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ICON Creative Technologies Group plans for 20% growth

By Newsroom

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July 28, 2010

ICON Creative Technologies Group is literally growing into its new home on the outskirts of downtown Ann Arbor, hiring four new people over the last year.The interactive marketing agency moved to the former second home of the Ann Arbor Art Center last year. It now has a staff of 25 people and a handful of independent contractors focusing on Internet marketing for firms in the bio-tech, automotive, and service industries."We're doing well," says Rob Cleveland, CEO of ICON Creative Technologies Group. "The year is going pretty much as planned."The 15-year-old company is focusing on a hybrid of 20 percent organic growth and mergers/acquisitions to expand its business over the next year. "Our top priority is people in the business development field," Cleveland says.Source: Rob Cleveland, CEO of ICON Creative Technologies GroupWriter: Jon Zemke

Latest in Internet

Real Time Farms

By Michelle Martinez

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Arts & Culture

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July 21, 2010

Once upon a time Karl and Cara Rosaen were living the digital dream, working for Google in its Mountain View wonderland. Then the start-up bug bit and the couple moved to A2 to launch Real Time Farms - which just might become the IMDB of locally grown food.

Ann Arbor’s KnowledgeWatch locks down 1 of 3 microloans

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Arts & Culture

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June 30, 2010

KnowledgeWatch is one of three Michigan-based start-ups, and the only one from Washtenaw County, to secure funding from the latest round of the Michigan Microloan Fund Program .The Ann Arbor-based firm received an undisclosed portion of the total $104,000 loan pool. The other two recipients are AWGET in Okemos and Bloomfield Hills-based uwemp. KnowledgeWatch plans to use the microloan to support commercialization of its automated online knowledge product.KnowledgeWatch is developing software that aggregates, analyzes and sorts online content in a way that is similar to Google searches. Among its target market are assemblers of trade publications or hobby sites (which number in the tens of thousands).The firm has four employees and two interns. It hopes to add six more positions within the next year with the help of seed capital sources like the microloan. The microloans provide funding for start-ups for product commercialization and business growth. The $1.5 million program will make anywhere from 2-4 loans of a few thousand dollars each per month in 2010. This equates to another 24-48 fledgling local businesses receiving financing during a time when capital for small businesses is almost non-existent.Source: Ann Arbor SPARKWriter: Jon Zemke

FamilyMint turns SPARK membership into GLEQ competition win

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Community Development

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June 30, 2010

It's been a year since FamilyMint began teaching kids the value of money, but it wasn't until three months ago, when the start-up joined Ann Arbor SPARK's incubator in downtown Ann Arbor, that it really started to take off."The Ann Arbor office has everything we need," says Bob Masterson, president of FamilyMint. "Ann Arbor is very technologically oriented and we are a web-based firm."FamilyMint provides an online money-management system for kids, with parents serving as the bank. With this system, children figure out what to do with their money and then go to mom and dad to make withdrawals. Masterson and his partner Jeff Eusebio came up with the idea when trying to teach the value of money to their own young children.The business got its website up and running by the end of January. It just launched a premium version and expects to really start growing its user base this year. The company will add two positions later this year and possibly more later on.FamilyMint recently won the New Business Idea competition at the Great Lakes Entrepreneurship Quest event earlier this year. That means $5,000 and the pride inherent in knowing it bested 80 other entrants. Source: Bob Masterson, president of FamilyMintWriter: Jon Zemke

ForeSee Results hires 40, plans to add 30-50 more

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Economic Development

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June 23, 2010

It's pretty easy to see that ForeSee Results is growing if you look in the right places, such as its increasing client list, expanding staff directory, and strategic plan for expansion.The Ann Arbor-based company has added about 40 people over the last year, expanding its staff to 185 employees and a couple of interns. It expects to add another 30-50 employees within the next year."We're doing very well," says Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results. "We've been adding customers and employees. We're just growing."ForeSee Results captures "voice of customer" feedback and uses it to measure customer satisfaction for the likes of Kohler, Citibank, and Ameriprise. It uses the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index to gauge the satisfaction of website visitors and pinpoint opportunities to improve the site.Its client base has not only grown but diversified as the company has expanded its capabilities and product lines. Among those it serves are Eddie Bauer, OnStar, Research In Motion, and Meijer."Good product leads to good, satisfied customers who tell other people about you," Freed says. "Word of mouth helps."That word of mouth is starting to really travel. The company plans to expand into the European market this year with a foothold in the United Kingdom. It will expand eastward from there, picking up new clients along the way.Source: Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSee Results

Barracuda Networks seeks 10 new staffers for Ann Arbor office

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Community Development

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June 23, 2010

Barracuda Networks' goal is to employ 185 people at its Ann Arbor office by 2013. A year ahead of schedule, the California-based firm is just about halfway there.As the result of a deal the company made with the state in 2008 to create nearly 200 Internet-based jobs for a $1.4 million tax credit, today it employs about 90 people in Ann Arbor. With 10 job openings to fill, the company is hosting a career fair on Thursday at its offices on the near north side of Ann Arbor."We're hiring at least a person a week right now," says Sean Heiney, director of new product initiatives at Barracuda Networks. "We've had very aggressive growth year after year. We have to find the best talent, and Ann Arbor has turned into a major R&D center for us."Barracuda Networks creates e-mail and Internet security applications. The research and development of those products is done in its Ann Arbor office, which is nearly full. The company is looking for fresh graduates with computer science degrees or web software developers, quality assurance engineers, IT staff, and tech support and sales staff. For information on the job openings, click here.Source: Sean Heiney, director of new product initiatives at Barracuda NetworksWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s Video Game Librarian

By Richard Retyi

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Economic Development

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June 16, 2010

Library Of Alexandria meet the Library Of Galaxia. U-M is now home to a growing archive of video games, treating them as an important chronicle of our cultural, technological and artistic identity. From Pong to Pac Man to Grand Theft Auto, over 2000 games are available for study, recreation or nostalgia. Who knew history could be so fun?

Grand River to create 48 new jobs from $1.1M investment

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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June 16, 2010

Grand River plans to make a grand investment in the Ann Arbor area and create dozens of new high-tech jobs over the next few years, thanks to a new state tax credit.The Ann Arbor-based e-commerce start-up announced a deal with the Michigan Economic Development Corp on Tuesday to invest $1.1 million in its expansion over the next five years. That is expected to lead to 48 new jobs over that time period, which should mean about 7-10 new openings each year."We're self-funded," says Scott Robertson, managing partner with Grand River. "The growth is coming from reinvesting the profits into developing our client base."The 2-year-old firm focuses on the development of open-source e-commerce solutions for mid-market retailers, meaning it designs, develops, and maintains the websites for the likes of Gander Mountain, HoMedics, and the La Jolla Group.Grand River started with two people and has now grown to 12 staffers, two independent contractors, and an intern. It has made seven hires over the last year and continues to grow with the help of a small business administration loan, a new revolving line of credit, and a reputation that pays dividends."We did little marketing," Robertson says. "We really have excellent word of mouth from our existing clients."Grand River looked at expanding in both Ann Arbor and Chicago. It worked with both Ann Arbor SPARK and state officials from the MEDC to land the $361,376 state tax break."They both did a very good job of helping us understand the benefits of growing here in Ann Arbor," Robertson says.Source: Scott Robertson, managing partner with Grand RiverWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor’s MyBandStock lands first client, raises seed funding

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Arts & Culture

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June 16, 2010

A little more than a year into its life, and MyBandStock is getting its footing in the music scene, landing its first customer and some seed capital.The Ann Arbor-based start-up that focuses on connecting bands to their fans now counts the After Midnight Project, which is signed to Universal Motown, as a client. MyBandStock will let fans buy "shares of stock" in the band through purchasing tickets and merchandise. Those shares can be used to gain insider access to the band."Anyone who buys a t-shirt or a record gets a tag for 100 shares of stock to the band," says Drew Leahy, founder of MyBandStock. "They can take that stock and use it to view exclusive video."The top 10 shareholders will be eligible to do a video chat with the band at the end of the Warped Tour this summer, in which the After Midnight Project is taking part. It's part of the firm's new business model of connecting underground artists and fans via digital access. User demand dictates which bands will be featured.MyBandStock has raised seed capital from angel investors, which is enough to hire six employees through the rest of the year. It hopes to sign another 5-10 artists by the end of 2010.Source: Drew Leahy, founder of MyBandStockWriter: Jon Zemke

USA Today profiles ultra-green Ann Arbor home

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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June 16, 2010

Matt and Kelly Grocoff have gone from gathering local publicity to national publicity for their work to turn their house into the greenest in Michigan.Excerpt:Matt Grocoff has an ambitious goal. He aims to make his 110-year-old Victorian in Ann Arbor, Mich., produce more energy than it uses.That's no easy task, considering how leaky the 3-bedroom house was when he and his wife, Kelly, bought it in the fall of 2006 and began restoration. "You could stick a spatula through the window," he recalls. There was also asbestos siding, lead paint, zero insulation and a half-century old furnace.Yet Grocoff is game. As a contributing writer to Old House Web and host of greenovation.TV, he's been studying green building for years.Read the rest of the story here.