If you're looking for proof that Metro Detroit's economy is in a period of evolution, take a gander at Motor City Denim - a partnership between an old school auto industry supplier and new school fashion designer. The brainchild of Joe Faris (of Project Runway fame) and TD Industrial Coverings, this all-local enterprise is a declaration of and commitment to Metro Detroit's resiliency.
A dozen years ago, a handful of engineers got together and created a company to provide the latest fad in communication – dial-up Internet connections. Today that company, 123.net, is still providing the latest in connectivity services."We offer everything from T1 on our fiber networks to Wi-Fi services," says Dave Curran, channel sales manager for 123.net. The latest of these offerings is a blanket of 4G Wimax Wi-Fi in downtown Ann Arbor.The Southfield-based business has parlayed sales of services like this into a staff of a dozen employees, a couple of summer interns, and dozens of independent contractors who handle sales. It has hired three people over the last year and expects to add another 3-5 jobs in 2011 as it continues its trend of growing 10-30 percent each year, even in the recent downturn."Wireless is a very fast-growing product for us," Curran says. "It will bring in a lot of revenue for us over the next year."Source: Dave Curran, channel sales manager for 123.netWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Stefanini International Holdings has acquired TechTeam Global for $93.4 million, a deal which will merge one of the multinational's affiliates with the Southfield-based IT firm.The immediate impact on TechTeam Global's southeast Michigan operations is yet to be revealed. The company employs 2,100 people around the world, with sizable workforces in both Southfield and Ann Arbor. TechTeam Global did not respond to requests for comment.TechTeam Global provides IT outsourcing and business process outsourcing services around the world. Brazil-based Stefanini International Holdings specializes in onshore and nearshore IT consulting, outsourcing, and development services. It is acquiring all of TechTeam Global's stock (it's traded on the Nasdaq) at $8.35 a share in a deal that is expected to be consummated in the fourth quarter. Marco Stefanini, chairman of Stefanini International Holdings, called the acquisition a "significant step in Stefanini IT Solutions' strategy of expanding its international presence" in the press release.TechTeam Global sold one of its subsidiaries last summer. Jacobs Engineering Group acquired TechTeam Government Solutions for $59 million.Source: TechTeam GlobalWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
All Maury Okun really wanted to do was make great music -- the great business model was sort of a fortunate byproduct. "It wasn't because we wanted to create an interesting model, we wanted to create interesting art," says Okun. "It enables us to do more of what we wanted to do." The interesting model is the remarkable collaboration among three Oakland County arts organizations: Detroit Chamber Winds and Strings, the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble and the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival. The organizations maintain separate identities and boards of directors, but they share office space, administrative staff and technology.
Lawrence Technological University's new environmental scanning electron microscope, the first in Metro Detroit, isn't just a cool new toy for faculty and students at the university. It's also a new tool for a number of local businesses.The $769,000 microscope, funded by a federal grant, is being used by Lawrence Tech and Beaumont Hospitals. It will be primarily used by researchers at both institutions for such things as studying orthopedic implants. Wayne State University researchers are also lined up to use it, along with scientists from General Motors who are working on lithium ion battery technology."We will see a pretty broad impact from this microscope," says Yawen Li, assistant professor of bio-medical engineering at Lawrence Tech and one of the principals responsible for obtaining the grant.The electron microscope can be used to scientifically characterize wet, oily, porous, and soft materials, which are traditionally considered impossible to study under conventional microscopes. This greatly enhances a variety of research activities in areas such as biomaterials, orthopedics, tissue engineering, construction materials, automotive components, and lithium ion batteries.This microscope can produce very high-resolution images of a sample surface, revealing details less than a nanometer (one billionth of a meter) in size. The maximum magnification of more than 500,000 times is about 250 times the magnification limit of the best light microscopes. This piece of equipment has a large depth of field, yielding a three-dimensional image that is useful for studying surface structure.Source: Yawen Li, assistant professor of bio-medical engineering at Lawrence Technological UniversityWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
It should come as no surprise that the people at Outside Hub Media are big fans of the outdoors. So much so that the leadership team asked if we could do the interview for this story a few days later so they could finish a bow-hunting trip. But don't be too shocked that the members of the growing startup's staff are all big fans of hunting, fishing, camping, and the like."It's not a prerequisite to work here," says Stephen Dooley, president of Outside Hub Media. "We just attract like-minded souls. We believe in what we're doing."The Southfield-based company started out as a broker specializing in Internet advertising for outdoors-related sites, mainly selling banner ads. Four years later it has grown into a full-service media company, offering marketing and media services of all shapes and sizes for websites and brands associated with the outdoors."It is an underserved market with a large demand," says David Farbman, CEO of Outside Hub Media.So much so that the company has grown from an initial staff of three to 22 employees and about eight independent contractors and interns today. It has hired half a dozen people over the last six months and expects to hire another 6-10 over the next year. Source: David Farbman, CEO of Outside Hub Media and Stephen Dooley, president of Outside Hub MediaWriter: Jon ZemkeRead more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Your People is taking on some of its own in Southfield these days. The public relations firm has recently made a couple of hires after adding clients to its growing roster.Today the 3-year-old company has a staff of six, including independent contractors and the occasional summer intern. It plans to have six full-timers by late next year; however, Lynne Schreiber, Your People's founder, plans to keep her company more on the boutique side."We want to maintain the relationship focus," Schreiber says. "I want to have a hand in every project."Your People has added seven new clients this fall, ranging from Global Consulting to Lynn Medow's Yoga By Design to M.L. Liebler's Working Words. She started the company the three years ago after working as a journalist for 15 years in Washington, D.C., New York, and most recently for The Detroit News. Source: Lynne Schreiber, founder of Your PeopleWriter: Jon Zemke
Joe Cornell Entertainment got its start a little more than 50 years ago teaching ballroom dancing in northwest Detroit. Today the Southfield-based company provides a place for creatively inclined people to work. Joe Cornell Entertainment has grown to a staff of 34 after making six hires earlier this year. Most of those jobs go to young people in college or recent grads looking for work as dancers, DJs, or entertainers. The company is attributing that growth to companies coming out of budget crunches from the recession and "finally celebrating again," says Rebecca Schlussel, vice president of Joe Cornell Entertainment. The company hopes to continue hiring."We always need high energy, responsible people," says Steve Jasgur, president of Joe Cornell Entertainment. "I will always find a place for them."Joe Cornell retired to California and sold the company to Schlussel and Jasgur 21 years ago after they started as employees in high school. The company still teaches dancing classes and has expanded into just about all facets of event planning. It even started PlanIt!, an event planning magazine.Source: Stave Jasgur and Rebecca Schlussel, co-owners of Joe Cornell EntertainmentWriter: Jon Zemke
ImageSoft is growing. This we know. However, the 14-year-old firm is growing so quickly it has bought a home in Southfield to help facilitate its future growth.The government efficiency company purchased a 15,000-square-foot building at 25900 Eleven Mile Road near American Road. It plans to gut the space and recreate it with its own flair, such as opening up the floor plan and installing state-of-the-art technology. "There is a cool factor, a comfort factor, and a convenience factor," says Scott Bade, president ImageSoft. "We thought we could have all of those with our own space."ImageSoft counts county governments from across Michigan as customers, from Washtenaw to Grand Traverse. It helps clients eliminate the red tape and paperwork that bogs down their systems and services, thereby becoming more efficient. This has allowed the firm to add 11 people over the last couple of years, for a total staff of 56 employees and three interns. It expects to continue its 20 percent annual revenue growth, which should allow 100 more hires within five years. Source: Scott Bade, president of ImageSoftWriter: Jon Zemke
Research at Lawrence Technological University got a shot in the arm Tuesday when the university received a $1.3 million federal grant to upgrade its life sciences laboratories."We're probably the best kept secret in the Metro Detroit area," says Hsiano-Ping Moore, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Lawrence Tech. She adds that "We feel we're so small we can be very strong because we work so closely together."Lawrence Tech really began pushing its research capabilities in life sciences about five years ago. Today professors and undergraduates work side by side on projects ranging from molecular biology to biomedical engineering. These activities are currently taking place in a 40-year-old building that the funds from the National Science Foundation (thanks, federal stimulus cash) will upgrade Lawrence Tech's Life Sciences Research Facility. That means a new molecular and cell biology research lab, a chemistry lab, an instrumentation room, and a test prep area. "The aging infrastructure is really impeding the progress of emerging sectors like ours," Moore says.Work on the project is expected to start in January and finish by the 2011 fall semester. Source: Hsiano-Ping Moore, dean of the College of Arts & Sciences at Lawrence Technological UniversityWriter: Jon Zemke
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