Ann Arbor

Student start-ups continue evolution at Accelerate Michigan

By Newsroom

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November 6, 2013

There will be some familiar start-up names in this year’s Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. Not because it's the same entrepreneurs pushing the same ideas. It's because a number of former studentpreneurs are now pushing their start-ups as professionals. A number of businesses that were launched from Michigan-based student housing are among the 51 semifinalists in the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. Among those are Covaron Advanced Materials (which won Accelerate Michigan's student competition last year under the name Kymeria Advance Materials), AutoBike (a product of U-M Ross School of Business grads), TurtleCell (founded by two U-M students) and SkySpecs (launched by four U-M students). "We want to make sure we have a staircase of opportunities for students and their companies," says Lauren Bigelow, executive director of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is in its fourth year. It has made a name for itself for awarding $1 million in prizes over the three-day business plan competition, including a $500,000 top prize for the top finisher. The prizes go to Michigan-based startups rooted in the new economy or startups that are looking to move to the Great Lakes State. The competition is held annually in mid November. It was held at the University of Michigan its first two years and moved to downtown Detroit last year. This year's event will also be held in downtown Detroit on Nov 12-14, primarily at the Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel. For information, click here. Source: Lauren Bigelow, executive director of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Local Roboroach kit earns big Kickstarter support, PETA’s wrath

By Newsroom

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Education

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November 6, 2013

The good folks at Backyard Brains think that every child should find a cockroach in their Christmas stocking (or under the menorah). That's why they launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund RoboRoach, a kit that allows you to cut open live cockroaches and implant electrodes to control their movements. Sounds like something Jack skelington would approve of. Excerpt: "Backyard Brains has developed a Kickstarter project, the RoboRoach, that allows one to cut live cockroaches and implant electrodes to control the insects’ movements. One hundred and eighty three people have pledged $12,339 — exceeding the $10,000 goal to fund the project. It’s like a remote-controlled car in the body of a live bug, the game “Operation” writ large. But the creators want it to be taken seriously, with Greg Gage saying his product advances the study of neural circuits, allowing students to make scientific discoveries." Read the rest here.

Ann Arbor ranked as one of the smartest American cities

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 6, 2013

So, Lumosity conducted a survey of 478 U.S. cities and ranked them according to their "average brain performance score" - whatever that means. Ithaca, NY, homw to Cornell University and Ithaca College ranked number one. Ann Arbor came in 5th. In general, college towns dominated this clearly scientifically generated study. Excerpt: "According to the Lumosity website, the study involved 2,417,530 participants nationwide. It tested their performance across five cognitive areas: memory, processing speed, flexibility, attention, and problem solving. Participants ranged from 15 to 85 years old. Surprisingly, few of the country's largest cities ranked among the top 100 on the list. New York, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Houston and Chicago didn't make the cut." Read the rest here.

Kristen Oltersdorf trying on a wedding dress at The Brides Project Boutique

Making a Big Difference with Brides’ Big Day

By Natalie Burg

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General

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November 6, 2013

Weddings and cancer, they don't exactly sound like two life events that go together. And yet most people have been touched by both. So, how can someone's happiest day help ease the suffering of someone else's worst? The Brides Project boutique seeks to answer that very question.

Carp for Council Goes Viral

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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November 6, 2013

With all the rancor and name-calling in politics sometimes a little levity is just what the doctor ordered. Running to represent Ann Arbor's 4th Ward on city council was "Twenty Pound Carp." From Huffington Post to NPR to blogs and local news casts, the fish made quite the media splash. Did the good residents of the ward see fit to elect this candidate and inject some aquatic perspective to local government? We write this before the final results are in. Excerpt: “With the destruction of Blimpy Burgers, I have proposed the immediate construction of a series of glacis and escarpments, ravelins and Parrott gun installations to encircle critical strategic points such as Dominick’s and the Fleetwood Diner,” the user wrote. Twenty Pound Carp wrote that if elected, it would encourage the city to work with the federal government to build canals for its fellow aquatic creatures, creating “the Venice of Washtenaw County.” Read the rest here. "A 29 pound carp is campaigning as a write-in candidate for the City Council in Ann Arbor. The fish tweets: "since I have no actual feet, I don't have to stand for anything." Listen to more here. Slide show here.

Put A Bird In It: The Business of Bird Pants

By Patrick Dunn

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General

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November 6, 2013

When entrepreneurship intersects with the arts something unexpected usually happens. For Missy Orge, chief program officer at Food Gatherers, it's meant a side business creating bird pants. Yup, you read that right. Trousers for our fine-feathered friends.

U-M to offer entrepreneurship education to all undergrads

By Newsroom

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Education

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November 6, 2013

The University of Michigan thinks that entrepreneurship should be a part of every student's educational repertoir. Within two years they intend to make classes in entrepreneurship education available to every undergrad, no matter what their academic focus. Excerpt: "Zurbuchen will lead the design of a program in entrepreneurship that will be open to all majors and that could be in place by the fall 2014 semester. He'll also coordinate and grow the school's entrepreneurial co-curricular activities, including the TechArb student business incubator and innovation-related student clubs." Read more here.

A new sense of style and community come to N. Main with Legion

By Natalie Burg

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Arts & Culture

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November 6, 2013

A new retailer coming to N. Main is about more than clothes. According to owner Michael Kao, Legion will be many things – a place for art, collaboration, culture and fashion, and above all, a destination. "The store we're opening up is geared toward a whole lifestyle," Kao says. "So there are people who seek out stores like this." Renovations are now underway in the 1,500 square food N. Main storefront that Kao hopes to open as Legion in mid-November. The store will carry Kao's own fashion brand, Chief, as well as number of apparel brands he calls "American heritage brands," including Pendleton and Red Wings Shoes. "We're kind of focusing on brand and quality," says Kao. "We hope to educate the people around here about the difference between clothing and fashion. Fashion is you expressing yourself as a person." In addition to elevating the level of fashion in downtown Ann Arbor, Kao plans to carry local art and photography. He hopes the store will store will become the first of many new fashion retailers in the neighborhood, believing the city is ripe to be come a hub for collaborative fashion businesses. Kao owns Legion along with two silent partners. He plans to open the store with one additional employee and an intern who will work into full employment. Source: Michael Kao, Legion Writer: Natalie Burg

Pie it Forward sets down local roots in Dexter

By Natalie Burg

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Arts & Culture

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November 6, 2013

Last year, Sarah Fertig and Chris Kovac started giving away pies. The just wanted be kind and inspire others to think about kindness. They kept giving away pies in Liberty Plaza, and 18 weeks later, they knew they were on to something, even if it wasn't clear what that something was yet. "I realized this wasn't going to be a little side project," says Fertig. "I had accidently stumbled across something really great. I just didn't know if I was going to be a travelling pie evangelist, or would be in one location." So they took their show on the road. After giving away 251 free pies from San Francisco to Washington D.C., Pie it Forward has returned to Ann Arbor, set down roots in Dexter, and is preparing to get official as a non-profit. Pie it Forward makes pies and trades them for any amount between 10 cents and 10 dollars. In addition to apple pies, shepherd's pies have been added to the menu, and pasties may soon join the mix. The newly incorporated non-profit's mission isn't to feed the hungry or raise money, but simply to demonstrate kindness, and that no one does anything without a community. "I may have made a pie, but I didn't plant the wheat field. I didn't plant the orchard," says Fertig. "The hope is when people hear about our mission, they think about what they can do. What can I do to improve my own neighborhood? What skills do I have to offer?" After traveling all over the nation with their concept Fertig and Kovac have decided to keep the Ann Arbor area as the home of Pie it Forward. They are currently seeking out commercial kitchen space and can now accept tax-exempt donations. Fertig says she hopes to grow the organization into a fleet of food trucks to expand Pie it Forward to Flint and Detroit, as well as have a disaster relief truck that can go anywhere in the nation with pies when a tragedy occurs. Source: Sarah Fertig, Pie it Forward Writer: Natalie Burg

Underground Printing hires 55 as it grows nationally

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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November 6, 2013

Underground Printing has consolidated some of its gains over the last year and made some more inroads as part of its expansion plan. The Ann Arbor-based business has watched its revenue jump by $2 million, or 17 percent, over the last year. It has added one new store in Oklahoma after opening four the year before that. "Those stores have really come into their own," says Rishi Narayan, owner of Underground Printing. "That's where a lot of growth has come from." Underground Printing specializes in making custom printed apparel, such as t-shirts and embroidered clothing. It has 19 stores across North America, including four in Ann Arbor. It also has one production facility in Ann Arbor. The 12-year-old business employs 101 people after hiring 55 people over the last year. About 30 of those 55 hires are newly created positions. Narayan expects that hiring pace to continue over the next year or two as his firm keeps growing. "We have plans to open between two and four stores within the next 12-18 months," Narayan says. "We expect our existing stores to dig in and grow, too." Source: Rishi Narayan, owner of Underground Printing Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.