Innovation News

White Pine Systems thrives in electronic medical records field

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July 10, 2013

White Pine Systems has spent the first half of 2013 setting the table for what the electronic medical records firm expects will be a big second half of the year. "It's really been a wonderful year," says Doug Dormer, founder & CEO of White Pine Systems. "We have received national recognition for our work in behavioral health. We have also recruited new contracts." Among the Ann Arbor-based company's new contracts are creating consumer health tools for the Michigan Health Information Network, which is based in Lansing. The quasi-government organization helps promote sharing of information between health-care providers. White Pine Systems has hired three people over the last year. It now employs a team of 10 people and one intern. That team has helped work to set up seven figures' worth of grants that could come down later this year. Dormer doesn't expect all of them to land, but even a healthy percentage of success will mean big gains for the company. "We are very excited about entering the second half of 2013," Dormer says. Source: Doug Dormer, founder & CEO of White Pine Systems Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

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NewFoundry grows to 12 employees, aims for headcount of 20

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Economic Development

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July 10, 2013

NewFoundry is a new company; a combination of a branding agency, Lingo Definition + Design, with local mobile app and software engineers. NewFoundry now specializes in bringing marketing and technology ideas from the napkin to reality. The nearly 1-year-old company aims to serve as the one-stop shop for the development of its customers' ideas. "We realized there is a real gap in the market place for this type of company," says Scott Hauman, partner & chief strategy officer of NewFoundry. "We like to call ourselves an idea manufacturing company." NewFoundry has now grown to 12 employees and plans to hit 20 people within the next year. It also recently moved into extra space at the Grafaktri building on North Main Street overlooking the Huron River. NewFoundry is also looking at transitioning to shifting more of its revenue to the technology it creates for itself. The firm's revenue is currently split 70 percent from clients and 30 percent from its own products. Hauman would like to flip those percentages over the next year. "We want to be launching our own products," he says, adding his firm has three mobile apps it plans to launch later this month. NewFoundry has also been selected as a Beta tester for Google Glass. Hauman expects to pick up the technology and begin experimenting with it later this week. Source: Scott Hauman, partner & chief strategy officer of NewFoundry Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Imetris hires 14 in Saline, looks for 6 more IT pros

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Economic Development

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July 10, 2013

Imetris is spending more time dipping into the local talent pool to meet its hiring needs. The IT firm has hired 14 people over the last year. Five of those are recent graduates from local colleges, including the University of Michigan. The Saline-based company hopes to help retain more talent graduating from Ann Arbor this year. "Hiring more students coming from the University of Michigan looks promising," says Chandru Acharya, president of Imetris. Imetris currently has a staff of 110 employees and a couple of interns. One of its most recent hires was a former intern. It also has six open positions right now. The 13-year-old firm provides a range of tech services, such as IT and data management. It has carved out a niche for itself, such as managing data storage area devices for large corporations. That has allowed the company to grow its revenue by 20 percent over the last year. "We hope it will continue to grow at the same pace," says Chandru Acharya, president of Imetris. Source: Chandru Acharya, president of Imetris Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Catherine Juon establishes Beyond Startup in first year

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Economic Development

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June 26, 2013

A year ago, Catherine Juon left her spot as the co-head of Pure Visibility and started her own company Beyond Startup. Today, the Saline-based consulting firm has its feet firmly planed and is growing. Beyond Startup specializes in helping start-ups grow and reach the second-stage of growth by working out the day-to-day kinks of running a business and setting the stage for future growth. Juon ran and grew her own companies for 15 years, most notably downtown Ann Arbor-based digital marketing agency Pure Visibility. Juon made the leap to consulting with her own company by adding a new client each quarter. "I am well on track to do that for the rest of the year," Juon says. Juon wants to keep her company small by personally working with local firms. However, she would like to reach a broader audience by taking on more work in the training and seminar fields. "I really enjoy sharing with a lot of people," Juon says. "These training events are great for that." Source: Catherine Juon, chief entrepreneur at Beyond Startup Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

MC3 turns key manufacturing certification into jobs

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Economic Development

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June 26, 2013

A new certification looks like it will become a key driver for growth for MC3. The Ann Arbor-based company received the ISO Certification for Medical Device Assembly earlier this month. That certification has opened up a large door for growth for the firm, which has hired four new people to support the expected increase in business. "We were not able to make devices that are eligible for human use," says Scott Merz, president of MC3. "Previously we were limited to manufacturing prototypes for pre-clinical testing. It's a big step and opens up a lot of doors for us." MC3, short for Michigan Critical Care Consultants, got its start in 1991 as a University of Michigan spin-out developing blood pump technology. It still does its own technology development but the bulk of the business focuses on helping other bio-tech start-ups grow into second-stage firms. The new manufacturing certification is expected to help facilitate more business because those sorts of clients can now depend on MC3 to provide more comprehensive services. It also opens the door to larger firms that wants to take advantage of MC3's new certification and its other services, such as expanded laboratory testing of devices. "We are getting interest from major companies to develop processes to test the compatibility of their devices to meet the more stringent FDA requirements," Merz says. MC3 currently employs a staff of 18 employees and two interns. It has hired five people over the last year. Source: Scott Merz, president of MC3 Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Java Hope Project empowers jobless with entrepreneurship

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Community Development

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June 26, 2013

Brenda Moore believes people without jobs who are receiving government assistance can improve their prospects with coffee. A coffee business, actually. The Java Hope Project focuses on helping women break the cycle of poverty through business development by offering extensive small-business skills training programs. The Ypsilanti-based non-profit does this by teaching its clients the basics of budgeting and running a business, then gives them opportunity to start their own coffee stand business. "It's a rigorous program," says Moore, executive director of the Java Hope Project. "We require they show up to class everyday. If something catastrophic happens they are required to call in." The idea is that sparking the entrepreneurial spirit in these women will help them break the cycle of poverty. Moore points out that it not only helps them learn how to live within a budget but also give them a path to make a good income through their own business. Moore claims operators of these coffee stands have the potential to make in excess of $100,000 a year. "It can be very lucrative because unlike coffee shops it doesn't have a high overhead," Moore says. The Java Hope Project has a staff of three and is in its first class of eight people and expects to expand that by the end of the year. Moore hopes to offer the Java Hope Project's services across Metro Detroit one day. The non-profit also recently took first place in the New Enterprise Idea category of the Pure Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge, a prize worth $5,000 in seed capital. Source: Brenda Moore, executive director of the Java Hope Project Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Hines Industries hires 11, including 2 former interns

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Economic Development

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June 26, 2013

Automotive suppliers have felt the ups and down of the economy as much as any firm. Hines Industries can attest to that as the manufacturer is growing with the rebounding economy. The Ann Arbor-based firm has watched its revenue jump 40 percent over the last year and expects to do it again this year. It has hired 11 people, including two of its former interns. The 33-year-old company now has a staff of 40 employees and one intern. "Our automotive orders are up a lot," says Dawn Hines, CEO of Hines Industries. "The economic health of the country is improving. I think it's a general improvement in the economy and improvement in the automotive industry specifically." Hines Industries specializes in the design and manufacture of balancing equipment with a goal of improving efficiency of manufacturing processes. It offers standard dynamic balancing machine models and specialized balanced configurations for the automotive industry. Hines is optimistic about her company's continued improved prospects because its customers are actively buying and indicating they want more. "We have a huge backlog," Hines says. "A lot of our customers are saying they are going to put more orders in." Source: Dawn Hines, CEO of Hines Industries Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

OST expands Ann Arbor office to 10 to accommodate growth

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Economic Development

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June 26, 2013

Grand Rapids-based OST, which is short for Open Systems Technologies, has hired 30 people over the last year and its newly formed Ann Arbor office is the beneficiary of many of those hires. The IT firm's Ann Arbor office, which was opened a year ago, now stands at 10 people and is growing. The company employs 120 people and is looking at opening a Detroit office, too. The company's leadership expects all of its locations to continue to grow, especially its Ann Arbor office. "We are very bullish in that respect," says Rob Kellner, application development principal for OST. "The next step is talent acquisition. We need to hire more people." OST provides tech services, such as IT and database security. Its client list includes Thomson Reuters, Sterling Commercial Credit and ProQuest. OST's Ann Arbor office focuses on providing services for IT, data security and other sectors of the tech industry. "It (the Ann Arbor office) has grown a little faster than we expected," Kellner says. Source: Rob Kellner, application development principal for OST Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ann Arbor’s Blue Heron Talent focuses on C-level talent

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Economic Development

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June 26, 2013

Improving Michigan's executive talent base is one of those issues local leaders like to harp on. A new local company is working to fill that void and creating a number of new jobs in the process. Barbara Allushuski started Blue Heron Talent a little more than a year ago. The idea is create a company that helps the leadership in other firms both big and small maximize their potential. "We simply help companies be the best they can be by focusing on their talent," Allushuski says. "We specialize in c-suite level coaching." The Ann Arbor-based company does that by coaching the executives to maximize their strengths and improve upon their weaknesses. It also helps it client's businesses pivot when needed. For instance, if a firm needs to improve its community presence Blue Heron Talent will suggest what are the best non-profits to become involved in and what boards its executives should serve on. Blue Heron Talent offers these sorts of services to any company. It has clients that are both large global accounts and small start-ups. What they all have in common is they all want to improve, and the demand for Blue Heron Talents; services to make that happen have exceeded expectations. The company now employs 22 people and is looking for more. "I cannot hire enough qualified consultants to work the way I want them to," Allushuski says. Source: Barbara Allushuski, president & CEO of Blue Heron Talent Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Huron River Ventures closes on $11M fund

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Economic Development

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June 19, 2013

Huron River Ventures has closed on its first investment fund worth $11 million. The downtown Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm specializes in clean-tech investments in the energy, transportation infrastructure and agricultural fields. Tim Streit and Ryan Waddington launched the venture capital firm in 2011. The pair have raised $6 million from the state of Michigan, a couple of local institutions including DTE Energy and fewer than 50 private investors. "We are less than 30 percent deployed," says Streit, managing partner of Huron River Ventures. "We have significant capital resources from our existing portfolio to help them with their growth." Among Huron River Ventures' initial investments are include SideCar Technologies, University of Michigan spin-out Ambiq Micro, Ann Arbor-based OptoAtmospherics, Ann Arbor-based FarmLogs, Root3 Technologies and Ann Arbor-based Covaron Advanced Materials. The firm has closed one deal last week, which is plans to announce soon. Streit expects to close on another 1-2 more deals before the end of the year. Huron River Ventures has a staff of two people and a stable of independent contractors and interns. It has offices in Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids. Source: Tim Streit, managing partner of Huron River Ventures Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.