Entrepreneurship

Ann Arbor SPARK’s Finney: Tech economy can grow

By Newsroom

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January 7, 2009

Growth isn’t exactly the easiest thing to achieve right now but Ann Arbor SPARK's Michael Finney thinks that's precisely what Ann Arbor's tech economy will do.Excerpt:The lack of access to credit threatens the short-term health of Ann Arbor's startup business community, but Ann Arbor SPARK CEO Michael Finney believes the region's tech economy can still grow in 2009. Finney said he expects there to continue to be significant opportunity to generate "high-value, knowledge-intensive jobs" in "innovation-based sectors" such as information technology, clinical services and medical devices.Read the rest of the story here and what other local leaders see for the Ann Arbor-area economy here.

Latest in Entrepreneurship

Hook adds two employees, triples space and hopes to hire four more

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Arts & Culture

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December 17, 2008

The last time we checked in with Hook earlier this year, the commercial-art start-up was made up of its two co-founders, a couple of part-time employees and a stable of freelancers crammed into a small office in downtown Ann Arbor. Today it employs six people (meeting its goal for the year) and has tripled its office space."We just kept working, taking on projects," says Aaron Schwartz, who co-founded the company last year with Michael Watts, both former University of Michigan students. "It got to the point that we had to turn down jobs because we didn't have the manpower."Manpower looks like it will be an important word for the 2.5-year-old firm. Schwartz expects to hire another 2-4 people in 2009 as it adds new clients.Hook incorporates 3-D imagery into commercial art, such as animation and illustrations. The firm's clients include Toyota and its work appeared in this year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit."We'd like to have more national television work," Schwartz says.Source: Aaron Schwartz, co-founder of HookWriter: Jon Zemke

SRT Solutions doubles HQ space in Ann Arbor, adds 8 people

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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December 10, 2008

SRT Solutions is doubling the office space in its Ann Arbor headquarters now that it has nearly doubled its staff over the last six months.The software firm has taken on more and more work from General Motors and the University of Michigan. That has led to eight new employees in the last half year, bring the company's total headcount to 18. The local start-up plans to continue expanding its staff at the same rate as it grows its client list. That means at least two more people early next year and as many as five new hires by the end of 2009."We just hired a sales person," says Dianne Marsh, co-founder of SRT Solutions. "Before we got all of our sales through word of mouth."Marsh and Bill Wagner founded SRT Solutions from their homes in 2000. They moved into downtown office space last year. SRT Solutions helps businesses get software projects done on time and right the first time. Among its products are custom technology analysis, proof of concept development and software development. Source: Dianne Marsh, co-founder of SRT SolutionsWriter: Jon Zemke

Entrepreneur’s Boot Camp

By Jon Zemke

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Economic Development

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December 3, 2008

You've got a world-changing idea. And gobs of passion. Great! So, how do you attract investment? From concept to company Ann Arbor SPARK's boot camp is school for start-ups. Concentrate's Jon Zemke follows a pair of entrepreneurs as they learn to hone their pitch, strategize their growth and listen to those who have been there and done that.

Bgreen looks to make greenbacks selling green products in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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December 3, 2008

Tucked away in a small retail space next door to the Colonial Lanes bowling alley is the newest environmental feather in Ann Arbor's cap – Bgreen.Daniel Stephens, of Ethnic Creations fame, started putting the business together about six months ago before opening in November. Now his new store sells environmentally-friendly home building and cleaning products, such as Low-VOC paint.Stephens has been a retailer for about 20 years (his Ethnic Creations store is still open in Petoskey). The Ann Arbor resident has worked in the environmental movement for year and was looking for a new product mix. He put two and two together and came up with Bgreen."We try to be very comprehensive and we're growing everyday," Stephens says.Low-VOC paint is one of the firm's main products, but it also offers sustainable flooring such as bamboo wood and countertops made of recycled materials. He also sells 100 percent biodegradable products, such as plates, eating utensils and cleaning products."There are very few cleaning products that you can let go down the drain," Stephen says.The store employs five people right now, but Stephens expects that number to rise as the mainstream America works more and more sustainable options into its life.Source: Daniel Stephens, owner and CEO of BgreenWriter: Jon Zemke

Above the Tree Line hires 5 in 2 years, plans to do it again

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Economic Development

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December 3, 2008

John Rubin is a good son. Seven years ago he was a management consultant working out of Ann Arbor while his mother ran an independent bookstore in Chicago. Rubin regularly advised her on how to modernize her 30-year-old business. It wasn't long, however, before Rubin realized that a number of other small bookstores needed similar advice on how to take advantage of new technologies, such as online sales. The CFL went off over his head and he started Above the Tree Line."They were all out there all alone and you can use technology to link them together," Rubin says.The idea is to give the broad range of independent booksellers and other retailers the same economies of scale as major chains. Above the Tree Line's software helps these little firms streamline their inventory and create other efficiencies.People didn’t beat down Rubin's door at first. He spent his first four years as the company's sole employee. But recently business at the Ann Arbor-based firm is really starting to take off. Revenue has doubled in the last year and the company added Borders as a client 18 months ago. This lead Above the Tree Line to hire five people in the last two years, so it now employs eight people and one intern."It's been an incremental spreading of the word, expanding the customer base and the services we offer," Rubin says.Above the Tree Line expects to grow its revenue 100 percent annually for the next two years. If it hits those goals, they anticipate adding another 5-6 people. Can't wait to join them? Right now, they're looking for 1-2 new program developers.Source: John Rubin, president and CEO of Above the Tree LineWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s Shepherd Advisors helps create more green jobs in Michigan

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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December 3, 2008

In 2000 Loch McCabe saw a need and started to fill it. Given the recent focus on sustainable industries, he was a bit ahead of the curve. McCabe's Ann Arbor-based Shepherd Advisors helps businesses and institutions either break into the clean-technology sector or helps them become greener."There was a huge gap between the potential for clean technology companies in Michigan and what was actually happening," McCabe says. "I started Shepherd Advisors to help the progress of clean technology companies in Michigan."Loch started as the company's sole employee at the beginning of the decade. Today the consulting firm employs nine people, including independent contractors and interns. Over the last year Shepherd Advisors added three people and it hopes to grow its revenue and employee base by 50 percent within the next year.The firm's projects include assisting the city of Wyandotte to green its energy production. Wyandotte is installing solar panels on its schools and looking to build wind turbines along its section of the Detroit River.The company also has clients across Michigan, from East Lansing to Midland to its own backyard in Ann Arbor. Even in this difficult economy, it's enough to make McCabe a glass-half-full guy about his company's future."There are lots of reasons to be optimistic and a couple of reasons to be cautious," McCabe says.Source: Loch McCabe, president of Shepherd AdvisorsWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s Stout Systems nearly doubles staff

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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December 3, 2008

Ann Arbor's Stout Systems is feeling its oats these days. Not only has the software firm almost doubled its staff since 2006, growing from 15 employees to 25 people and five independent contractors., it also recently opened an office in Detroit and expects to grow its staff by as many as six people by the end of the year. Oh, and it's also looking into starting an internship program. "There doesn't seem to be any lack of demand for software development services," says John W Stout, president and founder of Stout Systems. Stout Systems started 15 years ago with just Stout. The firm specializes in software development and helping firms with technical staffing such as computer programmers or project managers. Most of the company's recent growth comes from website customization and an expansion of its expert-level software development services."The only thing that limits us is if we decided we didn't want to get much bigger," Stout says. "Source: John W Stout, president and founder of Stout SystemsWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor SPARK fasttracks 12 local companies

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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November 19, 2008

Ann Arbor SPARK's 2008 FastTrack reads like a who's who of innovative Ann Arbor-area start-ups.There are media darlings like Menlo Innovations and up-and-comers like LLamasoft. All in all, the 12 are companies any other Michigan community would sell the farm (and the cow and the tractor) to attract to their backyard.Washtenaw County's 'Gleaming Dozen' were recognized for their outstanding business successes. And that's during normal economic circumstance. They get an extra attaboy for surviving the current economic climate.Companies that were recognized must be headquartered in Washtenaw County, have at least $100,000 gross revenue and average 20 percent growth for three years running.One-year recipients include LLamasoft, Saline Lectronics and University Bancorp. The list of two-year companies reads like ForeSee Results, Latitude Consulting Group and Shepherd Advisors.AKASHA, Adaptive Materials, Online Technologies Corporation and Soft-Link International received three-year FastTrack. And at the top of the list, four-year FastTrack: HealthMedia and Menlo Innovations.Source: Ann Arbor SPARKWriter: Jon Zemke

EDF Ventures invests in downtown Ann Arbor, creates new fund

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 19, 2008

In a small, old house on the northern edge of Ann Arbor's downtown is one of the big players in Michigan's new economy – EDF Ventures.The venture capital firm invests in numerous early-stage health care companies. Today it has about $170 million worth of assets under management. About a third of those are based in Michigan. Its latest investment, for example, is in Grand Valley State-based TransCorp, a start-up that develops surgical instruments and implants.EDF Ventures has organized four investment funds since 1987 and is getting ready to start a fifth worth up to $50 million. It's that growth that inspired the firm to expand to four full-time and three part-time (including one intern) employees. Two new hires have already joined the firm and the company expects to add yet more next year when it gets its fifth fund up and running. Source: Linda Fingerle, chief financial officer and principal of EDF VenturesWriter: Jon Zemke