Small Business

The Atlantic magazine is looking for a few good start-ups

By Newsroom

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September 12, 2012

Entrepreneurs and economic development officials, be on the alert for a pair of enterprising reporters from The Atlantic magazine. Beginning next week, they're making a beeline for the Upper Midwest, and Ann Arbor is one of the cities where they're looking to find the region's brightest start-ups. Excerpt: "This year, we're starting the trip in Chicago and finishing up in Pittsburgh. Call it a Rust Belt Tour, if that's not a pejorative. If you're starting a business along this route (or even near it), we want to hear from you. While we're primarily interested in tech (very broadly construed), interesting entrepreneurs of all types should feel free to get in touch. And stay tuned because we're working on putting together a few events, so that we can meet as many people as possible. This year, we want to build maps of the startup scene in each city we visit. That means we want to map not just where startups have their offices, but also where they get coffees and beers and meetings and employees and money." Read the full story here. And check here for MLive's coverage.

Latest in Small Business

Michigan eLab wrestles Silicon Valley for start-ups

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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August 8, 2012

How does Ann Arbor develop start-ups and keep the business that blossom from them? Michigan eLab is working to just that. Excerpt: "Stefanski -- who lives blocks away from downtown Palo Alto, the original home of many high-profile tech companies -- said he sees a promising start-up corridor growing between State Street and Main Street in downtown Ann Arbor. But to hasten the growth, he said, Ann Arbor would have to become more than just "one of the biggest exporters of talent through the country."" Read the rest here.

Richner & Richner of Ann Arbor positioned to be national player

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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July 25, 2012

A thriving Ann Arbor fundraising consulting firm has pulled together some heavy hitters as it prepares to expand and establish itself as a national player in the field of nonprofit fundraising. Richner & Richner, which is hiring staff as it takes on more work, has attracted William R. Johnston, former New York Stock Exchange president; Stephen B. Dobson, former president of insurance company Dobson-McOmber; and William C. Richardson, former president and CEO of W.K. Kellogg Foundation and former president of Johns Hopkins University toss erve as the inaugural board. Richner & Richner, which was formed in 1997, tailors sustainable fundraising strategies for non-profit organizations around the country by guiding them through the areas of strategy development, campaign planning, staff development and training, donor portfolio and relationship development, feasibility studies, planned giving program developments and program audits. “The formation of our national advisory board is a watershed moment in our 15-year history,” says Cedric Richner, an Ann Arbor resident and co-founder and principal of Richner & Richner. "The three board members will help accelerate our plans to grow nationally. The board members' combined experiences in their professions, in the non-profit sectors and with volunteerism will serve as a "catalyst for innovative thinking on how best to serve non-profit organizations interested in building true philanthropies ofculture through strategic fundraising." “Their counsel will challenge us to do more and be more on behalf of the client organizations we serve,” says Richner, who formed the company in his home with wife Mori Richner, both having come from development and fundraising backgrounds at the University of Michigan. Richner & Richner set up office space in Ann Arbor in 2002 and is now located downtown Ann Arbor office, where it is growing and adding to staff this year and next. Source: Cedric Richner, co-founder and principal, Richner & Richner Writer: Kim North Shine

Pure Visibility’s Catherine Juon strikes out on her own with Beyond Startup

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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July 11, 2012

For years, Catherine Juon has been known as half of the core team at Pure Visibility. Today she is known as the HWIC of her own company, Beyond Startup. Juon has been running and growing companies for 15 years, most recently at Pure Visibility, where she is leaving on good terms with co-founder Linda Girard. Beyond Startup will specialize in helping growing young companies hit their second stage in stride. "I would love to help businesses go through these growth stages and find these resources quicker than we did," Juon says. Juon has been a fan of Small Giants, a tome heralded for helping small businesses become great instead of just bigger. She hopes to help local companies grow in similar ways, and points to examples like Zingerman's as proof that it can happen. "They have grown organically by doing what felt right to them," Juon says. The Saline resident points out that many of the small business-building resources in the region are focused more on helping entrepreneurs take their first steps instead of learning how to run. She plans to make Beyond Startup about the latter stages that help businesses grow and hire, sometime exponentially. "A lot of the assistance out there is focused on the initial start-up stage," Juon says. "But there is a day when you grow enough that everything you set up at the beginning is more complicated." Source: Catherine Juon, founder of Beyond Startup Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

StartGarden Sows the Seeds of Entrepreneurship

By J. Bennett Rylah

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Economic Development

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May 2, 2012

From ArtPrize to the seed accelerator Momentum to the web business incubator Pomegranate Studios, Grand Rapids-based Rick Devos has created an impressive farm team of entrepreneurial enterprises focused on strengthening Michigan's economic ecosystem. His latest creation, StartGarden, gets both professionals and the public behind projects with the potential to blossom into successful businesses.

Stout Systems facilitates 39 new jobs in high-tech industries

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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May 2, 2012

Stout Systems has helped place 39 people in new tech jobs in Metro Detroit, helping make 2011 the best year for the Ann Arbor-based staffing firm. Stout Systems either finds technical people or sends its own techies out to its customers to get jobs done. These workers cover all technology aspects, ranging from IT to software development. The 19-year-old company currently has 35 people on its payroll and isn't having a problem finding places to put qualified technical talent to work. "The biggest demand on our company is filling all of the demand for technical talent," says John Stout, president & founder of Stout Systems. "I could triple the size of our company if there was enough technical talent to fill all of these roles." He adds that the Detroit market "has been pretty hot" lately, including in the automotive, manufacturing, government and medical industries. The company has also seen a demand for technical talent across the board from entry level to senior talent. "We have been seeing an influx of people right out of college," Stout says. "We have hired three in the last month." Source: John Stout, president & founder of Stout Systems Writer: Jon Zemke