Ann Arbor

Clean Energy Coalition begins consulting across U.S.

By Newsroom

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November 5, 2014

The Clean Energy Coalition wrapped up a number of sustainability projects over the last year, and got started on a few more. All of them added up to a broader reach for the Ann Arbor-based non-profit. The Clean Energy Coalition got its start in 2005 with the idea of helping spreading green practices across Michigan. Those have ranged from improving fuel-efficiency to making homes more energy efficient to promoting alternative methods of transportation. For instance, it teamed up with the city of Ann Arbor and Zingerman's on a pilot program to help make the employees of those organizations implement more energy efficient practices. That program wrapped up earlier this year but was not renewed by DTE Energy. The Clean Energy Coalition also wrapped up its Michigan Greenfleets program. The four-year, $42 million initiative worked to bring better fuel efficiencies to local government vehicles, such as introducing vehicles that run on natural gas or hybrid technology or installing electric charging stations. "We saw about 1.5 million gallon reduction of petroleum usage each year since we implemented the program," says Sean Reed, executive director of the Clean Energy Coalition. The Clean Energy Coalition also launched ArborBike this year. The bike-share program has locations across downtown Ann Arbor and the University of Michigan’s campus. ArborBike will have 14 stations with 125 bikes when it's fully deployed next spring. "Right now the system is at about half capacity," Reed says. All of these wins have led to a demand for the Clean Energy Coalition’s consulting services. It's working with the EPA's National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Colorado, and targeting other similar opportunities across the U.S. this year and in 2015. The Clean Energy Coalition currently employs 15 employees and a handful of interns. It has made a couple of replacement hires over the last year. Source: Sean Reed, executive director of the Clean Energy Coalition Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ann Arbor in top 10 for construction job growth

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 5, 2014

Look at all the giant cranes around town and it should be little surprise that Ann Arbor is a destination for construction employment. In this case we're seventh on the list. Excerpt: "In addition to being the home of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is also number 7 on our list of top cities for job growth in construction. From August 2013 to August 2014, the Tree Town had a total construction job growth of 18.4 percent. Though job growth in construction is strong, the University of Michigan remains the city’s largest employer. The city is also a regional hub for technology, biotechnology, health services, research and manufacturing." Read the rest of the list here.

Ann Arbor’s secret auto lab

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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October 29, 2014

Shhhh. It's a secret. There's a lab in A2, the only Federal testing facility in the country, that determines what a car's m.p.g. rating really is. Or so the Freep tells us. There's no telling how many reporters they lost getting this information. Excerpt: "The MPG audits performed in Ann Arbor are increasingly important with several companies forced to restate inaccurate fuel economy figures. Hyundai, Kia, Ford, Mercedes-Benz and BMW have had to revise their claims and some have sent compensation checks to owners. The accuracy police at the EPA have changed some of their testing, now auditing more aspects of each vehicle as a result of the misleading stickers. And the lab in Ann Arbor, which is the only federal lab to do fuel testing, continues to expand its overall." Read the rest here.

How living wage requirements impact nonprofits

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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October 29, 2014

Ann Arbor's living wage ordinance comes under review in an evaluation of how living wage ordinances (ie. increases in minimum wage salaries) would impact their ability to execute their mission. NPQ weighs the pros and cons. Excerpt: "Increasingly, the sentiment among political leaders is that nonprofits may not always warrant the exemption. In some living wage ordinance structures, nonprofit organizations have an opportunity to demonstrate a need to be exempted from the wage increase. For example, in Ann Arbor, the Community Action Network applied for exemption from the local living wage ordinance, which the original ordinance permitted based on need. However, in granting the exemption from the ordinance, CAN had to submit a plan to demonstrate how it would come into compliance with the living wage rate (at that time, in 2012, $12.17 an hour for employers paying for health insurance, $13.57/hour for those not providing health insurance) in three years." Read the rest here.

Spreading awesomeness throughout Ann Arbor and Detroit

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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October 29, 2014

Check out these two philanthropic groups that are making Ann Arbor and Detroit (and points in between) more awesome $1000 at a time. Excerpt: "The Awesome model is a simplified, smaller-scale version of traditional philanthropic foundations. Detroit and Ann Arbor’s trustees meet monthly to sort through anywhere from 10-30 proposals, funding whatever project best spreads “awesomeness” in their respective communities. “We don’t follow any rules,” said Ann Arbor Awesome Foundation dean Mark Maynard. “We don’t answer to a board. People make a choice as to where they give their personal money, and then they do it.” Read the rest here.

Ann Arbor’s future: 5 tough questions with Jeremy Wheeler

By Natalie Burg

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General

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October 29, 2014

Jeremy Wheeler is a local artist and writer. Recently he penned a much-talked about comic editorial about the path of development in Ann Arbor and the important questions that aren't being asked. Concentrate decided to follow up with him and ask a few questions of our own.

Vivergy software bridges sustainability and public health

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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October 29, 2014

A couple of tech entrepreneurs in Ann Arbor are working to bridge the gap between living a sustainable lifestyle and improving the public health with their new startup, Vivergy. Kevin Kononenko and Dom Parise's are releasing the digital platform this week. Vivergy enables individuals to score their impact on local health due to their energy consumption and air pollution. That way they can see if the tweak their everyday behavior they can see how it can have a real-world impact on lessening things, like childhood asthma. "Children in Ann Arbor inhale on average seven cigarettes each year," Kononenko says. "That is the equivalent of living with a smoker for three months." Kononenko and Parise were inspired by the frustrating conventional wisdom that comes with sustainability -ie. the problems seem too enormous, things are slow to change, and that the positive actions of one person are often negligible. "It always feels very negative, overwhelming, and sad," Kononenko says. "I wanted to do something about it that encourages people to think about it in a different way." Vivergy is launching this week and the two partners are planning to focus on generating local usership at first. However, the platform can be used anywhere in the world. Source: Kevin Kononenko and Dom Parise, co-founders of Vivergy Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Human Element creates 3 jobs as it hits double-digit growth

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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October 29, 2014

Human Element has grown in a number of ways over the last year. It has watched its revenue spike by double-digits, its staff is on the rise, and its office expand by a few thousand square feet. The downtown Ann Arbor-based e-commerce company (it specializes in the Magento e-commerce platform) has watched its revenue jump by 40 percent since 2011. That has allowed it to hire three people, a software engineer and project manager over the last year, and it's looking to add a software developer now to its team of 13 employees and six independent contractors. "Growing that quickly has its challenges," says Ben Lorenz, managing partner of Human Element. "We're targeting 30 percent growth right now. We feel that is a manageable way to grow the team." Which has prompted the 9-year-old company to expand its office. The company added 2,000 square feet earlier this year. Another addition of a few thousand square feet of office space seems like its in the card considering the company’s current growth curve. "If we can stay on track of our growth plan we will need more space next year," Lorenz says. He adds that a rebound in demand for e-commerce work, specifically the Magento platform, has driven the growth. Lorenz is quick to add that his company is controlling the growth because it takes a long timeline (typically closer to a year than just a few months) to get new hires up to speed with the rest of the team. Another factor is Ann Arbor SPARK giving a Phase 4 grant to Human Element last year. The $12,000 grant helped the company form some strategic planning for its growth so it can lessen the learning the curve to getting bigger. "SPARK has been helping us quite a bit," Lorenz says. Source: Ben Lorenz, managing partner of Human Element Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

DeNovo Sciences secures $2M Series A investment round

By Newsroom

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Innovation News

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October 29, 2014

DeNovo Sciences has closed on a Series A round of investment worth $2 million earlier this month, allowing the life sciences startup to start fundraising for a Series B in 2015. "We are in very good shape (from a monetary standpoint)," says Kalyan Handique, president & CEO of DeNovo Sciences. The Plymouth-based startup, it calls the Michigan Life Sciences and Innovation Center home, got its start in Ypsilanti in 2011 developing a platform for early detection of cancer from blood samples. The idea is to create an less-invasive method than the traditionally painful route of biopsies. It won the top prize worth $500,000 in the 2012 Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. The Series A consists of all new money from angel investors and pre-seed funds. DeNovo Sciences has developed a fully automated system to detect cancer, primarily breast and colon cancers. Two of those systems are currently in use in medical centers in the Middle East and Asia. The startup also has purchase orders for two more locations, including one in the U.S. "We are actively engaged with more customers around the world," Handique says. "We hope to see more orders next year." DeNovo Sciences has a staff of nine employees, nine independent contractors and one intern. It has hired three people over the last year, including software developers and clinical researchers. Source: Kalyan Handique, president & CEO of DeNovo Sciences Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Spry Publishing almost doubles staff with acquisition

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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October 29, 2014

Ann Arbor-based Spry Publishing has acquired Farmington Hills-based The Word Baron, a move that nearly doubles Spry Publishing's staff. Spry Publishing is a health-and-wellness publisher and a member of the Edwards Brothers Malloy family of businesses. Most of Spry Publishing’s work is focused on the pharmaceutical industry. The Word Baron specializes in digital marketing, ranging from graphic design to building training manuals. "It (acquiring The Word Baron) expands our creative services that we can offer our clients," says Jeremy Sterling, director of sales & marketing for Spry Publishing. He adds the two firms have partnered on projects before and there is a good synergy between them thanks to how the services they provide complement each other so well. The Word Baron's three employees have moved into Spry Publishing’s offices in Ann Arbor, expanding the staff to eight employees. The Word Baron has a number of clients in the automotive industry. Sterling expects the combination of the two firms will allow them to offer a more comprehensive publishing and marketing package to their respective clients. "We should grow well across both of our businesses," Sterling says. Source: Jeremy Sterling, director of sales & marketing for Spry Publishing Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.