Entrepreneurship

Pizza House does big business: Ann Arbor company turns up the heat

By Newsroom

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September 24, 2008

Could Pizza House become the next big name in pizza? Will Ann Arbor reassert itself as the 'Home of Pizza' (Ie. Domino's and Cottage Inn)? Some say it's already happening.Excerpt:Each day at Pizza House, hundreds of delivery boxes are folded and ready for food that will almost certainly fill them by the end of the night.A busy day at the restaurant on Church Street in Ann Arbor finds all 11 ovens fired and at least eight employees turning out pizzas as quickly as they can for four hours at a time.Last Saturday, when the University of Michigan football team took on Miami (Ohio) University at home, the restaurant cooked more than 800 pizzas, and served more than 2,000 people in its dining room alone. On football Saturdays, 25 to 30 drivers are kept busy running from home to home. In a city that gave rise to delivery giant Domino's Pizza and regional gourmet chain Cottage Inn, Pizza House has become one of Ann Arbor's independent powerhouses.Read the rest of the story here.

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U-M spin-off Vortex Hydro Energy to revolutionize alt energy

By Newsroom

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Education

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September 24, 2008

Capturing the energy created by Michigan's numerous waterways often involves damns and turbines. But Vortex Hydro Energy wants to change that common wisdom in the alternative energy game.The University of Michigan spin-off is in the midst of perfecting a new technology that can create energy without dams, turbines and the environmental problems they cause. Its Vortex Induced Vibrations Aquatic Clean Energy technology promises to take its energy from the action of water currents."It greatly enhances our ability to harness energy from even very slow currents," says Michael Bernitsas, chief technology officer for Vortex Hydro Energy. The Ann Arbor-based company's three co-founders and other assorted contractors has developed and proven the technology works at U-M's Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Department. It is in the midst of raising money to create a prototype. "We are very close to having all of the money we need to build the prototype," Bernitsas says.After that, further testing is still needed and the project will be opened up to investors again. Bernitsas, also a professor at U-M, thinks the technology is about 5-6 years away from being commercialized.Source: Michael Bernitsas, chief technology officer for Vortex Hydro EnergyWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s 3.7 Designs creates websites and jobs

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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September 24, 2008

Talk to the people behind 3.7 Designs and they'll tell you they don't just build websites. They create the website, strategize how to attract visitors to the website and troubleshoot any problems that arise on the website.The downtown Ann Arbor-based firm recently created sites for the city of Howell's street improvement program as well as ArborVitae, which deals with pregnancy problems. 3.7 Designs focused not only on their creation but also their accessibility to potential users."We want to work with people to have successful websites," says Ross Johnson, CEO of 3.7 Designs.Johnson started 3.7 Designs in 2004 as a part-time freelancer and made it his full-time job in 2005. Today the firm employs three people and is looking to hire another web developer or two within the year."It's really more about finding the right person, not just any person," Johnson says.Johnson hopes to do that by attracting bigger clients. The firm got its start creating start-up webpages and the like. It has now moved onto smaller organizations, but would like to take on even bigger ones in the near future."It's been really busy," Johnson says.Source: Ross Johnson, CEO of 3.7 DesignsWriter: Jon Zemke

Pixel Velocity speeding toward 100 percent growth, adding 8 new people

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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September 24, 2008

Seven years ago Pixel Velocity started with two people, Eric Sieczka and Dave McCubbery. Today they are the bosses of 25 employees at the Ann Arbor-based firm. The company creates high-speed digital image processing products for the surveillance and medical imaging markets.Pixel Velocity grew incrementally at first, conducting research for its first five years. They were ready to commercialize their product with $5 million in start-up capital and another $1.5 million grant from Michigan's 21st Century Job Fund."Up until that point we had half a dozen people," says Sieczka, president and CEO of Pixel Velocity. "Each year since then we have hired about eight people, including 7-9 people this year. We're growing pretty fast."Sieczka expects his company to continue that growth for the foreseeable future. The firm's revenue is expected to jump another 100 percent while its employee base goes up another 30 percent."We're going to grow pretty dramatically," Sieczka says.He points out that its surveillance market will continue to grow in this Post 9-11 world. So will its medical imaging market, where Pixel Velocity's technology specializes in creating images of the heart."They're both pretty important," Sieczka says.Source: Eric Sieczka, president and CEO of Pixel VelocityWriter: Jon Zemke

Saline’s Pair of Docs sees high tech as Michigan’s economic turnaround

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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September 24, 2008

Looking at Michigan's economic future is sort of a glass half full/half empty experience as of late... except in the case of the people behind one Saline company.Gerry Roston, co-founder of Pair of Docs Consulting, definitely sees the state's glass, especially in the Ann Arbor, as half full and filling quickly."There is a lot of talk of doom and gloom in the state," says Roston. "For those of us involved with the tech start-ups … there is a lot going on. It's hard to imagine that something good isn’t going to happen soon. Something has to pop."Pair of Docs is was founded in 1999 by Roston and his wife, Lorraine Thompson, with a focus on improving business and organizational management for tech start-ups. The two PhDs (Pair of Docs, get it?) are heavily involved with Michigan's efforts to turn its brawn-based economy into a brain-based one. They have worked with the likes of Ann Arbor SPARK and the state's 21st Century Jobs Fund. Roston also serves on the advisory board for Michigan's 21st Century Emerging Technologies Fund. The Salime firm started out with the couple, which often work on separate projects, and will probably stay that way for the foreseeable future. Roston expects to expand as his firm's consulting reputation grows. As he sees it, there should be plenty of that kind of work in Michigan's future.Source: Gerry Roston, co-founder of Pair of Docs ConsultingWriter: Jon Zemke

Start-ups are a rush; U-M grad is on his 6th

By Newsroom

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Education

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September 17, 2008

Michigan not only needs more high-tech buisinesses but the people that create them. The University of Michigan is trying to create the type of environment that fosters both.

Sugary Serials And Other Acts Of Derring-Do

By Ryan Allen

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Economic Development

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September 17, 2008

Holy Guacamole! Could Ann Arbor become a small town Metropolis for comic book artists and writers? Jerzy Drozd and Mark Rudolph think so. With three publishing imprints between them, this dynamic duo is carving out their own universe of characters and adventures while educating the next generation of local Stan Lee's.

Who Needs a @#! Venture Capitalist?

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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September 17, 2008

Tomorrow, September 18, at 5:00 p.m., Ann Arbor's New Enterprise Forum will hold its monthly meeting. At this month's event, "Who Needs a @#! Venture Capitalist?," their panelists will discuss how VCs operate as one part of an interconnected economic ecosystem that includes participation between the state, companies, pension funds, and more.Panelists will include:Cindy Douglas - Director, Program Administration, MEDCFrancis Glorie - Former CFO, Irwin Magnetics & Independent Finance/Marketing ConsultantTony Grover - Managing Director, RPM VenturesPeter Woodford - Administrator, Alternative Investments, Michigan Dept. of TreasuryIn addition, the Forum's Showcase Presenter will be Ake Elhammer of AureoGen Biosciences, which is using genetic engineering to develop a novel antifungal drug.To learn more about this event, click here.

Ride Boutique creates Ann Arbor-brand bicycles

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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September 17, 2008

Ann Arborites are proud of their against-the-grain reputation, not the least of which is an ability to embrace eco-friendly trends long before they're fashionable. One local business plans to make a mint combining those two instincts – Ride Boutique. The custom-bicycle builder is teaming up with two major bicycle manufacturers to design a pair of Ann Arbor-centric bicycles that will be sold exclusively in Tree Town."We're trying to brand a bike with a community that really embraces the fact that it loves bicycling," says Chad Johnston, owner of Ride Boutique.Ann Arbor has long been known as one of those places. The city is a leader in creating bike lanes and trails (it has built 43 miles so far) along with installing dozens of bike racks and lockers downtown. It even has its own plan for non-motorized transportation.It's why Johnston set up shop just north of downtown two years ago. Ann Arbor just seemed like a great place for bike nerds like him. Yeah he lives in Fenton, but Johnston parks his car 10 miles outside of Tree Town and bikes in the rest of the way to work... year round. To him The Deuce is ripe to sell bikes at a few thousand dollars a pop.Today the store has four people and 20 bikes on the floor. The Ann Arbor-brand bikes will take center stage within the next few weeks.Ride Boutique's cycles will be custom designed by Massachusetts-based Seven Cycles, whose popular Axiom bike --called Axiom Ann Arbor-- will sell for $6,000. The second will be from Wisconsin-based Waterford, selling at the more price conscious $1,500. Both bikes will have a graphic montage of trees and water around the word "Ann Arbor," along with a number of racks and lights Johnston and his staff have noticed that Ann Arborites prefer."Just looking at the bike you know where it's from," Johnston says. "It's a bike you see people riding in Ann Arbor all of the time."Source: Chad Johnston, owner of Ride BoutiqueWriter: Jon Zemke

Entrepalooza to rock Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Education

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September 10, 2008

So, you wanna be a start-up star. Well, U-M's Ross School of Business is holding Entrepalooza, a full day of mindblowing entrepreneurial insight. No word yet as to whether Buffet will make an appearance. That's Warren, not Jimmy.