The Backstory: Ann Arbor’s Bloody Corners
Did you know that the northwest corner of Main and Huron used to be called "Bloody Corners?" Why? Concentrate's Patti Smith roots into the nooks and crannies of Ann Arbor's past to find the answer.
Ann Arbor
Rescued from the ashes: Discarded trees find new life as handcrafted products
Still looking for that holiday gift? You might consider local artisanal wood crafts made from Michigan's urban forests.
Ann Arbor’s PriceLocal browser app compares Amazon pricing to local retailers
When PriceLocal launched a little more than a year ago it was a spunky, local startup carving out a niche by helping local retailers compete with e-commerce prices. Today it is a significantly bigger startup looking to make grow even more during the holiday shopping season.
Ann Arbor Distilling Co opens doors in downtown Ann Arbor
Patrons began walking into the newly opened Ann Arbor Distilling Co's tasting room in downtown Ann Arbor a few days ago and Rob Cleveland hopes they notice one thing, the combination of industrial and rural aesthetics. "We're industrial meets farm," says Cleveland, managing director of the micro distillery.
IDI takes hassle out of time management with Quick Time Entry
Integrated Design Inc has been in the software business for a long time. The Ann Arbor-based firm is a year shy of celebrating 30 years of delivering customized application-integration software for its clients. It plans to spend the next year introducing a new, time-management software platform.
The Ann Arbor-Area comics scene, unmasked!
From movies to publishing, graphic novels and the comic books have overtaken popular culture - and Ann Arbor is a significant player. Yet local creators don't quite realize just how many of their comrades in arms are also neighbors.
The Backstory: The wolf of Liberty Street
Ever look at a strange old building and wonder 'what's the story behind that place?' Well, Concentrate is launching a reoccurring series called The Backstory. Writer Patti Smith will delve into arcane, old timey and just plain offbeat facts about Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti's history. First up: The Wolf of Liberty Street
From farming to fish, a local engineer looks to foster micro entrepreneurship in Central America
U-M grad Michelle Leach used to design multi-million dollar biomedical devices. Then she realized she wanted her work to have more meaning than an increase in the company's bottom line. So she designed a low cost aquaponics system in hopes of assisting poor farming communities in Central America.
Campus Inn matriculates to Graduate Hotel with big renovation project
The Campus Inn in downtown Ann Arbor has begun its transition to become the newest member of the Graduate Hotel chain, with a extensive renovation project that starts this week. "The hotel just checked out its last guest (on Monday)," says Ben Gottlieb, vice president of acquisition for AJ Capital Partners, which owns the Graduate Hotels chain. "We are in the process of taking out some of the old furniture fixtures." The Chicago-based investment group bought the 45-year-old hotel in September with the intention of adding it to its Graduate Hotels chain. The 14-story building at the corner of State and Huron comes with 204 hotel rooms and several thousand square feet of flexible space for meetings, events and normal hotel guest amenities. Graduate Hotels plans to keep the structure of the building and the number of hotel rooms the same with its renovation. However, it does plan to modernize the hotel in functionality and design while also making it a more open part of the community. "We are working on something really special," Gottlieb says. "It will really activate the space." The new hotel will feature a more open layout to both patrons and passersby. The idea is to make it more inviting for both hotel guests and neighbors can enjoy its ground floor amenities. "We like to say our lobbies are an extension of ourselves," Gottlieb says. "We like it to be a living room for our communities." The renovation project is expected to take 4.5 months and be open in time for spring commencement at the nearby University of Michigan. The newly redone hotel will also feature a locally-centric food and beverage program designed to foster interaction between hotel guests, Ann Arborites, and the University community. Source: Ben Gottlieb, vice president of acquisition for AJ Capital Partners Writer: Jon Zemke
Homeward Healthcare turns 2015 pilot program into 2016 profits
Homeward Healthcare started this year testing its healthcare technology at Hurley Medical Center in Flint. It's ending this year with a successful pilot program and a few paying customers in its pocket, not to mention ambitions to take its business model national next year. The 2.5-year-old startup has developed a mobile platform that enables clearer communication between hospital staff and patients. It provides a questionnaire to patients to illicit more frank information about their health free from social pressures to say certain things to impress doctors or other medical staff. The idea is to enable medical professionals to deliver better care. "We use an interactive medical platform to provide risk stratification to help prevent patient re-admissions," says Joe Gough, president & CEO of Homeward Healthcare. Homeward Healthcare's pilot program dealt primarily with cardiac patients. Kettering University is about to release a white paper on the results of the program that shows a 47 percent reduction in readmission of patients dealing with congestive heart failure and a 33.4 percent reduction in readmission in patients in general cardiac care. "That translates to 69 fewer readmissions out of 1,000 patients," Gough says. Homeward Healthcare has been able to translate that work into three paying customers, including Hurley Medical Center, Mammoth Hospital in California, and Evolution Hospital in Las Vegas. Homeward Healthcare also has a handful of other hospitals lined up to become customers in the first quarter of 2016. The health systems they are attached to could mean that Homeward Healthcare has customer ceiling of up 600 hospitals. Homeward Healthcare plans to go national with its platform next year. Besides its office in Ann Arbor, it also has offices in Toledo and San Francisco. It employs 18 people, including 11 hires over the last year. Gough expects those numbers to rise as his team works to raise more seed capital. It closed on a $1.5 million Series A a year ago and is currently raising a $1 million bridge round with an eye on closing a Series B by the end of next year. "We opened it (the bridge round) last week," Gough says. "We already have $250,000 in it."
