Entrepreneurship

Coverage of those starting up businesses and community resources to help them thrive.

White House, Ann Arbor, U-M continue to intersect

By Newsroom

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April 7, 2010

The words Ann Arbor, University of Michigan and the White House continue to be said in the same sentence as President Obama gets ready to give the commencement speech at U-M. One of Ann Arbor's famed entrepreneurs, Menlo Innovations Rich Sheridan, talks to the White House about creating workplace flexibility.Excerpt:Though it was only announced last month that President Barack Obama would be the speaker at this spring's commencement, University officials have been communicating with the White House since last April to try to get the president to speak at the Big House.According to documents obtained by The Michigan Daily through a Freedom of Information Act request, University President Mary Sue Coleman first contacted Alyssa Mastromonaco, White House director of scheduling and advance, on April 30, 2009. Following the initial letter, Coleman sent a formal invitation directly to Obama last September. In her letter to Obama, Coleman highlighted the University’s history as one of the premier public universities in the country. Coleman also encouraged the president to come to Ann Arbor by referencing the University’s commitment to topics important to his administration like economic expansion, developing alternative energy sources, sustainability and health care. "The University of Michigan vigorously pursues the many issues our nation faces and that you are tackling as president," Coleman wrote to Obama in her September letter. "Your visit would inspire and motivate continued progress in these areas."Read the rest of the story here and how Menlo Innovations' Rich Sheridan is consulting with the White House here.

Latest in Entrepreneurship

Ann Arbor’s economy begins to rev up, hire

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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April 7, 2010

The Ann Arbor economy is poised to recover and lead the economic recovery across the state of Michigan, a recovery that hold big potential for new white collar hires.Excerpt:The Ann Arbor region’s economy is poised to steadily add jobs over the next two years, economists say, but a lack of access to capital threatens to slow the pace of recovery. Twenty executives from the region's top alternative energy companies gathered this morning to discuss the obstacles to accelerating their growth in a forum with John Fernandez, assistant secretary for the U.S. Department of Commerce. The common theme: We need capital in all forms. The executives said improved access to financing is critical to helping them expand their businesses, target new markets and add jobs."It's a consistent message we hear everywhere we go," Fernandez said. "It used to be a valley of death. Now it’s more like an ocean of death."Read the rest of the story here, how Adaptive Materials is hiring here and how the area's educated workforce is starting to take off here.

Ann Arbor’s Sakti3 raises $7M in investment financing

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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April 7, 2010

Sakti3 is attracting more and more capital these days now that it has successfully raised $7 million investment capital.A host of venture capital firms, including Farmington Hills-based Beringea, came up with the cash for the developer of next-generation lithium-ion batteries. The Ann Arbor-based company's technology will be used primarily for electric vehicles and also portable electronics. "The Sakti3 team is one of the most advanced battery teams in the world," says Jeff Bocan, managing director at Beringea. "In the last three years it has been focused only on developing these batteries."Sakti3 spun out of the University of Michigan in 2007 and is now led by U-M Prof Ann Marie Sastry. It has received backing from Khosla Ventures and the Michigan Economic Development Corp while also sharing the spotlight with General Motors.Bocan calls the investment a "energy efficiency play." He compares it to investment his firm has previously made in LED-light-maker Relume."We're betting the Sakti3's technology will radically change the battery sector," Bocan says. "That's both in cost and performance."Source: Jeff Bocan, managing director at BeringeaWriter: Jon Zemke

Shepherd Intelligent Systems hires in downtown Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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March 31, 2010

Shepherd Intelligent Systems is on a bit of a roll. The Ann Arbor-based start-up is enjoying a rave review, adding staff and getting ready to lock down a few new customers later this year.The University of Michigan spin-off turned the university's Magic Bus program into a tracking system riders could use follow their bus' progress on their smart phones. Users can see where their bus is on real-time maps and estimate times of arrival. The Ann Arbor Transportation Authority recently wrapped up its pilot project with Shepherd Intelligent Systems rider-friendly software after extending the pilot program a couple months. Mary Stasiak, a spokeswoman for AATA, used words like "wonderful" and "valuable" to describe the pilot program that ran along Route 6."AATA sees the value of a bus tracking system for our riders and will be using our competitive procurement process to implement this type of product fleet-wide in the future," Stasiak said in a press release. The nearly 1-year-old start-up has added one person to its downtown Ann Arbor-based staff, rounding it out to five people. It is gearing up for a big expansion within the next year by hiring 10-15 people. Shepherd Intelligent Systems has a couple Beta customers testing out its product right now. It's also negotiating with two potential clients, one of which is close to coming to fruition."At least one of them will be announced in the next 6-8 weeks," says Adrian Fortino, CEO of Shepherd Intelligent Systems.The company started out targeting mostly college towns across North America. Now its trying to diversify its potential client base beyond bus systems to include taxi, limo and municipal clientele. Source: Adrian Fortino, CEO of Shepherd Intelligent SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke

Audiallo adds 1, plans to bring on 2-3 more

By Newsroom

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Education

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March 31, 2010

An interesting collaboration between the University of Michigan and Georgia Tech is starting to make itself heard through an emerging start-up called Audiallo.The Ann Arbor-based firm is in the later stages of developing a new microchip that could significantly upgrades hearing aides. The two partners (one from U-M and the other from Georgia Tech) are utilizing PhD research from the Atlanta-based university as the basis for the new technology that is taking root in Ann Arbor's Tech Brewery."It uses significantly less battery and is much more powerful," says Aaron Nelson, co-founder of Audiallo. "It's supposed to work the same way your brain and ear work naturally."Nelson calls this technology a "fairly significant step forward" for hearing-aid technology. He compares it to when hearing aids recently made the change from analog to digital processes."It will change the game for the companies that make hearing aids," Nelson says.Right now the 2-year-old start-up is raising seed money to develop commercial prototypes. So far it has raised $150,000 of its $500,000 goal. It hopes to double its staff of three people when it reaches it fundraising goal.Source: Aaron Nelson, co-founder of AudialloWriter: Jon Zemke

Ypsilanti’s VG Kids, Ann Arbor’s NuStep adapt and expand

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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March 31, 2010

Two different companies in two unique cities have one thing in common - growth.Excerpt:For having been beat back by the failing economy over the last two years, Ypsilanti’s VG Kids' owner James Marks stands on surprisingly solid ground.In that time frame, the 31-year-old Ypsilanti entrepreneur opened four buildings, closed down three, consolidated his screen printing company’s operations into one new building, opened a new set of studios for area artists and launched a merchandising company.But all the twisting and turning to pull out VG Kids out of a financial jam has proved beneficial, leaving Marks wiser and his business in a better position."We contracted physically but expanded in the reach of our ideas," Marks said. "Part of the effect is having more time than we had before, and with increased efficiency we can take advantage of more opportunities."Read the rest of the story here and how NuStep is growing here.

Chelsea’s Bearclaw Coffee looks overseas for expansion cash

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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March 31, 2010

The folk's behind Bearclaw Coffee have gotten really creative with their financing so they can continue to expand their growing business.Excerpt:When she needed investors to help grow her Bearclaw Coffee Co. franchise, Debi Scroggins looked to the Middle East.The founder of the Ann Arbor-based coffee company has recruited nearly a dozen Iranians -- with more to follow -- to open mobile coffee carts in the United States at $180,000 a pop."These are candidates who are cash-ready," Scroggins said. "I've had so many candidates (in the United States) who have $30,000 to put down and cannot get financing because they lost their home equity and they lost their 401(k) and, oh, by the way, their credit has nicks in it."Read the rest of the story here.

20-something U-M grad brings start-up Powerleap back to Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Education

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March 31, 2010

University of Michigan alum Elizabeth Redmond went looking for love for her start-up, Powerleap, in all the wrong places before finding what it really needs back home in Ann Arbor.Excerpt:After graduating from the University of Michigan in 2006, Elizabeth Redmond moved to the Windy City to try to turn a school project into a business. Her clean-tech design project would use high-tech ceramics to convert the energy generated by pedestrian and vehicular traffic into direct current that could be stored in batteries. She worked by day trying to secure funding and at night as a waitress in a high-end vegetarian business. Redmond, 25, grew up in Dexter and missed the Ann Arbor area — especially bike rides along the Huron River — but what got her back to Michigan last year were the economic support systems at the state and regional level. "Chicago is a really neat town, but the resources of a small community in Michigan are much more accessible than those in Chicago. I couldn't find much support there," she said. Her company, Powerleap Inc., is now a virtual tenant at Ann Arbor Spark's downtown Ann Arbor facility. She doesn't have an office there but uses its facilities and has been provided a wide variety of support services, including help with a new business plan and a due-diligence package for potential investors."I think this company is going to be huge, and I want it to be in the state where I grew up," she said.Read the rest of the story here.

LLamasoft makes room for new hires in new Ann Arbor space

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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March 24, 2010

Downtown Ann Arbor's First National Building has the old timey look of a successful, starched-collar business establishment. Its architectural flourishes, both inside and out, scream old money. You can almost imagine fat cats making the business world revolve around cigars and backroom deals.But that's not what's really inside. Especially if you visit the building's fourth floor. That's where LLamasoft has made its new home, taking over 5,000 square feet of space, double the size of its old office. LLamasoft, a software logistics firm, is the quintessential start-up, filling its space with eye-catching art and young workers (whose attire sometimes makes an artistic statement of its own)The pairing of the firm to the building is evidence that some of Ann Arbor's up-and-coming start-ups are coming of age. As LLamasoft becomes more established and fills its new space with more staff, it'll help reshape Ann Arbor's entrepreneurial ecosystem."Obviously space matters, a lot," says Don Hicks, president and CEO of LLamasoft. "Often times it impacts you in subtle ways."For instance, LLamasoft's old offices were so small that one of its employees jokes that the new space means they're not working on the lunch table anymore. Nevertheless, double duty at the lunch table encouraged the staff to constantly bounce ideas off of one another, creating motion, emotion and new ideas. The new space is much more spread out with a couple of conference rooms and plenty of elbow space. That meant LLamasoft's leadership had to reinvent the company's internal communications.LLamasoft expects to return to those crowded days soon. It has expanded its staff to 30 people with 25 at its Ann Arbor office. It expects to break the 50 employee mark within the next three years. The company is hiring two more University of Michigan grads this month, adding yet more young people. Generation X and Y pretty much run the show. The wise-cracking employee mentioned above actually had to move out of his frat house when he came to work for LLamasoft."We buck the trend when it comes to this," Hicks says. "Supply chain logistics is known for being stodgy and old."Though LLamasoft is becoming more established and moving into spaces once dominated by the old guard, it brings with it a new perspective... which 50 years from now will probably seem similarly stodgy.Source: Don Hicks, president and CEO of LLamasoft and Gary Bobalik, director of marketing for LLamasoftWriter: Jon Zemke

MedHub doubles revenue, plans to hire 3 in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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March 24, 2010

MedHub has some big expectations for 2010. The Ann Arbor-based firm recently signed two major new contracts and is looking to hire three people right now. It also expects to announce the signing of two other major teaching hospitals this spring."They're big. They're Top 10 teaching hospitals you have heard of," says Peter Orr, president of MedHub. "One of them has a team playing in the NCAA tournament and the other is overseas. And we have quite a few other things in the pipeline that will make 2010 a big year."The 7-year-old firm, a University of Michigan spin-off, uses web-enabled enterprise residency management solutions to improve communication, collaboration and residency information management in teaching hospitals. Simply said, it provides a system that tracks residents and fellows (advanced medical school students who aren't quite full doctors). It makes hospitals get all of the Medicare reimbursements they are entitled to, which means more than $85 million for U-M Hospital.MedHub currently employs four people and is making plans to start an internship program this year. It’s also looking at hiring even more people later this year. MedHub recently signed an agreement with Kaiser Permenente in northern California. That teaching hospital has more than 200 in-house physician trainees and over 700 rotators training from the likes of Stanford University, The University of California – Davis and the University of California at San Francisco. Recent signings like this has allowed MedHub to double its revenue already this year compared to 2009. Orr expects his company's revenue to continue to multiply this year as he goes after bigger fish in the teaching hospital pool.Source: Peter Orr, president of MedHubWriter: Jon Zemke