Ann Arbor

ACA leads to increased business and staff for Clarity Quest Marketing

By Newsroom

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April 2, 2014

Clarity Quest Marketing is enjoying a banner year, and one thing stands out as a reason why: the Affordable Care Act. "This year in Q1 we have had our best quarter ever in the company," says Christine Slocumb, president of Clarity Quest Marketing. "We are on track to have our best revenue ever this year." The Ann Arbor-based firm has traditionally served the marketing needs of tech firms over many of its 13 years. It started to take on more and more work from healthcare firms, such as Vocollect Health Systems, the Pittsburgh-based business is the maker of AccuNurse. A few years ago the company’s portfolio was split evenly between tech and healthcare firms. Now about 75 percent of Clarity Quest Marketing's clients are healthcare based. "That whole industry is booming," Slocumb says. "A lot of it is being done by the Affordable Care Act." That has allowed Clarity Quest Marketing to hire two people (senior-level consultants) in the last year, expanding its staff to 17 employees and two interns. Slocumb expects to hire more as Clarity Quest Marketing increases its visibility in the healthcare sector. "We're working a lot on visibility," Slocumb says. "We are working with a lot of thought leaders in this space." Source: Christine Slocumb, president of Clarity Quest Marketing Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory: Building a Business One Chip at a Time

By Patrick Dunn

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General

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April 2, 2014

If you've had chips made by the Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory you know that calling them "addictive" would be an understatement. So, how did this hand-made tortilla and chip company spring up in a town as unlikely as Ann Arbor? Read on and the truth will be revealed.

Velesco Pharma expands into Boston with new office

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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April 2, 2014

Velesco Pharma is expanding its physical presence, opening a new office in Boston to complement its existing facilities in Michigan. The new Boston office is meant to bring the company closer to that region’s booming pharmaceutical industry. Velesco Pharma continues to grow its satellite office in Kalamazoo and headquarters in the Ann Arbor area. It recently hired three people, expanding its staff to 15 people. "We continue to grow and have the bulk of our operations in southern Michigan," says Gerry Cox, COO of Velesco Pharma. Velesco Pharma, wich calls the Ann Arbor SPARK-managed Michigan Life Science Innovation Center home, specializes in pharmaceutical consulting and laboratory services. It also operates a plant in Kalamazoo that makes dosage forms for clinical trials. It registered 30 percent revenue growth last year and is well on its way to repeat that. Cox also expects to hire another 2-3 people before the end of the year to keep up with revenue growth. "We are continuing the same growth rate in the first quarter of 2014," Cox says. "We have been concentrating on what we’re good at and growing that." Source: Gerry Cox, COO of Velesco Pharma Writer: Jon Zemke

Cool Jobs: Matthew Altruda – Music Impresario

By Patti Smith

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General

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April 2, 2014

With bands like Tally Hall, Mayer Hawthorne and Michelle Chamuel grabbing the national spotlight, Ann Arbor has been quietly producing first-rate music for a while now. If it was up to Matthew Altruda we'd be a lot louder about it. As the city's unofficial rock impresario and biggest booster, Altruda is the big brains behind Sonic Lunch, The Puck Drops Here, and Tree Town Sounds.

Howell signs on to Ann Arbor rail study

By Newsroom

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In The News

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April 2, 2014

Drip by drip, inch by inch... or is it millimeter by millimeter?... plans to expand rail service move forward. Look for concrete plans in the next decade or three. Excerpt: "The Howell City Council is backing a grant application from Ann Arbor that would begin work on a possible rail line through the city. City Manager Shea Charles tells WHMI Howell would be one stop along the proposed rail line that would run from Detroit to Holland and all points between." Read the rest here.

Avegant raises $1.9M in investment, $1.5M in crowdfunding

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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April 2, 2014

Most startups are excited to have seven figures worth of seed capital coming in. Avegant has managed to score two in its first year. The downtown Ann Arbor-based startup has raised $1.9 million in a Seed Round. It also raised $1.5 million from a crowdfunding campaign earlier this year. And all of these people willing to throw money at the company can’t wait to see its night-vision technology. "We smashed our (crowdfunding) goal (of $250,000) in a matter of three hours," says Edward Tang, CEO of Avegant. Avegant co-founders Tang and Allan Evans met at the University of Michigan. They were approached by military contractors about creating better night-vision equipment for military drivers during wartime. Soldiers were experiencing better results using thermal night vision while driving. The problem was the display was in their vehicle’s dash instead of over their eyes. Tang and Evans found that the computer screen and eye fatigue often downgraded the viewing quality. In response they created a night-vision goggle that projected the image directly on the users eye, providing a big step forward in picture quality. "It was a higher picture quality that I had ever seen before," Tang says. Avegant's team of 11 employees and one intern has created three different evolutions of the prototype since landing the $1.9 million in a Seed Round last August. The Michigan Angel Fund, an angel investment group, led that investment round. Tang expects to ship the first commercial units of the night-vision goggles before the end of the year. "We're considering doing pre-orders on the website," Tang says. "It's going really well." Source: Edward Tang, CEO of Avegant Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Really big pow wow comes to Ann Arbor this weekend

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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April 2, 2014

Skyline sounds kinda native American, doesn't it? Too much of a stretch? Nevertheless the Ann Arnor high school will be the scene for the 42nd annual Dance for Mother Earth Powwow. THe event will "host some 200 competitive dancers, 10 drums and singers, and more than 40 vendors and artisans to celebrate Native American cultures and languages, traditions and foods from around the U.S. and Canada." Excerpt: Now one of the largest university powwows in the nation, the 2014 Dance for Mother Earth Powwow continues to provide an important opportunity for Native Americans to celebrate and share the diversity of their indigenous cultures with one another and with the broader community. Read the rest here. For ticket information and dance registration, visit the Dance for Mother Earth Powwow website.

College towns like Ann Arbor beget more notable people

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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April 2, 2014

Why do famous folks come from college communities? Apparently it's a combination of nature (smart parents) and nurture (innovative environment). Or so says Wikipedia. Excerpt: "Another key element he adds is "exposure to early innovation," citing the businesses that take off in colleges and, particularly for notable musicians, the exposure to innovative record stores, concerts and radio stations. He attributes exposure to ideas as key to the success of those born in cities. "It's much better to grow up around ideas than to grow up around backyards," Stephens-Davidowitz remarks." Read and watch the rest here.

DeepField doubles staff as initial product gains traction

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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March 26, 2014

DeepField launched its first product six months ago and the IT startup is gaining traction with its customers as it prepares to launch more products in the coming weeks. The downtown Ann Arbor-based startup's software that enables large corporations to adapt to the ever changing world of the Internet's back-end IT infrastructure. The technology, which is being branded as Cloud Genome, automatically identifies, tracks, and disambiguates the structure of all cloud-based services. DeepField's big-data platform analyzes and correlates telemetry from routers, switches, DNS, and more, decoding all of the morass of information. The end result is more visibility into all facets of the user's IT network. DeepField launched this technology six months ago. It is now deployed at 25 large networks around the world. The company estimates its software is deployed along 20 percent of all online consumer traffic. The 2-year-old company plans to launch new products during the spring and summer of this year. "The initial offering solved some big problems for our customers," says Craig Labovitz, co-founder of DeepField. "We're diving much deeper now." DeepField recently made the move from its original home in the Tech Brewery to bigger officers in downtown Ann Arbor above the Michigan Theater. It has also opened satellite offices in Colorado, Amsterdam and Washington, D.C. With that growth has brought a doubling of the company’s staff to just under 20 hires. Labovitz expects the company to hit a staff size of 25-30 people by the end of the year to keep up with demand. "We're basically doubling each year," Labovitz says. Source: Craig Labovitz, co-founder of DeepField Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

U-M among best colleges for families with children

By Newsroom

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Education

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March 26, 2014

BestColleges.com compiiled their list of best colleges for families with kids and U-M once gain muscled its way onto another list. Excerpt: ""To be recognized as first in the nation on the "Best Colleges For Students With Children" list is a tremendous accomplishment that highlights the type of campus culture that we've built at Purdue North Central," said PNC Chancellor Dr. James B. Dworkin. "We work very hard to make PNC and a Purdue University degree accessible for all students. Our tuition rates, financial aid, class schedule, campus child care, tutoring services, even our PNC - Porter County location, are all factors that help our students succeed. Second on the list is the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor. Other Indiana universities making the list are Indiana University-Southeast - New Albany listed at 14 and Ball State University at 28." Read the rest here.