studio team is recruiting its first patrons. "We're looking for second stage companies in any industry," says John Newman, general manager of The Back Office Studio. "We're not going to be incubating startups. We ware looking for established companies looking for office space or collaboration space." The Back Office Studio is also looking for freelancers and other new economy professionals to fill out its space. The plan is to start at the ground floor of the 9,000-square-foot building and go from there. "We're going to start on the first floor and expand into the second floor," Newman says. The co-working space will enable users to have 24/7 access to the building through a key card. Memberships are available to $100 a week or $25 a day trial memberships. Regular memberships where people can access a desk on a first-come-first-serve basis are available for $200 per month. A membership where the user has access to a private desk go for $350 per month. Users will also have access to the stereotypical co-working options, like coffee, snacks, conference rooms, and WiFi. "We're working to have a really robust wifi," Newman says. Newman and his partners purchased the building earlier this year with the idea of turning it into a new economy hotspot. They want to complement the Ann Arbor SPARK East Incubator in downtown Ypsilanti by creating a space for more mature companies. "We want to add to the vitality of downtown Ypsilanti," Newman says. Source: John Newman, general manager of The Back Office Studio Writer: Jon Zemke
Joanne Kwiatkowski died of breast cancer three years ago, leaving a hole in the life of her daughter, Beth. But Joanne also left her daughter with some words of wisdom. "She asked me that I live my life and not let anybody hold me back," Beth says. "That's what inspired me to do this crazy thing and spend all of my money on it." That crazy thing is Beth's own coffee shop, The Little Bird Cafe in Ypsilanti. Beth has worked as a coffee buyer for Whole Foods for years. She loved going into work everyday and seeing people who eagerly awaited her work with coffee. Today she works in a more corporate capacity for the upscale grocer. While Beth likes her current job, she wants to get back to interacting with customers on a regular basis. "I'd like to do my own thing and not be in the corporate world anymore," Beth says. "I think I would be perfect for it." So Beth is in the process of launching The Little Bird Cafe, a craft coffee shop that specializes in espresso drinks and pour-overs. She bought a small commercial building at last year's Washtenaw County Tax Auction. The 1,200-square-foot structure at 908 N Congress was an abandoned party store that Beth used to jog past in Ypsilanti’s Normal Park neighborhood. "I said this would be the perfect place to open my coffee shop one day," Beth says. The city of Ypsilanti recently approved the zoning for The Little Bird Cafe. Beth is now starting to gear up to renovate the building with an eye of opening the doors in mid 2016. Source: Beth Kwiatkowski, owner of The Little Bird Cafe Writer: Jon Zemke
Here's something for older folks to grouse about: a phone app that rewards students for better study habits. Can't you almost hear them say, "How about good grades? Isn't that reward enough?" Oh, grandpa. Excerpt: "Students earn points for activities such as meeting with a tutor or success coach, attending campus events and more. Points accumulate and can be used to “purchase” items in a prize store or used at the end of the year to bid on major benefits such as free tuition, housing, a meal plan, a tablet device or gift cards to the campus book store." Read the rest here.
Nom nom nom. Another day, another newspaper writer discovers Ann Arbor's culinary scene. Yes, Zingerman's gets a shout-out. But so does new kid on the block, Mezzevino. Excerpt: "All I knew about Ann Arbor when I made my first visit was that it is home to the University of Michigan. The city’s population of 114,000 swells to 145,000 when students are on campus. But after only four days, I left knowing this: If the dictionary had a definition of “cool American town,” it would be Ann Arbor. Consider the following: Ann Arbor has five farmers markets; 23 used-book stores; the largest collection of antique and heirloom peonies in North America; a hardware store that transforms into a beer garden by night, and a local deli, Zingerman’s, that holds an annual fundraiser, Camp Bacon, where events range from the Potlikker Film Festival to the Bacon Ball." Read the rest here.
MuniRent launched with the idea of bringing the sharing economy to municipalities across Michigan. Today the Ann Arbor-based startup is looking to spike its growth by bringing its technology to large government agencies, like state departments of transportation. The 1-year-old startup's software enables municipalities to share heavy equipment, such as backhoes and earth movers, that would otherwise sit around and gather dust. It's two-person team had recruited 24 Michigan municipalities into its fold when the Oregon Department of Transportation came calling. It wanted to use MuniRent's platform internally for its nearly 100 work crews. Nearly a year later the Oregon work crews (each crew is the equivalent of small city in Michigan) are averaging between 1-3 transactions a day. They have clocked 5,800 days of reservations for equipment that is in steady use. "The data is unbelievable," says Alan Mond, co-founder & CEO of MuniRent. "It's real telling how much equipment use increased." And word is getting around. MuniRent is fielding interest from state transportation departments in Texas, Colorado and Minnesota, along with the city of Los Angeles. "We want to have at least 20 different large governmental agencies in the fold by next year," Mond says. Source: Alan Mond, co-founder & CEO of MuniRent Writer: Jon Zemke
TorranceLearning is a name that gets around, but it doesn't have to pay to reach its customer base. The downtown Chelsea-based firm lets it track record do the talking. And that has spurred its growth. "We don't pay for advertising," says Megan Torrance, CEO of TorranceLearning. "We only pay for two trade show booths a year. It's really about the quality of our work that gets us our attention." TorranceLearning calls the Chelsea Clocktower home and specializes in creating custom education projects for companies and non-profits. Its clients range from major auto suppliers like Denso to the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum. It recently landed work with NSF International, Consumers Energy, and Steelcase. That has allowed to start looking to hire half a dozen people to add to its staff of 13 people. "We will finish the year 40-50 percent higher than last year," Torrance says. TorranceLearning has been able to attract those new clients and expanded business through its growing reputation. The 13-year-old firm has landed several stories in niche publications about its work and growing business. Work like that has made Torrance optimistic about the company’s near-term prospects. "I'd like to triple our revenues next year," Torrance says. "I'd to have a team of two dozen people or more." Source: Megan Torrance, CEO of TorranceLearning Writer: Jon Zemke
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