Entrepreneurship

BodegaBid establishes virtual goods exchange, plans to double staffing

By Newsroom

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November 3, 2010

Lots of people love the games on social media sites like Facebook's Mafia or Farmville. So much so that gamers are usually willing to spend a few bucks for virtual goods. But what do you do when you're done playing and all you have is a few bucks worth of nada? BodegaBid thinks it has the answer.The 3-year-old startup has created a secondary website for Facebook game trading where gamers can trade and sell virtual goods and recoup some of their money. The website launched out of downtown Ann Arbor in July and is about to announce some new partners for iPhone games. BodegaBid was also recently named "One of the Most Promising Top 10 Early Stage Internet Start Ups" by TiECON Midwest 2010."The growth of virtual goods and currency is huge," says Mark Sendo, founder and CEO of BodegaBid, adding the average gamer spends $22 on virtual goods for these games. "When people are done playing the game they have nothing. I think there is a market for these goods."BodegaBid now employs seven people, five interns, and a few independent contractors. It expects to add 15 positions over the next year as the website grows in popularity. Sendo is working to move the new website's traffic from a few hundred people right now to 100,000 daily users within the next year."We're going to be growing quite a bit," Sendo says.Source: Mark Sendo, founder and CEO of BodegaBidWriter: Jon Zemke

Latest in Entrepreneurship

Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition garners 570 entries, exceeds expectations

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 3, 2010

The entries are in for the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, and the winners are making their way through the first round of elimination.The Ann Arbor-based contest with $1 million worth of prizes attracted 570 entries from not only across the U.S. but around the world. Those applications were evenly split between student entrepreneurs pitching business concepts and established startups looking to take their next step up."The number of businesses was somewhat more than we expected," says Michael Finney, president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, which is coordinating the event. "We set our expectations at 200-225 and it was 285."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. There will also be a Student Idea Competition with $50,000 in prizes. Students must submit a one-page business plan, a three-minute video pitch, and formulate a 15-minute live pitch.The most popular areas of the competitions were products and services, IT, and life sciences. Entries came from states like California, Texas, and Massachusetts, and countries like Canada, Switzerland, and the West Cape of Africa. About 90 percent of the applications came from Michigan-based businesses and just over 10 percent of the entries came from people age 55 and older."There really is a need for us and our services for those people who fall into that demographic," Finney says.The competition is being run by the Business Accelerator Network, which is composed of southeast Michigan's major business accelerator agencies. Judges will start narrowing down the list of entrants to 45 company semifinalists and 25 student semifinalists by Tuesday. The Top 10 companies and students will be selected just before the event in December.Source: Michael Finney, president and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARKWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor, Chelsea get 5 stars for entrepreneurial growth

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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October 27, 2010

Lots of cities and communities like to talk about how they're "open for business" and ready to help companies wherever they can. Ann Arbor and Chelsea now have the credibility to back up those claims. The two burgs were listed as 5-Star Cities (top rankings) by the University of Michigan-Dearborn iLabs program for their efforts with listening to local businesses and acting upon their needs. See the whole list here.

Concentrate Speaker Series: A Shadow Art Community

By Concentrate Staff

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Arts and Culture

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October 27, 2010

Ypsilanti has developed a rep for being the place for local artists and do-it-yourself creatives. The Shadow Art Fair has played no small part in making this happen. Concentrate's Speaker Series has invited the organizers --members of the Michigan Design Militia-- to talk about their experiences and what their success means for our region's future. Sign up now for this November 10th event!

DealSavant gets ready to spin out of Tech Brewery

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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October 27, 2010

If nothing is as valuable as information (well, maybe time) then the people behind DealSavant believe they have something special on their hands. The Tech Brewery-based startup is developing software that will be able to tell retailers specifically who saw their latest bargain and how they found it.The brand-spanking new startup is developing a smartphone application that uses a QR code (think a checkerboard-like bar code that can appear on a touch screen) so people can claim discounts on purchases. Those codes tell the business whether the buyer found the ad on Facebook or from a friend. The software also reveals the gender and age of the buyer."They'll be able to measure where they got their customers from the point of sale," says Joe Minock, one of DealSavant's three co-founders. "Most of us carry our phones wherever we go, so we thought that was a pretty good vehicle."DealSavant has already signed up a few local businesses to participate in its pilot project and is looking for more. The company hopes to have between 50-100 participating businesses in the next 45 days.Source: Joe Minock, co-founder of DealSavantWriter: Jon Zemke

MASTERMIND: Bena Burda

By Kelly Quintanilla

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Arts and Culture

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October 27, 2010

Necessity is the mother of invention. In search of a bluer corn chip, Bena Burda ended up founding Maggie's Organics. Eighteen years later the company is still going strong, setting the bar for eco and social responsibility.

Adrenaline Commerce gains traction in e-commerce

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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October 27, 2010

Joe Minock really liked the name Adrenaline Commerce for his new startup, but like turned to love when he saw the URL was still available. One year later the Ann Arbor-based e-commerce firm is gaining traction, and, getting ready to make its first hires.Adrenaline Commerce, which calls the Tech Brewery home, creates software platforms for businesses to sell their products online. Minock and his team of four (two co-founders and two independent contractors) saw a need to help small businesses that normally don't have anything to do with the Internet expand into the venue.One of those companies is Riders Hobby Shop. The Ypsilanti-based retailer of model planes and the like formerly had just a simple, static webpage. Adrenaline Commerce is about to help the retailer put its entire catalog of products online later this year."We'll have about 7,000 products online when we launch," Minock says.Projects like this and more have allowed Adrenaline Commerce to grow its budding business by 100 percent over the last four months. Minock expects that to continue, which should allow him to bring the two independent contractors on as employees within the next year."We've seen strong growth going forward," Minock says. Source: Joe Minock, co-founder of Adrenaline CommerceWriter: Jon Zemke

Cerenis Therapeutics lands $14M in VC

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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October 27, 2010

If there is one thing Cerenis Therapeutics doesn't lack for, it's venture capital. The Ann Arbor-based drug development company just landed $14 million, its second VC investment this year, bringing its total venture capital take to $65.6 million for 2010.Most of that money will go toward Cerenis Therapeutics' latest venture, which is creating and commercializing the first synthetic HDL, the so-called good cholesterol. The idea is to create a new way to remove plaque from heart tissue. The 5-year-old firm just finished its Phase 1 clinical trial and plans to begin a proof-of-concept study early next year."That's enough money for us to complete the proof of concept study and other HDL programs," says Bill Brinkerhoff, COO of Cerenis Therapeutics. Cerenis Therapeutics has 26 employees, half of whom are in Ann Arbor and the rest are in France. It has made two hires in Ann Arbor over the last six months. Its growing staff is made up mostly of ex-Pfizer employees who specialized in HDL programs (drugs) similar to Cerenis Therapeutics' current products. "I think we will continue to grow as we develop the programs," Brinkerhoff says.Source: Bill Brinkerhoff, COO of Cerenis TherapeuticsWriter: Jon Zemke

Business Insider ranks Ann Arbor as Top 20 Most Innovative City

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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October 20, 2010

Ann Arbor makes yet another list: This time Tree Town has been ranked as one of the Top 20 Most Innovative Cities in the U.S. by Business Insider. It joins the ranks of Raleigh, N.C., and Los Angeles.Excerpt:Are you having a mental block? Maybe it's not you, it's the city you're in.Innovation analysts at 2thinknow released a list of the most innovative cities in the world. They evaluated 289 cities based on three factors: cultural assets, human infrastructure, and networked markets.Cities were ranked on a one to ten scale in each category for a total possible index score of 30. Once index numbers were determined, cities were given the label of "node," "nexus," or "hub."Christopher Hire, executive director of 2thinknow, explains the process:"Cities that have a high index score are nexus cities, followed by hub then node cities. A node city is a globally “competitive” score, so all cities should aim to be node cities. Node means they are hooked into global networks and connected to the backbone of the global innovation economy.Read the rest of the story here.

Wireless Ypsi plans to double customer base, expand nationally

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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October 20, 2010

Ypsilanti's wireless co-op is becoming the city's wireless startup now that Wireless Ypsi is spreading its wings and picking up customers across Metro Detroit and even the U.S.Wireless Ypsi started out two years ago when local community activists Steve Pierce and Brian Robb wanted to bring free Wi-Fi to downtown Ypsilanti. The startup now has 100 customers and the service covers large swaths of the city, including downtown, Depot Town, parks along the Huron River, and some neighborhoods. It's also in the process of setting up a wireless network in downtown Clawson and is receiving similar requests from communities, apartment complexes, and businesses across the metro area."This is the growth phase," Pierce says. "We're trying to turn it into a full business." That can be a tricky transition, going from community project to for-profit venture. Wireless Ypsi still provides its services for free to the city of Ypsilanti, including heavily used service at its public housing projects. So far 85,000 unique devices have logged onto the Wireless Ypsi's Meraki-based Wi-Fi network. An average of 1,000 unique devices use it every day, creating another perk that raises the city's quality of life. "It's a wonderful extra when you can carry your notebook around anywhere and surf the net," says Eric Maurer, a developer and landlord with 100 apartments in Ypsilanti, including 25 downtown. Mark Maynard (Ypsilanti's blogger, puppet debator, and local art baron) calls it "a nice thing to have" that helps showcase the freedom to do new things and turn them into businesses that Ypsilanti offers. The venture is keeping Pierce, Robb, and a few independent contractors busy right now. They hope to double their customer base within the next year and spread it not only across Metro Detroit but the continent, too, in an effort to make the venture profitable. However, the duo still plans to keep offering Wireless Ypsi free to its hometown."We'll give back to our community that we live and work in because we love this place," Pierce says.Source: Steve Pierce, co-founder of Wireless Ypsi; Eric Maurer, co-owner of Maurer Management; and Mark Maynard, creator of MarkMaynard.comWriter: Jon Zemke