InfoReady lands $1.1M in seed capital investment

InfoReady, one of Ann Arbor’s most promising start-ups, has secured $1.1 million in seed capital to start 2011. However, look for the grant-writing company to land even more capital later this year.The funding comes from some of Metro Detroit’s established sources, such as the First Step Fund in TechTown, Automation Alley’s seed fund, and the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund. Some prominent local angel investors and entrepreneurs, like Terry Cross and Ted Dacko, have also invested in the company. InfoReady plans to conduct one more angel investor round and a Series A venture capital round later this year as it begins to launch its product nationwide.”We’re pretty encouraged by the market acceptance, the rampup and the feedback so far,” says Bhushan Kulkarni, CEO of InfoReady.InfoReady specializes in software that helps researchers find and apply for the best grant opportunities and then review and track progress of the project. The GDI Infotech spin-off has already attracted 25 customers with little marketing. It expects to ramp up its marketing efforts this year as it deploys the product nationally.”The product is getting tremendous traction and the business model is ramping up,” Kulkarni says. “We want to hit a home run for our community.”Source: Bhushan Kulkarni, CEO of InfoReadyWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.