Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor 6th gayest city in U.S.?

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January 11, 2012

The Advocate ranks Ann Arbor as the 6th gayest city in America. Obviously something is seriously wrong with their survey. I'd be surprised if we were even in the top 20. Grand Rapids was listed as 10th. Haven't they ever heard of Ferndale? And Inkster isn't even in the same county. Of course Salt Lake City was ranked first, so maybe they've decided to become more like The Onion. Excerpt: "You don’t have to be big to have it going on, as this sixth largest city in Michigan does. The area has one of the few clubs in Michigan catering to dykes: Stiletto’s (technically in nearby Inkster) draws in every lesbian in Detroit. But talk about a taste for drama! Just ask U. of M.’s first out student body prez, Chris Armstrong, the target of a smear campaign by nutso assistant attorney general Andrew Shirvell." Read the rest of the story here.

Californian vacations in Ann Arbor. In the winter. Really.

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General

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January 11, 2012

It's Winter Break and you're going to school in California and you could pick anywhere in the U.S. to vacation, where do you go? Chances are Ann Arbor isn't going to be high on your list. But in a case of reverse migration that's just what this San Franciscan did. And she wrote about it. Excerpt: "This city is centered around the University of Michigan, and epitomizes the comforting quaintness of the Midwest. Inviting coffee shops like Espresso Royale, The Lab, and Comet Coffee color every street with the opportunity to warm up, study up, and get that much-needed caffeine fix (college students, you hear what I’m talking about!). Proof of how adorable these shops are can be found in the fact that I consumed more warm caffeinated beverages the past 3 days than I have in the past 3 months… although that could also be proof of how f-ing cold I was. Also important to note is that worn down San Francisco-bought combat boots are not very waterproof." Read the rest here.

Seva Opens In Motown

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Arts & Culture

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January 11, 2012

Motown is going veggie. Or, at least, it's adding a little bit o' Ann Arbor vegetarian cuisine to its restaurant scene. Seva expands into Detroit. Excerpt: "Well-timed for everyone's New Year's resolutions to eat healthier, the Detroit edition of Ann Arbor's popular vegetarian restaurant Seva has opened in Midtown. Owners Jeff and Maren Jackson hoped the serene, airy space at 66 E. Forest -- behind the N'Namdi contemporary art gallery -- would be ready last summer or fall. But inspection delays slowed them down, and they were at last able to do a soft opening Dec. 17." Read the rest here.

Downtown geothermal project: Harbinger of greener things to come?

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Economic Development

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January 11, 2012

Even with its big upfront costs, more and more businesses and municipalities are seeing the economic and sustainable virtues of going geothermal. Could the system currently being installed in the Marketplace Building signal a shift in downtown building practices? Excerpt: "The geothermal system at the Marketplace Building starts underground in a lot north of Argiero's Restaurant, running under the brick pavement of Detroit Street to reach the building. Aspects like crossing a public right-of-way with the underground pipes, liability and ongoing maintenance of the pipes under roadways concerned city staff as they researched and finalized the agreements, Harshe said. The Downtown Development Authority, which funded part of the effort through its Energy Program, also played a role. “I’m intrigued about its potential to make downtown even more of a sustainable center,” said Susan Pollay, executive director of the DDA." Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor city website ranks 5th in national survey

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In The News

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December 14, 2011

For four years running the city of Ann Arbor's website has been ranked fifth best for cities with a population of 75,000- 124,999 in the nation by e.Republic’s Center for Digital Government and Digital Communities magazine. Kudos were given for online access to city expenditures, right-of-way permits, and the soon-to-be implemented online process for other permits. Check out the rankings here.

U-M prof weighs in on tech bubble predictions

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Economic Development

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December 14, 2011

A U-M engineering professor takes a look at the latest bubble-like eruptions in the tech market and figures whether the valuations are justified. Excerpt: "The ‘right’ answer, albeit wholly unsatisfactory, is that it depends on how one looks at these companies’ business models and value capture potential, Groupon’s recent unconventional revenue reporting notwithstanding. So let’s dissect business model and value capture potential differences between the dot-com boom and what is going on with the social network companies right now." Read the rest of Peter Adriaen's column here.

Student seed capital takes root at A2 New Tech Meetup

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Economic Development

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December 14, 2011

A2 New Tech Meetup traditionally has been a staple for start-ups looking to generate buzz among their peers and the local investment community. Earlier this week, the emerging Ann Arbor institution for grass roots entrepreneurial activists expanded on that by helping spread some seed capital to studentpreneurs with raw start-ups with the Michigan Business Model Competition. "There is lots of guerilla economic development work happening here by grass roots groups," Dug Song, one of the organizers of A2 New Tech Meetup, said during the event. He was speaking about both A2 New Tech Meetup and the new Michigan Business Model Competition but also things like Tech Brewery and TechArb incubators. The Michigan Business Model Competition, developed and run by the University of Michigan School of Information's SI-Create organization, attracted 22 start-ups and studentpreneurs from the University of Michigan to participate in the event. Those participants were whittled down to four finalists that made presentations at the A2 New Tech Meetup before a crowd filled with many of Ann Arbor's biggest new economy movers and shakers. The judges included the likes of Menlo Innovations Rich Sheridan, Skip Simms of Ann Arbor SPARK and serial entrepreneur Kurt Skifstad. "The quality (of start-ups) keeps going up and up," Sheridan said before announcing the winner. The start-ups competed for $5,000 in cash prizes with the winner taking home $2,500. That might not seem like much for the average serial entrepreneur trying to score the next nine-figure biotech acquisition, but it left the winners, Emily Potter and Jessica Lai, truly elated. Their start-up, Yo Mama Packed It!, is a subscription lunch service for students who don't want to miss a meal because they're short on time. This is the first Michigan Business Model Competition at A2 New Tech Meetup but organizers were pleased with its outcome and optimistic about doing something similar in the future that could further marry Ann Arbor's entrepreneurial community with the college town's ivory tower. "We're having the bridging of town and gown, which doesn't happen often enough here," Song said during the event. Source: Dug Song, organizer of A2 New Tech Meetup and Rich Sheridan, judge of Michigan Business Model Competition Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

OcuSciences puts diabetes test through clinical trials, adds two jobs

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Economic Development

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December 14, 2011

OcuSciences continues to grow its staff as it pushes forward its development of an ocular test for diabetes, hiring two University of Michigan graduates in recent months. The University of Michigan spin-out is developing an ocular diagnostic technology for metabolomic diseases. In layman's terms, that technology allows doctors to diagnose patients with diseases like diabetes by scanning their eyes. The process has the potential to be more accurate and catch a diabetes diagnosis much earlier than traditional methods. The three-year-old start-up's eight-person team has been in clinical trials since 2008 and expects to continue testing and developing the third generation of its product next year. That will probably mean a few more hires for the fledgling firm. "With our product team in place we will do more of our development in Michigan," says Kurt Riegger, COO of OcuSciences. OcuSciences recently won the Life Sciences Award at the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition in Ypsilanti. The company took home a $25,000 check and some credibility with both local and out-of-state investors. "It's a good validation," Riegger says. Source: Kurt Riegger, COO of OcuSciences Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

DeNovo Sciences aims at $1M seed round with Accelerate Michigan win

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Economic Development

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December 14, 2011

DeNovo Sciences has its sights set on closing a seven-figure angel round within the next few months, thanks to the boost from its big win at the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. Of course it doesn't hurt to have the competition's $500,000 top prize to start with. Kalyan Handique, the start-up's new CEO, says the win "definitely helps move our investors toward signing a term sheet," which he expects will happen by the time his company closes its first investment round in the first quarter of 2012. "We want to get to $1 million in funding so we're on track next year," Handique says. "We plan to make our prototype next year." DeNovo Sciences is developing a method of transmitting blood samples from a remote region to a clinical laboratory via cell phone technology as an early warning system for cancer. The one-year-old start-up has gone from its three co-founders volunteering at last year's Accelerate Michigan competition to get access to the entrepreneurs and investors there to landing the top prize this year. It recently hired Handique, a co-founder of HandyLab, as its CEO and moved into new space at the Michigan Life Science & Innovation Center in Plymouth. DeNovo Sciences' team of four has also lined up a number of consultants and business experts so it can further build out its team next year. That looks like it will be happening sooner than they expected with the Accelerate Michigan hype. "The win is definitely helping us speed up the entire process," Handique says. Source: Kaylan Handique, CEO of DeNovo Sciences Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Logic Solutions adds 7 jobs, develops new Showcase sales app

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Economic Development

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December 14, 2011

Logic Solutions has traditionally been a custom software maker, but the Ann Arbor-based company is going a bit more mass market with its latest product, Showcase. The iPad app (the Android version is still in development) is designed for companies with mobile sales forces. The app provides the normal catalog features, along with some custom-software touches, such as back-end CMS and 3-D rotating images of products. "We hesitate to call it a catalog app," says Angela Kujava, director of marketing for Logic Solutions. "It's so much more than that. It's really a highly integrated sales tool." Logic Solutions launched the app late last summer and has landed a few customers so far this year, including furniture and sunglasses companies. It is aiming for $1.44 million in revenue from that product in 2012. The 16-year-old company has also experienced some significant growth in 2011, hiring seven people in the marketing, sales and tech areas. The company now employs 38 in the U.S., including 35 in Ann Arbor. Kujava expects the firm to keep hiring in 2012. "We want to hire the right people," Kujava says. Source: Angela Kujava, director of marketing for Logic Solutions Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.