Ann Arbor

Juicy Kitchen plans to expand catering part of growing biz

By Newsroom

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December 4, 2013

There is not much Juicy Kitchen Cafe doesn't do in the food business these days. "We still do catering," says Susan Todoroff, owner of Juicy Kitchen Cafe. "We still do home-prepared meals except we don’t deliver them anymore. Our customers come and pick them up." From Juicy Kitchen Cafe's new retail location on 1506 N. Maple Road that it has spent 2013 establishing. The Ann Arbor-based company went from no one knowing there any businesses in the forlorn strip mall to a vibrant business with a core group of regulars that eat there multiple times week. "(Opening the cafe) was really more of a lifestyle choice than a business decision for me," Todoroff says. "I want to wait on the people I am cooking for." That has allowed Juicy Kitchen Cafe to grow to a core team of four full-timers and a few part-time employees. The retail operation now makes up about two thirds of the company's revenue. Prepared meals make up another 20-some percent with catering taking up the rest. "I want to grow the catering side of the business," Todoroff says. Source: Susan Todoroff, owner of Juicy Kitchen Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ex-HandyLab exec launches own startup, PlanReaction

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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December 4, 2013

When BD acquired HandyLab in 2009, Michael Kaye was in the thick of it, serving as the Ann Arbor-based startup’s chief engineer. So much so that a number of HandyLab executives advised him to start his own firm. The Ann Arbor resident liked the idea but was much more familiar with engineering that running a business. So Kaye bumped around Ann Arbor SPARK's Central Incubator in downtown Ann Arbor for a few years after the HandyLab acquisition figuring out what the best startup would be for him. The result is PlanReaction, a software platform that automatically generates building floor plans and furniture layouts. "I used to say I have no business being in a business because I have no business background," Kaye says. "I jokingly refer to my business as a multi-hundred-dollar company." Those characterization no longer apply. PlanReaction made the semifinals of this year's Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition and then won the business-plan competition's IT award and the $25,000 in seed capital that came with it. Kaye credits the competition with giving him the basic tools to pitch his startup, such as a pitch deck and a tighter business plan. PlanReaction is developing software that help completes the initial design phase of building out commercial real estate spaces. Think generating floor plans and designs for office spaces. PlanReaction streamlines the process of bringing those plans to reality. Kaye has finished the initial development of the software and is looking for a software developer to put the finishing touches on the program. "I am looking to expand right away," Kaye says. "I am looking to bring on a developer so we can produce a minimum-viable product so we can get to the pilot stage." Source: Michael Kaye, founder & CEO of PlanReaction Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ginger Deli plans fresh take on Vietnamese food

By Natalie Burg

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Arts and Culture

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December 4, 2013

Anyone used to eating Vietnamese food in a hole-in-the-wall type environment will soon get to experience the cuisine in a whole new light. The Ginger Deli plans to open on E. Liberty in the first or second week of January with a focus on chic design and fresh ingredients that aims to change perceptions and delight Ann Arbor eaters. "The Ginger Deli is an idea I have wanted to do for maybe five years," says owner Te Phan, who also owns Ann Arbor's Chair Cover Express. "The food will be more toward Vietnamese cooking because Vietnamese food is influenced by the French. If you're going to be influenced by any kind of food, French is a good place to start." Fresh herbs will be a primary feature of the Ginger Deli cuisine, including basil, mint, cilantro and bean sprouts, which Phan says not only adds great flavor to the food, but balances out the dishes with health benefits. Phan's career began in industrial design, creating concept cars for Ford. He's now applying his design principles to make attractive, functional street food in downtown Ann Arbor. His designs will allow passersby to enjoy some hot soup on the go in convenient, disposable packaging. "I want to put the value and money first in food and second into the packaging, where it will be marketing vehicle for the food," says Phan. "Instead of putting a lot of money in creating a environments an ambiance and tables, I want to be able to keep the price affordable for students and young professionals." The approximately 200-foot Ginger Deli storefront will be take-out only, but will provide heated outdoor counter space under a canopy for diners on the go. Phan hopes to build on the concept of new neighbor Le Dog to create a hub for street food on Liberty. Ginger Deli will actually be a two-part operation, with about two kitchen staffers managing a kitchen two blocks away and two employees serving customers from the storefront. Phan hopes to see the concept grow into multiple locations in Ann Arbor, and plans to keep the community he loves involved and benefitting from his business as it grows. Sourc: Te Phan, Ginger Deli Writer: Natalie Burg

Inmatech aims to reinvent batteries with supercapicitor

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 20, 2013

If the conventional wisdom about technology is correct and future change is more likely to be found through incremental improvements instead of great leaps forward, then Inmatech might have the next step forward in battery technology. The Ann Arbor-based startup's technology takes advanced, customized supercapacitors and inserts them in batteries for electronics. The supercapacitors enable the batteries to improve the delivery of energy and up energy density. "That way the battery is just handling the energy storage," says Saemin Choi, CTO of Inmatech. The startup and its team of four people, which calls the University of Michigan's Venture Accelerator home, is currently in the prototype phase and looking to sell its first units in 2015 or 2016. Inmatech also won the DTE Energy Alternative Energy prize (worth $25,000 in seed capital cash) at this fall’s Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. The money will go towards the startup’s efforts to close on a seven-figure seed capital round in the coming months. "We have raised close to $1 million," Choi says. "We need to raise $1.5 million in 2014." Source: Saemin Choi, CTO of Inmatech Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

SkySpecs creates buzz around drone inspection tech

By Newsroom

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Innovation News

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November 20, 2013

SkySpecs is aiming to commercialize its drone inspection technology next year and has reached a number of milestones toward achieving that goal. The Ann Arbor-based startup is developing aerial drones that use artificial intelligence to inspect infrastructure in dangerous locations, such as the blade of wind turbines. They are not remote controlled so they wouldn’t require the user to be onsite to operate the vehicles. The 1-year-old company's team of nine people have an operational prototype and have applied for one provisional patent for their technology. They have raised $470,000 in seed capital amnd hope to hit their target of $700,000 by the end of this year or early next year. "The goal is to start a pilot project in quarter one of 2014," says Danny Ellis, co-founder of SkySpecs. "By quarter two, we hope to have it in our partners' hands without us being on site." SkySpecs made the semifinals of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition last week. The startup, which was launched by University of Michigan students, took third place in last year's Accelerate Michigan student competition. You can check out a video of its elevator pitch, here. Source: Tom Brady and Danny Ellis, co-founders of SkySpecs Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

GFS Marketplace celebrates opening of second area location

By Natalie Burg

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Arts and Culture

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November 20, 2013

Ann Arbor's west side has become a destination for food shopping, and now GFS Marketplace is offering the community another option. The Gordon Food Service retailer opened earlier this month in a renovated retail space near the corner of Liberty and Stadium Blvd. "We were just looking for a location that would make us convenient to additional customers and that happened to be a property that became available," says GFS Marketplace spokesperson Mark Dempsey. "It was an existing building that we could convert to our needs." The 1,400 square foot building underwent a number of renovations, including opening the ceiling to expose wood dome trusses, facade improvements, new HVAC and lighting as well as a new receiving dock. Though GFS Marketplace sells restaurant quality foodservice products, Dempsey says the retailer is open to the general public without a membership. "Customers are enjoying the grand opening festivities," he says. "We've had some terrific events in the store since it’s opened. We’re having a lot of fun in Ann Arbor." The Ann Arbor location is the second area GFS Marketplace store, joining a Carpenter Rd. outlet in Ypsilanti. About 35 employees work at the new store. Source: Mark Dempsey, GFS Marketplace Writer: Natalie Burg

Blaze Medical Devices raises $1.1M of $2M VC round

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 20, 2013

Blaze Medical Devices is more than halfway to its goal of raising $2 million worth of seed capital, raking in $1.1 million as of this fall. "My goal is to close on all of that before the end of the year," says David Weaver, CEO of Blaze Medical Devices, adding it might take until early 2014 to hit the target. The 7-year-old company originally had a goal of raising $1.5 million in seed capital but bumped that number up to $2 million after encountering higher demand from investors than expected. The Ann Arbor-based startup, which made the semi-finals of this year's Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, is developing blood transfusion technology that will enable medical professionals to better control and optimize blood banking and transfusions. Its clinical tests help assess the quality of stored blood and its laboratory instruments help facilitate blood research. The company has finalized the design of its product this year and hopes to begin sales early next year. "We have a queue of people who are interested in the product for research," Weaver says. "We expect to roll it out next year." Blaze Medical Devices has hired three people over the last year, expanding its staff to six employees. Weaver expects to make a couple more hires in 2014. Source: David Weaver, CEO of Blaze Medical Devices Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

PHASIQ works to commercialize lab tool tech

By Newsroom

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Innovation News

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November 20, 2013

University of Michigan spin-out PHASIQ is looking to bring its new research instrument to a life sciences lab near you in the not-too-distant future. The Ann Arbor-based startup's technology genesis came from research developed by Shuichi Takayama and Arlyne Simon at U-M. The 1-year-old company instrument "provides an ultra-specific diagnostic platform for detecting protein biomarkers in biological samples," according to its company description at this fall's Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, where the startup made the semifinals. It offers "the most stringent quality custom assays to pharmaceutical companies for drug and biomarker discovery, advancing personalized medicine." PHASIQ's instruments are currently being used by clinical researchers at the University of Michigan. The company is still tweaking the instrument’s design to streamline its operation. "We're trying to change it so anyone can use it," Takayama says. "We want to make it simple." A $150,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant is currently funding the development of PHASIQ's technology by the startup's core team of four people. The company is aiming to commercialize the instrument midway through next year and is currently working to raise a round of seed capital to make that happen. "We anticipate we will need at least $2 million by 2014," Simon says. Source: Arlyne Simon and Shuichi Takayama, co-founders of PHASIQ Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ann Arbor startups set growth curve at Accelerate Michigan

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 20, 2013

If the student competition at this fall's Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is supposed to be a stepping stone to bigger prizes in the main event of the business plan competition, then startups from Ann Arbor are proving the theory true. Accelerate Michigan got its start in 2010 as an event to provide access to seed capital, resources and investors to fledgling tech startups based in Michigan or those looking to move to the Great Lakes State. This year the organic growth of Michigan's startups started to show. Covaron Advanced Materials won the student portion of Accelerate Michigan last year under the name Kymeira Advanced Materials, taking home $25,000 in seed capital. Last week the Ann Arbor-based company took second place in the overall competition, which comes with a $100,000 check. It was the most prominent example of a young, up-and-coming startup setting the growth curve at Accelerate Michigan. Ann Arbor-based SkySpecs took third place (with a prize of $10,000) in last year's Accelerate Michigan student competition. The 1-year-old startup is developing aerial drones that use artificial intelligence to inspect infrastructure in dangerous locations, such as the blade of wind turbines. This year it made the semifinals of the overall competition, going against older, more developed startups. Tom Brady, one of the startup’s co-founders, says "the competition is stiff" when talking about the other startups pitching at Accelerate Michigan. He and his co-founders felt much more confident about their pitch because of their previous experience in the student competition. "If we had gone straight from an idea to the business plan competition we wouldn't have done well," says Danny Ellis, co-founder of SkySpecs. Source: Tom Brady and Danny Ellis, co-founders of SkySpecs Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Ann Arbor in the TV spotlight

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 20, 2013

C-Span is taking Book TV and American History TV on the road, spotlighting the literary life and history of select cities. Guess who made the list? Excerpt: A film crew descended on the city for a week in late October, visiting local literary and historic sites. Comcast channel 104, Book TV, will feature its Ann Arbor block of segments on Saturday, November 16 at noon; Comcast channel 105, American History TV, will feature its Ann Arbor block of segments on Sunday, November 17 at 5 p.m. Read all the deets here.