Kids and Education

Mi Estilo webzine celebrates local Latinos

Ford Transit Connect gains traction in market

The Ford Transit Connect is showing signs of successfully making the leap from showroom success to market success as orders begin to pile up for the green machine.DTE Energy has placed an order for 19 of the hybrid and electric commercial vehicles and is looking for ways to incorporate more into its fleet. Canada Post and AT&T are among the other organizations across North America that have claimed some of the 1,175 Transit Connects.Oak Park-based Azure Dynamics makes the electric version of the Transit Connect. It expects to manufacture between 1,000 and 2,000 vehicles next year, thanks to winning awards like Truck of the Year at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit this year. "It's a great product for us," says Curt Huston, COO of Azure Dynamics. "It has raised our visibility."The 20-year-old firm has roots in British Columbia. It moved its headquarters from Toronto to Metro Detroit a few years ago and has since expanded its staff to 30 people. About half of those have been hired in the last 12-18 months. Huston expects to continue hiring as products like the Transit Connect are picked up into major fleets looking for green cred. He believes those orders will help lower the price of the truck and its components, making the vehicle more affordable to the rest of the market.Source: Curt Huston, COO of Azure DynamicsWriter: Jon Zemke

Sharing Woodward Avenue

Automobiles have done a lot of good for Michigan. But for Woodward Avenue, not so much. As the value of dense and vital downtowns becomes increasingly evident, leaders are rethinking the auto-only policies and practices of Metro Detoit's transportation spine.

Aria Equities venture firm opens in Birmingham

Jeff Sloan is back in Michigan, and now the well-known entrepreneur behind StartupNation has his own venture development firm in downtown Birmingham - Aria Equities.A venture development firm is, as Sloan describes it, a company that gets start-ups ready for venture capital investment. That means it lends the expertise to refine the business plan, gets the management team in place and the revenues flowing, and perfects an elevator pitch for angel investors."We're typically the guys going to pitch the angels for the company," Sloan says.Sloan and his brother Rich founded StartupNation a decade ago. The company, now based in downtown Birmingham, focuses on showing entrepreneurs how to build a start-up. The brothers have also developed and patented products that have been acquired, such as The Battery Buddy.After being on Metro Detroit's entrepreneurial scene for six months, Aria Equities employs three people including the Sloan brothers. It has a handful of clients, most of which are still gearing up for a launch. Sloan sees them as potential base hits in his entrepreneurial strategy."I'm more about hitting singles and doubles than swinging for the fences every time," Sloan says.The Flint native says that philosophy is a key part to developing Michigan's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Although Sloan concedes developing that ecosystem into a powerhouse comparable to what exists on North America's coasts is still a long ways away, stringing together a few hits will go far towards achieving that goal."We want to help create a culture here for start-ups and entrepreneurs," Sloan says. "We want to help establish Michigan as a place for people to start their companies."Anyone interested in pitching a business idea to Sloan can send an executive summary of two pages or less (he emphasizes the less part) to jeff@ariaequities.com.Source: Jeff Sloan, founder and CEO of Aria EquitiesWriter: Jon Zemke

TechTown throws hat in Google Fiber ring

Detroit is turning one of its stereotypical negatives of poverty into one of its primary selling points as it takes a shot at becoming one of the Google Fiber communities.Officials from the TechTown business accelerator based in the city's New Center neighborhood are making the argument that Detroit has just about everything Google needs to test out all of the facets of its super-fast broadband experiment. Detroit has both people who are struggling and without Internet access and affluent users who depend on it. The Motor City has both huge multi-national corporations and small businesses. It has both traditional businesses and cutting edge start-ups. Plus, it has all of the infrastructure in place in an area that would both help prove Google's business model and benefit greatly from its presence."We offer a diversity to the pilot that few others can offer," says Vita Merlotti, a SmartStart support leader at TechTown who is quarterbacking the effort. "We offer every end of the spectrum."Google plans to build and test ultra-high speed broadband networks in a small number of communities across the country. These lines will stream data at 1 gigabit per second, about 100 times faster than what most Americans get through their current cable and DSL providers. Think of this pilot project as having the potential to give your Internet connection Millenium Falcon speed.Several cities in Michigan have applied for the Google Fiber installations, including Ann Arbor, Birmingham, Saline/Pittsfield Township, Kalamazoo and Grand Rapids. Ann Arbor got on the bandwagon quickly, launching A2Fiber, a Facebook fan page, a YouTube contest, and other online efforts to rally support for its application. The University of Michigan and Ypsilanti are backing Ann Arbor's effort.Source: Vita Merlotti, a SmartStart support leader at TechTownWriter: Jon Zemke

Prospering Company: Vroomers

Rhonda Gelstein hates cold feet and loves classic cars. So, naturally, she based her business to solve something she hates with something she loves. Vroomers is an Internet-based business that sells comfy slippers shaped like classic cars.

February: Emerging Biz In Oakland County

Oakland County saw $64 million of investment, 1052 jobs created, and 108 jobs retained from the county's Emerging Sectors Program in the month of February.

Michigan Solar & Wind Power Solutions grows staff to 6, plans to hire more

Mark Hagerty didn't run away when he saw a perfect storm coming. He ran toward it, and ended up creating Michigan Solar & Wind Power Solutions.The Commerce Township-based firm specializes in installing and connecting alternative energy systems, such as solar panels and wind turbines. It was a perfect fit for Hagerty, who had long been involved and invested in alternative energy companies before starting Michigan Solar & Wind Power Solutions two years ago."I saw a perfect storm coming together from the legislation being passed to the increase in education," Hagerty says. "In every dynamic it was beginning to look like the way to go."The company has gone from Hagerty alone to six employees and 35 independent contractors today. Most of that expansion took place in the last year. He hopes to hire a project manager soon and a few more later this year to help with the increased workload. Most of Michigan Solar & Wind Power Solutions's work revolves around tying solar panels into the electrical grid. Hagerty is also seeing two distinct yet significantly different customers emerge. The first group is the environmentalist crowd, while the second is the world-is-about-to-end survivalist crowd. One wants to improve the environment and the other wants to be self-sufficient if and when the worst happens. Regardless, both sides want their solar panels and wind turbines."I see the off-grid, stand-alone systems growing," Hagerty says. "I see storage systems like batteries growing, too."Source: Mark Hagerty, president of the Michigan Solar & Wind Power SolutionsWriter: Jon Zemke

WSU’s Ligon Research Center of Vision lands $1M grant

Things are becoming a bit clearer for Wayne State University's Kresge Eye Institute, but a $1 million grant will do that.The Dryer Foundation awarded a $1 million grant to the Ligon Research Center of Vision at the institute last week. The interest from the new endowment will allow the center to hire more staff to help fight blindness and other vision problems."We have plans to recruit a researcher who will focus on disease of the retna and fighting blindness research," says Erika Walker, director of development at the Kresge Eye Institute. Walker quarterbacked the grant application.The Dryer Foundation is named after banking industry executive Edward Dryer and his wife, Ellen. They were lifelong residents of Detroit. Edward Dryer suddenly lost his sight while traveling on business in New York, which resulted in the loss of his job. His wife helped him follow the market by reading him The Wall Street Journal and other financial publications. That allowed Dryer to begin investing in the stock market, where his investments grew.The couple died 11 years ago. The foundation was established from their estate. It now has a mission to aid people who have limited sight and to aid research for the prevention of blindness.Source: Erika Walker, director of development at the Kresge Eye InstituteWriter: Jon Zemke