Innovation News

Ann Arbor SPARK helps create 628 jobs, retain 1,135 more

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June 12, 2013

Ann Arbor SPARK is parading around some impressive job-creation numbers after its annual meeting last week. Among the statistics it is reporting are that the 63 companies is has worked with over the last year have: - Created 628 new jobs. - Retained 1,135 jobs. - Invested $148 million in the region's economy. Those jobs and investment are not from Ann Arbor SPARK's work with start-ups. Those numbers come from its work with established companies making multi-million-dollar investments in the region, such as Hyundia's $50 million investment to create 50 engineering jobs in Superior Township or Barracuda Networks move into the former Borders store in downtown Ann Arbor. "They (Barracuda Networks) are hiring at a pretty rapid rate," says Paul Krutko, president & CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK. "This is a project that will create as many as 200 jobs." The annual meeting also gave out three awards to local entrepreneurs and businesses. Those include: Bhushan Kulkarni, chairman of GDI Infotech and CEO InfoReady Corp, won the Volunteer Leader of the Year award, which recognizes his passion for economic development and efforts to grow the local economy. Faurecia, an automotive supplier, received the Project of the Year for its new Saline facility. Compendia Bioscience, acquired last year by Life Technologies, won entrepreneurial company of the year for its use of Ann Arbor SPARK’s services to grow from start-up to successful exit. Source: Paul Krutko, president & CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Latest in Innovation News

Internet2 expands staff, partners with Microsoft

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Innovation News

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June 5, 2013

Internet2 is expanding both its staff and its partnership base by more than 20 people, as well as striking a deal with tech-giant Microsoft. The Ann Arbor-based member-owned technology community provides a collaborative environment for U.S. research and education organizations to solve common technology challenges, and to develop innovative solutions. Last month it struck a deal with Microsoft to access the company's cloud services that should enable university researchers faster and more robust computing options for big-data projects. Students, staff and researchers at college campuses throughout the nation are expected to have faster and more secure connections from the partnership's new peering arrangement between Microsoft and Internet2. It will enable improved access to infrastructure and application services that support virtual learning environments and large-scale data intensive research projects. "As we start doing this on a broader basis, that opens the door to a lot of opportunities," says Khalil Yazdi, CIO in residence at Internet2. He adds, "It's more than just making effective and better connections. It's about the capacity to do more and how we expand that platform." Internet2 has also been expanding its staff. The organization now employs 90 people, including 43 in Ann Arbor. It has hired 22 people over the last year, with seven of those in Ann Arbor. It currently has 10 open positions, which can be found here. Source: Khalil Yazdi, CIO in residence at Internet2 Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

RateMyStudentRental gives voices to tenants, landlords

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Innovation News

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June 5, 2013

Rental housing for college students is one of those things that are habitually hard to keep track of. What homes are coming onto the market, the quality of units, landlords and tenants are all things that are difficult to quantify because of the high turnover of the market. RateMyStudentRental solves that by creating a Yelp-like database of student housing that allows users to see what's available at schools like the University of Michigan and Kettering University. "All of the properties always stay listed on the site," says Steve Schwartz, co-founder of RateMyStudentRental. "They accumulate reviews from the students who live there." They also allow landlords to give reviews of their tenants. Schwartz says the idea is to make sure the site isn't dragged down by one-sided reviews. It accomplishes that with the average user giving three out of four stars in a review. The Ann Arbor-based company that calls the Tech Brewery home makes money from selling premium services to landlords and universities that are looking to have greater control of their off-campus housing. The website's services are always free to students, and that's not an accident. "Students are in enough debt as it is," Schwartz says. Source: Steve Schwartz, co-founder of RateMyStudentRental Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

MyBuys hires 30 people in downtown Ann Arbor

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Economic Development

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June 5, 2013

MyBuys is continuing its hiring march in downtown Ann Arbor, adding 30 new employees over the last year and expanding the physical footprint of its office. The California-based software company expanded its office in the Comerica Building, taking over the 6th floor of the structure at Main and Huron. That new space can accommodate up to 150 people, a number the company expects to hit by late this year. The company currently has a staff of a little more than 100 employees and eight interns. It has hired 30 new employees over the last year and promoted 10 of its interns to full-time status over the last five years. "We have been hiring a lot of recent college grads and experienced folks," says Drew Stirton, vice president and general manager of the Ann Arbor office for MyBuys. "Our staff is up 25 percent year over year." MyBuys makes personalized product recommendations for online retailers. It has launched a number of unique advertising display services over the last year, which has helped drive the company's growth. It has also been expanding its digital media advertising work. MyBuys opened an office in downtown Ann Arbor five years ago. It currently has 10 job openings. Source: Drew Stirton, vice president and general manager of the Ann Arbor office for MyBuys Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

URC report highlights need for talent retention

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Entrepreneurship

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June 5, 2013

Talent retention is one of Michigan's traditional economic development goals. A new report from the University Research Corridor drives home the importance of that goal. The recently released report shows that 19 percent of graduates from Michigan's three research universities (University of Michigan, Michigan State University and Wayne State University) go onto start a business. "It was a larger number than we thought," says Jeff Mason, executive director of the University Research Corridor, a non-profit advocate for Michigan's three research universities. "We were hopeful it would be 10 percent. Nearly 20 percent is pretty significant." The rate of those graduates from the mid '90s to today that pursue entrepreneurship is about twice the national average of college graduates. More than half of those businesses are in fields different than the graduates' degree. The good news is that nearly half of those companies are based in Michigan. Also, the success rate of those business hovers around 70 percent, which is significantly higher than the national average of 45 percent. "It shows the education they are receiving at these institutions is broad," Mason says. "It helps them start companies and do amazing things." Source: Jeff Mason, executive director of the University Research Corridor Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

SmartBars app turns bar codes into price-shopping weapon

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Economic Development

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June 5, 2013

Gary Guo thinks finding the best price for an item should be as easy as scanning a bar code. He is making that a reality with his new start-up, SmartBars. The Ann Arbor-based start-up has created a mobile app for Apple and Andriod devices. The technology allows users to scan barcodes of items while shopping. The app then tells the user what seller is offering the best deal for that item. "If you have a smart bar you can scan a barcode anywhere and find the best price," says Guo, the owner of SmartBars. The 1-year-old start-up released the free app earlier this year. The team of three people is working on offering more features to the app and increasing usage. The plan is to have it gain traction in time for this year's holiday shopping season. "We have a few thousand downloads now," Guo says. Source: Gary Guo, owner of SmartBars Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Message Blocks wins Entrepreneur Boot Camp

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Economic Development

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June 5, 2013

Message Blocks recently took home the Best of Boot Camp award from Ann Arbor SPARK's Entrepreneur Boot Camp, putting another feather in the start-up's cap. The downtown Ann Arbor-based company is making waves with its comprehensive event-planning software. The online platform streamlines the event-planning process by focusing on the event planner's experience, allowing users to share documents and presenters to use plug-in presentations. It has been used by a number of marquee events, including ACE and Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. "I thought there has to be a better way to do this," says Len Gauger, founder & CEO of Message Blocks and a former event planner. "There were a number of tools out there but not an end-to-end comprehensive solution." Gauger and his two employees recently launched the public Beta version of the software. They are working to launch a Version 1 later this summer. They know they have some hard work to put in to get there after participating in Entrepreneur Boot Camp, a comprehensive course that helps aspiring entrepreneurs learn the ropes of running a business and fine-tuning their business plan. "It was an eye-opening experience that took us away from the day-to-day stuff we were focusing on," Gauger says. "It helped us focus on the pain conference planners experience." Source: Len Gauger, founder & CEO of Message Blocks Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Kentaro launches real-estate web product in Ann Arbor

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Community Development

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May 22, 2013

Kentaro, formerly Kentaro Web Design + SEO, has traditionally made its way through its first few years providing web services to local real-estate agents. Now the Ann Arbor-based business is coming out with its own web platform to serve the same purpose. Real Estate Espresso launched last month with a handful of local real-estate agents. The web platform serves as a lead-generation service for real-estate professionals by focusing on connecting home buyers and sellers with local agents. "This product is a means to automate a majority of the real-estate process," says Kentaro Roy, founder & president of Kentaro. The four-person firm hired a web developer about six months ago. It is currently working on perfecting Real Estate Espresso and developing a marketing plan for it. "We have gotten really good results and feedback from the first agents," Roy says. Source: Kentaro Roy, founder & president of Kentaro Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Venture Investors begins investing out of 5th fund

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Economic Development

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May 22, 2013

Venture Investors has a new investment fund, and the venture capital firm is aiming to spread some seed capital across Michigan this year. Venture Investors' fourth fund was worth $118 million and made 18 investments, including in local companies like Incept BioSystems, HistoSonics, NanoBio and Tissue Regeneration Systems. The venture capital firm is currently fundraising for its fifth fund, which has already made three investments. "We are currently working on a couple in Michigan," says Jim Adox, managing director of Venture Investors. "One will hopefully be within the next 60 days." Venture Investors has offices in Madison, Wisc., and Ann Arbor. Adox overseas the Ann Arbor office, which also employs a full-time intern. He is also looking to add an executive in residence. Venture Investors has traditionally made investments in university spinouts in the bio-technology and life sciences areas. Adox plans to expand that target area to include technology companies with this new fund. "The investment potential and prospects for tech companies have improved in the last few years," Adox says. Source: Jim Adox, managing director of Venture Investors Writer: Jon Zemke

Current Motor Co. finds success in fleet electric scooter sales

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Economic Development

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May 22, 2013

Current Motor Co's business plan has focused on expanding its sales of electric scooters into South America, where the vehicles are popular. That plan is starting to gain traction this summer with the beginning of the company's first fleet sales. The Ann Arbor-based start-up manufactures an electric scooter that provides the same sort of mobility and capability as regular gas-powered scooters, but with a much smaller carbon footprint. Many of the two-stroke gas engines of the millions of scooters in South American countries like Brazil produce a lot of air pollution. That isn't an issue with Current Motor Co's electric scooters and solar-power charging stations. "It's actually a very practical fleet addition," says Lauren Flanagan, executive chair & interim CEO of Current Motor Co. "It's very popular, particularly with mobile, solar-powered charging stations." Flanagan says the company is in the midst of completing its first fleet sales in Brazil this spring and expects to complete more by the end of the year. It is also looking at making similar fleet sales in the U.S. as it attempts to hit the break-even point of selling 500 scooters within the next year. "We have a very lean model so we think that is possible," Flanagan says. Current Motor Co and its team of a dozen people closed on a Series A round of financing worth $2.4 million last year. Flanagan expects to begin fundraising for a Series B round worth somewhere between $5 million and $10 million early next year. The company is currently looking to hire a director of fleet sales and a couple of software engineers to develop mobile apps for its scooters. Source: Lauren Flanagan, executive chair & interim CEO of Current Motor Co Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.