A group of U-M students are redefining what it means to build something from scratch. The first Makeathon launches later this month, where teams of students from U-M and the College for Creative Studies must develop and fabricate a physical prototype in 36 hours. Luckily they have the resources of Detroit's TechShop at their disposal.
Best Doctors Inc lists over 50, 000 U.S. physicians on its annual list. 493 U-M docs, more than any other institution in Michigan, made the cut. Excerpt: "Team physicians and orthopedic surgeons Dr. James Carpenter, Dr. Bruce Miller and Dr. Ed Wojtys were named to the prestigious list along with neurologist Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher. In addition, four consultants that work with the athletic department on a case-by-case basis received selection: James Holmes (orthopedics - foot and ankle), Anthony Chiodo (physical medicine and rehabilitation), Jennifer Kim (ENT/plastic surgery) and Jon Jacobson (radiology)." Read the rest here.
Trilogy Health Ventures launched businesses in three areas in the last few years, expanding into pharmaceutical research, consulting and home healthcare. The Ann Arbor-based firm’s investment in latter of those sectors is paying off the most. Trilogy Health Ventures owns three home healthcare businesses that provide home healthcare for senior citizens and other people in need across Michigan. Trilogy Ventures North handles cities like Bay City, Mt. Pleasant and Flint. Trilogy Ventures South covers Ann Arbor and Jackson. Trilogy Ventures West overseas Grand Rapids Kalamazoo and Hastings. "These are really driving the hiring of new employees," says Barry Paxton, managing partner of Trilogy Health Ventures. "We have just been growing like crazy in the senior-care space. We're looking at subsequent investments in the business." Those three businesses have hired 60 people over the last year, mostly nursing assistants and other types of home healthcare workers. Paxton expects to double that head-count over the next year. Trilogy Health Ventures employs 70 people through all five of its businesses. It has two other businesses not associated with home healthcare. Pharma Form Solutions specializes in contract pharmaceutical research but has experienced flat revenues while hunting for new work. Paxton Holdings, a pharmaceutical consulting service, has experienced modest growth over the last year. "It's a consistent revenue stream," Paxton says. "It's been going quite well." Source: Barry Paxton, managing partner of Trilogy Health Ventures Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
In the spectrum of possible career choices, chocolate buyer sounds almost too good to be true. Yet, there's actually a position like that here in Ann Arbor. Meet Reina Leber, manager and food (including chocolate) buyer for Zingerman's.
The Little Seedling is growing bigger. The maternity and baby retailer has outgrown its Zeeb Rd. location and will soon move to a new storefront on W. Stadium near Goldfish Swim School. "We're really excited," says owner Molly Ging. "Here, we have the store and warehouse, and we'll be able to combine them there, which will save us time and money." The Little Seedling specializes in cloth diapers and unique maternity and baby gear. When Ging first opened, she says it was important to be so near the Zeeb Rd. exit because, as one of the only diapering retailers in the Midwest, many of her customers drove from out of town to see her. Though her clientele is more local now, she is still growing, running out of space in her 3,200 square foot location. The W. Stadium space will offer about 6,000 square feet of combined showroom and storage, which will provide plenty of space for her shoppers and their busy companions. "A lot of our customers enjoy that we're extremely family friendly," says Ging. "Our kids can touch things here. Moms can shop while their kids play. Sometimes it's like a built-in play date." The larger space will also come with expanded hours and staff. In order to better serve the clients to Goldfish Swim School, she'll open an hour earlier and stay open an hour later each day, and anticipates hiring an additional two employees to grow her staff to ten. The Little Seedling will also expand the age range of her inventory to serve parents with older toddlers. Work on the new location is now underway. After approximately eight years of vacancy, the space requires significant renovation. Ging hopes to open the new store on or before April 1. Source: Molly Ging, The Little Seedling Writer: Natalie Burg
<Insert Bionic Man sound effects here> Last month surgeons at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center implanted the very first bionic eye in patients with late stage Retinitis Pigmentosa. Excerpt: "The device is implanted in one eye. The patient wears glasses with a camera that converts images into electrical pulses that go to the retina. It won't completely restore a person's vision, but it's giving people who can't see some hope." Read or watch the rest here.
Are you ready for your car to go driverless? While it's arguable as to whether Michigan will remain the international manufacturing center for auto bodies and interiors, the Ann Arbor area is likely to become the industry's brain center as research ramps up on wirelessly connected, self-driving car systems.
Should everything go according to the Bank of Ann Arbor's plans, the corner of S. Fifth and E. Washington could look very different in the not-too-distant future. The bank is planning an 8,300 square foot addition in the form of a third floor on a portion of the building, as well as interior and exterior renovations of the entire structure. "We've certainly created a lot of excitement internally because the building does need renovation," says Bank of Ann Arbor Senior Vice President Hans Maier. "Our staff is excited, and I think the community will be excited too." The Bank of Ann Arbor's main office building currently employs about 95 staff members. The new space would allow for growth, as well as more space for existing employees to work. "It's a combination of providing additional space and providing more efficient space," Maier says." Plans for the project have been presented to the Design Review Board. Maier hopes to present to the Planning Commission in April, City Council in May and begin construction in July. Construction is expected to take anywhere from one year to 18 months. Source: Hans Maier, Bank of Ann Arbor Writer: Natalie Burg
A quartet of Florida students took home the second place prize from The Miami Herald's Business Plan Challenge, a fashion app called How Do I Look, which would allow customers to share pictures of themselves wearing outfits. Two of the team are now U-M students. Excerpt: "Kaplan and Altman, who were seniors at Ransom Everglades when they won the award, are now at University of Michigan and will most likely pursue the study of business. Greenwald, also from Ransom, is at Tulane University studying political science. Lieberbaum, who was at Miami Beach Senior High, is now at the University of Florida and studies business. Currently, progress has slowed, but the four had an entrepreneurial summer. “To begin with, we met with experienced entrepreneurs that we know to figure out the first step in starting our project. We then met with programmers to learn what they needed to be able to create the app,” said Greenwald. “Our first big step was working on designing the app, creating each and every possible individual page, how users could move between pages; basically deciding how it would look and work. We worked on this step for a couple months and had the app completely designed and ready to hand over to programmers."" Read the rest here.
Flagship Ventures opened an office in downtown Ann Arbor a year ago and it has already starting to make some moves. The Massachusetts-based venture capital firm participated in a Series B round for Tangent Medical Technologies about a year ago. It co-led the $8.6 million round of investment with Arboretum Ventures. Tangent Medical Technologies is developing its NovaCath Integrated IV Catheter System, which is designed to address IV therapy challenges including catheter stabilization, healthcare worker safety, tubing management and patient comfort. NovaCath's passive needle shielding technology and closed system design is meant to minimize risk of needlestick injuries and occupational exposure to blood to the lowest feasible extent. The startup is led by Jeff Williams who also served as the CEO of bio-tech startups HandyLab and Accuri Cytometers, which were both acquired. "Tangent has a great team," says Mike Johnson, associate with Flagship Ventures. "Its IV catheter is a novel technology with FDA clearance." Johnson is optimistic that Flagship Ventures will make another one or two similar investments this year. "We're enthusiastic about the opportunities in Michigan," Johnson says. "We are evaluating a number of different companies." Source: Mike Johnson, associate with Flagship Ventures Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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