Coverage of those starting up businesses and community resources to help them thrive.
Here, there, everywhere. It's not a coincidence that Henry Balanon got into the mobile application business. For this young entrepreneur, mobility is a way of life. Metromode chats with the founder of Bickbot about co-working, phone apps, blogging, iPads and what they mean for Metro Detroit.
Local and organic are words that are usually associated with restaurants and grocery stores. But in downtown Ferndale's ever-growing hub for hip businesses it applies to skincare and nails. Cheryl Salinas-Tucker not only turned her power suit past into an entrepreneurial future, she's made her salon, Rouge, a truly homegrown destination.
Ferndale's Valentine Vodka has tasted success with its spirits, quadrupling sales from Christmas 2009 to 2010, and now the company is moving from selling bottled vodka to serving drinks at its own martini bar and tasting room. It's scheduled to open in March in the former home of a pool table manufacturer at 161 Vester, a 5,000-square-foot building within view of Ferndale's main Woodward drag. When it opens, the distillery will occupy 4,000 square feet in back while the tasting room takes the remaining space out front. The digs aren't fancy and the building will bear no Valentine logo or obvious signage. "Its back story is prohibition and speakeasies in Detroit, so we're keeping it as the pool building. People will have to know where it is to get here," says company founder Rifino Valentine, a native of Glen Lake, Michigan who worked on Wall Street for 13 years after graduating from Cornell University. Valentine considered staying in the Big Apple to start a business and considered Miami, but Michigan had a hold on him. March will be the two-year anniversary of the business, which has 850 clients and won a 2010 gold medal from the Beverage Tasting Institute's International Review of Spirits competition in November. "I thought, why not go back to Michigan," recalls Valentine. "I believe that in Michigan as a state and in our country as a whole, we need to start making things here again." He extends his attempts to do Michigan justice by using local suppliers as much as possible. The vodka grains are Michigan-grown, as are the boxes, label printers, and more. The tasting room brings it home as well. It will be a place to drink and a place to learn. "The whole philosophy behind our vodka is we do things the way they were meant to be done," says Valentine, 40. "The way we make our vodka is not revolutionary except that nobody does it anymore. We make it in small batches with good ingredients, not the large quantities, fast, like other people do." "What I'm really excited about...is using all fresh ingredients, quality ingredients, no chemical flavorings." Even the tonic water will be genuine, made on site with barks and grasses, as it's meant to be. Juices will be fresh-squeezed. "It's going to be fun," he says, "and it's going to be a quality experience." Source: Rifino Valentine, founder of Valentine Vodka Writer: Kim North Shine
The deadline for a survey seeking input for an Artspace project in Dearborn has been extended to Feb. 1.Artspace is a national nonprofit that works with communities to design affordable housing and workspace for artists and arts and cultural organizations.The survey is the second phase of the Artspace Dearborn project and seeks to determine the interest level in designing an Artspace development in the city and learn what kinds of artists and businesses might locate to a place like this, one that could give an economic and lifestyle enhancement to the city. The survey can be taken by anyone, anywhere. "We hope to hear from artists who say 'this could make a difference in my life," says Teri Deaver, Artspace's director of consulting and new projects.Responses to the survey, which was initially due Jan. 4, might have been lower due to the holidays, she says, so the deadline was extended.In Dearborn, "the vision is to create a place for the art industry, small businesses, entrepreneurs, start-ups, arts organizations, cultural organizations, architectural organizations...The vision is to offer not only affordable housing but affordable space for the creative industry."There clearly is already interest from city officials, including the East Dearborn Downtown Development Authority, as well as artists, art groups and funders, Deaver says. The survey results will be used for a recommendation to be presented to interested parties, probably around May 10, she says. "We try not to move forward unless we think there is a level of interest to make the project successful." Often Artspace projects can be a draw for re-locaters."You have artists who left because there wasn't a place for them, and when they hear about this it can encourage them to come back."Source: Teri Deaver, director of consulting and new projects for ArtspaceWriter: Kim North Shine
Oakland County's Medical Main Street notched a strong 2010, attracting $21 million in investment that retained or attracted about 600 jobs.The Medical Main Street program began in 2008 as a tool to help diversify Oakland County's economy by growing the health-care and life-science industries. Those industries represent 93,000 jobs today and are expected to create 45,000 new jobs over the next decade. The program helped six companies relocate or expand their operations in Oakland County."In the next couple of months you'll hear about more companies moving into the area," says Irene Spanos, senior business development representative for the Oakland County Economic Development Team. "We have a lot of projects in the pipeline."This year's totals are up from four deals worth $5.2 million in investment that took place in 2009. Spanos is expecting an even better 2011. She points to Oakland University's new medical school opening this year and its new stem cell center as reasons for optimism."This is going to be a good resource for us," Spanos says. "We can build on that."Source: Irene Spanos, senior business development representative for the Oakland County Economic Development TeamWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
A newly opened ice rink in Auburn Hills is offering a cold-weather activity to skaters while warming up nearby businesses in the city's developing downtown. The rink, located at the corner of Auburn and Squirrel roads, was funded by TIFA, a Tax Increment Financing Authority that also relocated an historic log cabin adjacent to the rink, which faces the area's busy frontage. The natural rink, not a refrigerated type, and the cabin are the centerpiece of a downtown district that's in the works in this Oakland County community of about 20,000 residents. "We've been working on growing the downtown," says Stephanie Carroll, a spokesperson for the city. "We've been putting our heads together...We've moved our events down there. We've had our concerts and other summer activities there already. We kind of thought 'what can we do in the winter?' We thought the addition of an ice rink downtown would be a great way to get families out to enjoy wintertime activities and also to complement our businesses that are there." Skaters can grab a hot chocolate or coffee at Nana's Gourmet, stop for a bite to eat or a drink at sports bars such as Stan's Dugout and Duffy's Pub, pick up a sandwich at the newly arrived Subway sandwich shop, or spend more time outdoors on nearby trails. A barber shop and knitting shop operate out of the log cabin. "We're hoping to create more there in the future," Carroll says. "And as we continue to develop the downtown we will definitely create more things for people to do." Source: Stephanie Carroll, coordinator of community relations and legislative affairs, city of Auburn Hills Writer: Kim North Shine
ShindelRock is planning to do some hiring, but the company is basing its growth on both external and internal resources.The Novi-based accounting firm has hired two people in 2010 and expects to add a couple more this year. However, the 25-person company is looking for people that are interested in growing their career through the company's ranks in the long-term. It's also planning to start an internship program this summer."We'd like to start growing some people internally," says Steve Wisiniski, partner with ShindelRock.The 20-year-old company focuses on core and tax accounting and is growing in litigation and forensic accounting. That has allowed ShindelRock to grow its revenue by 9 percent in 2010, and it expects to score similar numbers this year. That should allow it to compete with companies not its own size, but bigger."We don't see our competition as our size or smaller," Wisiniski says. "We have really tried to streamline for costs savings across the board. It allows us to handle more complex clients. We see our competition as bigger firms like Plante Moran."Source: Steve Wisiniski, partner with ShindelRockWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Two thousand and eleven is getting off on the right foot for Bright Automotive. The Indiana-based firm plans to staff its new technical center in Rochester Hills with 200 new hires this year. The new tech center will serve as the primary center for research and development for its new IDEA concept vehicle. The new plug-in electric hybrid commercial vehicle is aimed at fleet vehicle customers. The IDEA will maximize fuel efficiency by using lightweight materials, aerodynamics, system operating efficiencies, and powertrain performance."The fleet market is focused on the total operational costs," says Mike Donoughe, COO with Bright Automotive. "Fuel consumption is a very big part of the cost."The electric/hybrid vehicle market has become popular with automakers in the last few years. Both major automakers are premiering vehicles like the Chevrolet Volt and smaller automotive startups such as Bright Automotive are coming out with their own vehicles."It's very competitive," Donoughe says. "You go from luxury cars to compact cars, everybody is coming out with an electric vehicle or a hybrid." He adds that the IDEA will standout because it's geared toward commercial fleets.Bright Automotive is looking for people who specialize in all the segments of vehicle and manufacturing engineering, supply chain management, IT, sales, marketing, and finance. For information on those positions, click here.Source: Mike Donoughe, COO with Bright AutomotiveWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, a part of the Michigan Microloan Fund, closed out 2010 with some big numbers, shelling out $2.5 million in microloans to Metro Detroit start-ups in 2010.Each microloan is tailored to the needs of a start-up, averaging about $50,000. The loans provide cash (and validation) tocompanies in dire need of capital due to the financial crisis. More times than not, that money goes toward commercializing the start-up's first product.The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund has provided this $11.6 million to 52 startups, such as Innovative Surgical Solutions, a Southfield-based firm that made the finals of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. These start-ups employ 285 people and the microloans have helped them attract another $16.4 million in outside investment.The future of the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund is up in the air. Officials from the state of Michigan's 21st Century Jobs Fund have not yet decided whether to invest in the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund this year. The first loans aren't due to be paid back until next year, so its future is in limbo for 2011.The Michigan Microloan Fund was the first of its kind, proving quite popular. It inspired a number of similar-yet-smaller funds across Metro Detroit. However, those funds each measure about six figures in size and are focused on specific municipalities. Skip Simms, interim CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK and administrator of the Michigan Microloan Fund, believes these newer funds aren't big enough to make up for the potential loss of the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, which is by far the largest of the funds in the Ann Arbor SPARK-run Michigan Microloan Fund pool."They're not that large of funds," Simms says. "For instance, our $275,000 fund for Ann Arbor is a nice fund but the demand is 4-5 times that."The smaller funds also aren't as flexible as the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund. Each of those is specifically set up to provide financing to start-ups in specific municipalities. The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund can make microloans to any in-state start-up.Source: Skip Simms, interim CEO of Ann Arbor SPARKWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Tim Calkins has been there. He knows what it's like to be hit by the recession, to have to close a business, to not collect a paycheck for more than a year and not know when another job will come along. He’s already lived through it. That's why he thinks he may be the man to help the thousands of unemployed white-collar workers in the state find their niche in a new economy.
Our Partners
