Ann Arbor

Simply Spanish joining Mark’s Carts lineup this year

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February 19, 2014

When Xavi Vitta moved to Ann Arbor from Spain years ago, what he missed most was the style of restaurant he was used to at home. "Something less ceremonial than a restaurant, with outstanding food," he says. With Simply Spanish, a food cart coming to Mark's Carts this spring, he intents to bring exactly that to Ann Arbor. Simply Spanish will feature authentic Spanish foods that are simple, made with fresh ingredients. "Eating well has also been a pillar in my upbringing," says Vitta. "I would like to share the joy of eating well with others." According to Vitta, the food cart format is a perfect fit for his concept, enabling a wide variety of customers to share a few tapas during their meal. The cart itself will reflect the Spanish culture as much as the food, decorated in graphics that celebrate the ceramic art of Gaudi. Vitta plans to open Simply Spanish in April of this year with a staff of two, which he intends to grow to three based on demand. He is looking forward to sharing his culture with the Ann Arbor community through his tapas style cuisine. Source: Xavi Vitta, Simply Spanish Writer: Natalie Burg

Ann Arbor Schools gets cyber liability insurance

By Newsroom

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Education

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February 19, 2014

Data breach has become a big problem in our Internet-reliant age. As a result APPS has decided that it needs cyber liability insurance coverage. Who knew there was such a thing? Excerpt: "While Target fights to recover from the breach and is now paying for free credit monitoring for all of the affected customers, other organizations are looking into the difference that cyber liability insurance could make in case they should ever experience their own data breaches. Ann Arbor Public Schools has realized that this threat is a real one and that a data breach could be very harmful to them if they were to experience one without this additional security protection." Read the rest here.

Guest Blogger: Rishi Narayan

By Rishi Narayan

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Community Development

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February 19, 2014

It's a known fact that young professionals aren't as civically engaged as their proportion of the population would seem to call for. But why? To start with, Underground Printing co-founder and Ann Arbor DDA board member Rishi Narayan calls for changing the spirit of public debate.

GameStart Minecraft classes at Menlo Innovations

GameStart: Minecraft Class Is Now In Session

By Patrick Dunn

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Economic Development

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February 19, 2014

The computer gaming industry earns more than $60 billion dollars each year. Hollywood's use of computer animation only grows. Yet computer programming is not a focus in K-12 education in Michigan. The folks at GameStart see both an educational and entrepreneurial opportunity. They offer programming classes to 3rd through 8th grade students with a focus on the game that sets every kid's heart a-flutter.

G2 Consulting Group plans to open up office in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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February 19, 2014

G2 Consulting Group is opening up a new office in Ann Arbor, which is bringing a handful of new hires to Tree Town. The Troy-based firm provides environmental and geotechnical engineering services in the construction industry. It has an office in Chicago and is opening up the new office in Ann Arbor to accommodate its double-digit revenue growth. The new office has a staff of six people and ambitions to grow further. "We are going to hire a couple more people for that office," says Noel Hargrave, co-founder & principal of G2 Consulting Group. He adds there are two engineering jobs currently open. The 20-year-old firm has experienced significant growth in the last two year, spiking its revenues by 20 percent in 2012 and 31 percent last year. Part of that expanded work comes from the University of Michigan and Washtenaw County. G2 Consulting Group is opening a lab for soils and materials work in its Ann Arbor office to accommodate that work. G2 Consulting Group does work across the U.S., operating in 29 states. Hargrave says the business has grown with the upswing in economy because it’s true to its word when it’s time to deliver. "We do what we say we're going to do and we do it on a timely basis," Hargrave says. "In construction you can't be the person holding up the project." Source: Noel Hargrave, co-founder & principal of G2 Consulting Group Writer: Jon Zemke

Qstride expands into Ann Arbor with downtown space

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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February 19, 2014

Qstride is expanding its physical presence across the U.S. and the Troy-based firm has its eyes on Ann Arbor. The software company, which already has a growing office in downtown Detroit, is opening a another office in downtown Ann Arbor and Virginia this winter. The Ann Arbor office has one person right now, but the leadership at Qstride expects that head count to grow. "We have local people in these locations," says Shane Gianino, CEO of Qstride. "These are hotbeds for new technology." The 20-month-old firm specializes in analytics and business intelligence software. Qstride has watched its revenue jump 135 percent over the last year, allowing it to expand its staff to 22 people. It has clients across the U.S. including in New York, California, Arizona and Ohio. Gianino says there are a couple of reasons why Qstride choose Ann Arbor for its newest location. The biggest reason is its proximity to the University of Michigan. "There is a lot of talent at the University of Michigan," Gianino says. "We need software engineers. Our lead data scientists is out of Ann Arbor and is in charge of that office." Source: Shane Gianino, CEO of Qstride Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

U-M students create new mobile startup, Tag Contacts

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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February 19, 2014

What do you do when you want to launch a new economy startup? Find a new economy pain in the butt and begin working on a solution. It also helps if you can have a tech titan give you a shout out to get things started. That's what's going on with Tag Contacts. The startup is the brainchild of two University of Michigan undergrads who want to build a better contacts apps for smartphones. The startup also managed to get a bump in interest when Twitter CEO Dick Costolo took notice of Tag Contacts and told the world. "We're trying to go back to basics," says Chris O'Neil, co-founder of Tag Contacts. "Tag is for play tag on the playground. We’re trying to make it as simple as possible." O'Neil, who is also president of MPowered, and Billy Irwin are juniors at U-M studying computer science. They became frustrated with a million and one annoyances with traditional contact lists on their smartphones, so they started reinventing the technology. That meant launching Tag Contacts, which is now composed of a team of five people, last October. Tag Contacts technology, which is in private Beta, aims to make using the contacts list on a smartphone simpler and more intuitive. For instance, it allows users to sort contacts by which ones were recently entered. It also differentiates between contacts found on social media and in real life. "The people you call and text aren’t necessarily the people you interact with on social media," O'Neil says. "We want to get you through to the people you want to call." Tag Contacts caught Costolo's eye last week. The Twitter CEO, also a U-M alum, began following Tag Contacts and tweeted the startup, which brought about a world of attention. The startup is now pulling allnighters to get its technology into Apple's App Store by March. Source: Chris O'Neil, co-founder of Tag Contacts Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

U-M startup takes top prize at Michigan Collegiate Innovation Prize

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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February 19, 2014

GENOMENON, a startup founded by University of Michigan students, walked away with the top prize at the Michigan Collegiate Innovation Prize last week. The win allows the healthcare software startup to pocket $40,000 in seed capital. GENOMENON's technology is the product of three U-M pathologists. The trio is developing software focused on improving cancer diagnosis and treatment. The company won the top prize at the event and the competition’s health category. This is the fifth year for the competition, which has changed names and pivoted its focus a couple of times. The Michigan Collegiate Innovation Prize is a three-month program that helps innovators find the market for their products. It is organized by U-M's Center for Entrepreneurship and offers $100,000 in seed capital for student-led startups. Startups from across Michigan’s colleges are eligible to compete. This year it fielded 81 student teams from 16 colleges. Twenty three of those teams made the semifinals and five of those teams walked away with seed capital prizes. "It's about talent retention through Michigan-based ventures," says Amy Klinke, associate director at University of Michigan’s Center for Entrepreneurship. "For us it's a win that these students stay in the state to lead these ventures." The Michigan Collegiate Innovation Prize got its start as a business plan competition at the University of Michigan. It then pivoted to become the Michigan Clean Energy Competition and expanded its reach to include participants from across the Great Lakes State. This year it opened up the competition even further to invite participants from a number of different new economy sectors, such as software. Source: Amy Klinke, associate director at University of Michigan’s Center for Entrepreneurship Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Seelio continues to expand software platform across U.S.

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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February 19, 2014

Seelio is starting to grow beyond its humble beginnings in Ann Arbor. The software startup's digital portfolio platform for college students is appearing at more and more universities across the U.S. Seelio is developing a software platform that allows college students to showcase their portfolio of work. The software enables the students to document how college projects came to fruition and use that to get a start in the professional world, such as for job interviews. Seelio’s software is actively being used at seven universities across the U.S., including the universities of Michigan, Toledo and Texas, among others. "We have a very strong pipeline of universities," says Moses Lee, CEO of Seelio. That growth has allowed Seelio to grow in a number of different ways. It raised a $1.5 million seed round last year. It also hired six people (mostly in sales and customer service), expanding its staff to 12 employees. It also moved to new space at Ann Arbor SPARK’s Central Business Incubator in downtown Ann Arbor. Seelio is looking to continue to grow its product use in more universities across North America. It currently has string footholds in the Midwest, East Coast and South, but would like to partner with more institutions of higher learning in other regions of the country in 2014. "It's all about growth," Lee says. "We want to provide stellar outcomes and services to university students." Source: Moses Lee, CEO of Seelio Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

City and U-M finalize plans for bike sharing

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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February 19, 2014

Looks like bike-sharing, dubbed ArborBike is going to become a reality for Tree Town this May. Excerpt: "Since August 2013, the Ann Arbor City Council has been working in tandem with the University and the Clean Energy Coalition, a local non-profit dedicated to the promotion of energy-independent communities, to ensure the program’s success. This collaboration included attaining federal, city and University funds to subsidize the project. From November 2013 through January, the CEC garnered community involvement for the new program by hosting an online naming competition. Among the top contenders were A2Go, MiBike and ArBike, but ultimately, the service was christened ArborBike on Feb. 5." Read the rest here.