Ann Arbor’s KnowledgeWatch locks down 1 of 3 microloans

KnowledgeWatch is one of three Michigan-based start-ups, and the only one from Washtenaw County, to secure funding from the latest round of the Michigan Microloan Fund Program .The Ann Arbor-based firm received an undisclosed portion of the total $104,000 loan pool. The other two recipients are AWGET in Okemos and Bloomfield Hills-based uwemp. KnowledgeWatch plans to use the microloan to support commercialization of its automated online knowledge product.KnowledgeWatch is developing software that aggregates, analyzes and sorts online content in a way that is similar to Google searches. Among its target market are assemblers of trade publications or hobby sites (which number in the tens of thousands).The firm has four employees and two interns. It hopes to add six more positions within the next year with the help of seed capital sources like the microloan. The microloans provide funding for start-ups for product commercialization and business growth. The $1.5 million program will make anywhere from 2-4 loans of a few thousand dollars each per month in 2010. This equates to another 24-48 fledgling local businesses receiving financing during a time when capital for small businesses is almost non-existent.Source: Ann Arbor SPARKWriter: Jon Zemke