Southfield

Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund hits $11.6M in loans

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January 13, 2011

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.

Accelerate Michigan showcases state’s new economy future

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Arts & Culture

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December 16, 2010

One phrase came to mind when summing up the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition -- the future. The new event showed off start-ups that organizers hope will be the future long-term leaders in Michigan's new economy to what they hope will be future near-term investors. The event was held in the University of Michigan's new North Campus Research Complex and featured Michigan's future governor as its keynote speaker. Future Michigan Economic Development Corp head Michael Finney even hinted at bigger prizes for the next Accelerate Michigan competition in the not-too-distant future."We're looking forward," Finney said during his remarks at the event. "We're looking at where we're going to go in the next 3-4 years in this state."The potential of those next few years looked pretty good on stage last Saturday when the 10 finalists made their pitches. Metro Detroit had a healthy contingent among them, including Southfield's Innovating Surgical Solutions, Madison Heights/Ann Arbor's Gravikor, and a number of firms from Ann Arbor. Bloomfield Hills-based ENRG Power Systems, Troy-based MatchRX, and Farmington Hills-based CSquared Innovations each won $25,000 in the Advanced Transportation, Information Technology, and Next Gen Manufacturing categories, respectively.Kalamazoo-based Armune BioScience (a U-M spin-off) and Arbor Photonics of Ann Arbor took first ($500,000) and second ($150,000) places. Four start-ups from U-M students swept the student competition and its $60,000 in prizes. In addition to the prize money, most of the entrants raved about the exposure to potential investors that the Accelerate Michigan competition provided. To many of them it was an opportunity to expect a brighter future for their start-ups."We have a very bright future," Gov.-elect Snyder said during his speech. "We just need to execute now."Sources: Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition; Michael Finney, former CEO & president of Ann Arbor SPARK and current head of the Michigan Economic Development Corp; and Rick Snyder, governor-elect of MichiganWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Innovative Surgical Solutions launches spinal monitoring device, plans 15 hires

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Arts & Culture

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December 9, 2010

Not all innovative technologies in Metro Detroit come from a research university or the automotive industry. Innovative Surgical Solutions is getting ready to market a new surgical tool developed at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.The medical device startup, founded by Chris Wybo and Stephen Bartol, created a monitoring system for spinal surgeries. NeuralMAS monitors nerve location during invasive spinal procedures, helping surgeons save time and avoid complications. The product is now fully developed and made Innovative Surgical Solutions a semi-finalist at the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition."We have a lot of momentum right now after receiving FDA approval," Wybo says. "We'd like to keep that going with some good PR. When it comes to startups, the hype is just as important as the capital."Innovative Surgical Solutions is preparing for an early 2011 launch. The Southfield-based firm recently hired three people, rounding out its staff to five employees and a handful of independent contractors. Wybo expects quick adoption by surgeons to spur rapid growth in 2011, allowing the company to hire another 15 people next year.Source: Chris Wybo, co-founder and CTO of Innovation Surgical SolutionsWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Oakland County makes energy efficient upgrades, saves $4 million

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Arts & Culture

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December 9, 2010

Window replacements, new weather stripping, new heating systems, and heating and cooling system management are all energy efficient improvements that Oakland County plans to make in its buildings.And with those improvements, savings are estimated at $627,000 a year on utility bills for those buildings, according to a recent audit.Art Holdsworth, director of facilities management for the county, says that although the audit turned up significant potential savings and improvements, it also determined that the county was already doing a lot of things right. "The audit was very complementary to the campus and what we've been doing here. We've gone a long way toward green activities and energy conservation."The $200,000 audit, done a few months ago, was paid for by a $4.8 million Energy Efficiency and Conversation Block Grant from the U.S. Dept. of Energy. More than $3.5 million worth of energy retrofit projects were identified, of which at least $2.5 million will be covered by the grant.Some examples of pending projects include tightening building envelopes through new weather stripping, new windows, and additional insulation; replacing inefficient heating and cooling systems; replacing light bulbs; and improving energy monitoring systems, such as controlling on and off times for heating and cooling.Holdsworth says the Dept. of Energy likes to have EECBG recipients using half their funds by the end of June, so over the next few months, the county will issue requests for proposal for the projects."Clearly the energy savings is very important because the county and local governments are seeing their revenues plummet, property devaluation, and so on," he says. "At the same time, if we can be environmentally friendly on top of the energy savings, and pursue them both hand in hand, then that's a real win-win."With other energy management technology, Oakland County has already saved about $4 million in utility bills over the last few years. These energy savings are part of Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson's OakGreen Program and Challenge announced in May to encourage local governments, businesses and residents to reduce their energy consumption 10 percent by the end of 2012. For more information on the OakGreen Program and Challenge, click here.Source: Art Holdsworth, Director of Facilities Management, Oakland CountyWriter: Kristin Lukowski

Eight Mile Blvd Association enables rehabs in Warren, Southfield

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Arts & Culture

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December 2, 2010

The Eight Mile Boulevard Association has been busy this summer, with two facade projects wrapping up, among its other activities.Eighty employees from Mercedes-Benz Financial (formerly Daimler Financial) recently worked on a day care center on Eight Mile Road in Warren. The association's executive director, Tami Salisbury, says the company had helped with renovation and landscaping projects in the past, but approached her about doing a facade project this time."We salivate at that," she jokes. Since there's a wish list of businesses who need facade renovations but can't afford them right now, the group was paired with the Warren day care. Among improvements were replacing a fence, installing awnings and signs, and hanging new lights. "It was a pretty huge transformation," she says.At USA Paper and Ribbon, in Southfield, volunteers also worked on landscaping, a new sign, new awnings, and painting among other projects. Both businesses have already seen new customers, or current customers noticing the work. "That's really exciting, to see how facade renovation can increase your business," Salisbury says.The association has improved 22 facades in the three years the facade program has been in place. An association "corridor keeper" patrols Eight Mile to collect illegal signs and warn property owners of impending code violations. "It makes a big difference," Salisbury says. "Business owners care for their property more. Just like blight can spread, so can beautification." The group is wrapping up some current projects before awarding the next round of grants in July. It's recently hosted an annual golf outing and a boulevard clean-up with high school students. It has also just formed a 501(c)2, which would allow it to start acquiring land."We think Eight Mile Road is a very worthwhile corridor to invest in," Salisbury says. "We're trying to utilize it."Source: Tami Salisbury, executive director, Eight Mile Boulevard AssociationWriter: Kristin Lukowski

Lawrence Tech study gives voice to entrepreneurs’ needs

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Arts & Culture

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December 2, 2010

Talk to entrepreneurs about what they need the most and the answer is almost always the same -- capital. Lawrence Technological University's new survey on the needs of Metro Detroit entrepreneurs wanted to dig deeper than that."We knew what the top item was going to be going into the survey," says Mark Brucki, executive director of economic development and government relations at Lawrence Tech and the principal investigator in the study. "What we wanted to find out is what they needed beyond that."The recently completed study, the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Needs Assessment Survey, took the entrepreneurial temperature of more than 1,200 people over the last 14 months. They include Michigan-based business owners, investors, entrepreneurs, consultants, business accelerators, employees, and displaced workers. Among the top needs after capital access are: securing new customers, access to market data, assistance with structured innovation, assistance with product development/launches, and short-term advocacy with state and local agencies."All of these things are focused on securing new customers," Brucki says.The final report recommends pursuing a collaboratively-based Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship that uniquely addresses those needs at the grass-roots level. The U.S. Dept of Commerce gave $70,000 to fund a feasibility study on creating the center, which would connect the dots of the economic development services already available in Metro Detroit and actually fill in the blanks in some spaces.Source: Mark Brucki, executive director of economic development and government relations at Lawrence Technological UniversityWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Diversifying economy boosts Oakland County’s bond rating

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Arts & Culture

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December 2, 2010

Seven years ago, Oakland County executive L. Brooks Patterson saw a headline proclaiming that 200,000 jobs had left Michigan. He turned his director of economic development onto a research project: look into what new sectors of business were being developed.By the next year, they had a program - Emerging Sectors, dedicated to growing new economy jobs.Now, six years after that program took effect, the county is reaping awards in addition to the jobs now in place -- Emerging Sectors was among the reasons the county's AAA bond rating was reaffirmed on the $3 million Bloomfield Township Combined Sewer Overflow Drainage District bonds and $1.2 million Highland Township Well Water Supply System bonds.What this means for the taxpayer is millions of dollars in savings. With a higher rating, there's less interest on the bonds, and taxpayers end up paying less. "It's a reflection of the confidence by Wall Street of how Oakland County is managing in these tough times," Patterson says.And, "It gives me as an elected official bragging rights," he jokes.Through Emerging Sectors, the county focused on growing the health care sector and worked to diversify the county's job base. "When we're done, we won't be recession proof, but we will be recession resistant because we have diversified our economy among many sectors," he says. "Wall Street saw that.""It's proof that we can and we will manage our way through these very tough times," he says.The sale of bonds was approved earlier this year for inspection and rehabilitation of the Bloomfield Township system; the Highland Township system will see 6,500 feet of new water main to connect two well water systems.Source: L. Brooks Patterson, Oakland County executiveWriter: Kristin Lukowski

Commercial kitchen sets up shop for DIY foodies

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Arts & Culture

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November 18, 2010

Catering? A baking business? Making your own salsa?A new commercial kitchen in Southfield is offering all manner of chefs a place to use the space, ovens, mixers, and more to do it in, all without having to invest in their own equipment and kitchen space before they even get started.The Culinary Studio, a shared-use kitchen, is the brainchild of co-owners Cassandra Morrison, who has been a personal chef and wanted to expand into catering, and Jo Coleman, who runs a healthy eating and living program. Both have been looking for a kitchen to work from, but since there are only two shared commercial kitchens in the state -- both in western Michigan -- they decided to open their own.In fact, they're so few and far between, Morrison says her main contact was a kitchen in Chicago. "There are people baking, catering, packaging spaghetti sauces -- that's what we're hoping to do," she says.Right now, the women are getting through their inspection, with hopes of doing a fun opening after the holidays. Morrison says she'd like to see private events, cooking classes, cooking competitions, and other events in the space.Among their inquires so far are people interested in baking and catering, but also someone interested in charcuterie -- making sausages and other cured meats. "A lot of people have regular jobs, but may have a dream of one day producing their own cakes, and salsa, and pierogis," Morrison says. "Those are the people that are calling us."This day and age, home economics is pretty much nonexistent and there's a restaurant on every block, but more and more people are making their own specialty items as part of a larger slow food movement. "We're going back to where food really began, when our mothers and grandmothers and relatives who did all of that from scratch," she says.The 1,900-square-foot kitchens are at 29673 Northwestern Highway, in the Applegate Shopping center. Chefs have to fill out some paperwork and be cleared by the health department, so she encourages people to visit their website and get that process going. Call them at (248) 353-2500 or e-mail info@myculinarystudio.com for more information.Source: Cassandra Morrison, co-owner, The Culinary StudioWriter: Kristin Lukowski

MEDC deals spur $96.5M in investment, 269 jobs

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November 18, 2010

The latest round of tax incentives dished out by the Michigan Economic Development Corp are heavy on the automotive end again, scoring $96.5 million in new investment that should create 269 new jobs in Metro Detroit over the next five years.At the top of the list are Bright Automotive's plans to establish an engineering center in Rochester Hills for its plug-in hybrid operations. The Indiana-based firm plans to spend $11 million to create the office that will hire 204 people over five years, including 111 in the first year. Bright Automotive has developed a 100-plus-mile-per-gallon, plug-in hybrid electric vehicle called the IDEA."We want to be able to grow and expand rapidly," says Michael Brylawski, executive vice president of Bright Automotive. "There is no better place to do that than in the Detroit area when you're talking about high-quality auto engineers."Among the other tax incentive deals are:- Chrysler is receiving a state tax credit valued at up to $10 million to invest $80 million in its Sterling Heights Assembly Plant, a move that should help retain 1,809 jobs. Chrysler also received a state tax credit worth up to $15 million annually over three years to house the engineering for the new City Electric hybrid plug-in vehicle at its Technology Center in Auburn Hills.- Montaplast, a manufacturer of plastic injection molded products, plans to invest $2.3 million to move its research & development facilities from Southfield to a bigger space in Auburn Hills. The move is expected to create 25 jobs over the next five years.- Toyota Boshoku America plans to consolidate and expand its prototype operations to a new facility in Novi. The $3.2 million investment will create 40 new jobs over the next five years.Source: Michigan Economic Development Corp and Michael Brylawski, executive vice president of Bright AutomotiveWriter: Jon Zemke

IT and packaging firms to produce $35M in investments, 226 new jobs

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November 18, 2010

IT and packaging companies were also winners in this week's round of tax incentives from the Michigan Economic Development Corp, with Member Driven Technologies and AJM Packaging agreeing to invest and hire in Metro Detroit in exchange for tax breaks.Member Driven Technologies plans to invest $6.4 million into building a second data center in Southfield. The move should create 101 new IT jobs over the next five years, with 14 new hires coming in the first year."We've grown quite a bit," says Chris Kowal, CFO for Member Driven Technologies. "We've gone from one employee in 2003 to 61 today."The Warren-based company got its start when five local credit unions banded together to create a firm to provide IT services. Member Driven Technologies now manages IT for 45 credit unions and it just signed a new contract that can greatly expand its client base, prompting the need for a new data center."The market and current environment is great for what we do," Koval says. "We think our growth over the next five years will match, if not outdo, what we have done."AJM Packaging is spending $28.3 million to expand its Southgate manufacturing facility, an investment that should create 125 jobs over the next five years. Of those, 90 people should be hired in the first year. The circa-1957 company manufactures converted paper products, such as paper plates, cups, bowls, grocery sacks and bags.Source: Michigan Economic Development Corp and Chris Kowal, CFO for Member Driven TechnologiesWriter: Jon Zemke