Technology & Innovation

Coverage of innovative research, development and deployment of technology and technological advance, including hardware, software and software as service.

Ka-Ching! develops new easy-to-use instruction technology

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Education

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October 2, 2014

Inspiration hit Bill Crose when he was trying to come up with a better way to train hotel workers. At the time he was working as the eLearning development manager for Intercontinental Hotels Group, figuring out the best way to train housekeepers, cooks, and bartenders to do their jobs. "Really anybody who is doing a step-by-step procedure," Crose says. That's when the idea for Ka-Ching! popped into his head. He left his job and started working on the Rochester Hills-based startup, a client of the Macomb-OU INCubator. Ka-Ching! is developing Pythia, a training system that audibly streams step-by-step directions through a mobile-headset audio device. It comes with completion-time reports for each step and a patent-pending interface between voice response, text-to-speech, and Wi-Fi technologies to link custom databases to the device. "Anything that is a task that you don't know how to do can be delivered to you in a step-by-step process," Crose says. Which means it could be used by businesses and large organizations looking to train employees. It could also be used by consumers who are trying to learn how to cook with certain recipes or people at the gym following a trainer’s routine. Ka-Ching is currently in the early stages of developing its prototype. Crose expects to work on perfecting the prototype over the next year and have it ready for commercialization in time for the 2015 holiday shopping season. Source: Bill Crose, CEO of Ka-Ching! Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

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Novi hotel caters to daytime guests with Workspace on Demand

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Arts & Culture

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October 2, 2014

The Baronette Renaissance Hotel in Novi has turned part of its lobby, a conference room and another common area in the hotel into free and rentable workspaces. Marriott, owner of the hotel, has partnered with LiquidSpace, an organizer and booker of workspaces in all sorts of places in several cities. Together the hotel chain and LiquidSpace launched Workplace on Demand after some minor renovations. LiquidSpace guarantees the space, and Baronette provides and services it. "We have great spaces in our hotel that are sometimes not being used during the day. These include both our public spaces as well as meeting rooms. It’s a great opportunity for us to welcome in people who may not be staying at our hotel to see how great the experience is," says Sora Chan, director of sales for the Baronette Renaissance. The 155-room Baronette Renaissance property, at Twelve Oaks Mall, is one of a handful of metro Detroit hotels offering the service, which is commonplace in some cities. In the six months since Workspace on Demand began, bookings have stacked up, says Chan. "Our public space has been regularly booked on a weekly basis and it has been very popular with our guests," she says. "This is very common in bigger cities like in NY and LA. We see a lot of sales people and consultants who are in need of a place to 'touch down' in between client meetings. Often they find coffee shops to be too crowded and unreliable, so they like the assurance of knowing they have a reserved space." At the Baronette, the "Corner Seating" workspace is a comfy corner couch, chairs and a table for free. The "Library" is also in the hotel lobby and is free. It offers intimate seating for eight. The "Maple Boardroom" is a private meeting space for eight and is wired for presentations at a cost of $400 a day, $300 for a half-day. All spaces include WiFi, internet service, printing, scanning and copying, TVs, coffee and tea service. Source: Dave Jones, account executive, Shazaaam Public Relations and Sora Chan, director of sales, Baronette Renaissance Hotel Writer: Kim North Shine

Professional Pours capitalizes on beer/wine sampling in grocery stores

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Economic Development

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October 2, 2014

Every job created isn't equal. Some pay more, others require certain skills, some are full-time and others are not quite that. Professional Pours has been creating a lot of the latter sort of jobs lately. The Oak Park-based business provides staff for the wine/beer tasting tables now found in grocery stores. The company provides the staffers with background information on the product and others like it. They work as independent contractors a few hours a week, making $15-$18 per hour. "This is a great part-time gig for parents, retirees, and students," says Sharlan Douglas, marketing director & co-owner of Professional Pours. The company was founded four years ago about the same time the state legislature changed the law allowing for free beer, wine and liquor sampling in off-premise (package) establishments. It started out doing these offerings in Kroger stores on weekends between 1-4 p.m. Professional Pours did 900 events in 2012. That went up to 1,100 events last year, and it’s now on track to do 1,400 events. "Now we're seeing more events on Thursday evening or Friday afternoon," Douglas says. A vast majority of those are in Kroger, which Douglas points out has been leading the way in pushing the law change and leveraging it to help drive up its sales of craft and high-end alcohol. That has meant more part-time hires. Professional Pours now has a staff of four co-owners and 60 independent contractors, which is six more 1099s than a year ago. Douglas says the company finds most of its staff through Craigslist ads and referrals. She and her husband (also a co-owner) are active in local theater circles and have brought on a number of local actors to work these tables. She says they pay a higher wage for the part-time work because they need people who will serve as educators about the product and present it in the best light possible. So far the business model is catching on. "Other retailers are doing this," Douglas says. "Kroger is expanding this into stores that hadn't done sampling before and providing more time for events." Source: Sharlan Douglas, marketing director & co-owner of Professional Pours Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

$12 million advanced tech education center opens in Warren

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Community Development

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October 2, 2014

Wayne State University has built the Advanced Technology Training Center across from Macomb County Community College's Warren campus on 12 Mile Road. The $12-million center, which replaces a former Farmer Jack grocery store, opens Oct. 2 at 14601 E. 12 Mile Rd. and is designed to be a pipeline connecting students and potential employees with Macomb County employers in fast-growing industries such as manufacturing, transportation and defense. The location across from MCC, which has recently added a pedestrian walkway to connect the campuses, makes it easy for students at both schools to transfer or move between campuses as they work toward degrees. The new 40,000-square-foot training center has classroom and teaching space for 900 students. Source: Carol Baldwin, spokesperson, Wayne State University Writer: Kim North Shine

Met 13 – Royal Oak apartments rehabbed into “upscale urban flats”

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Arts & Culture

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October 2, 2014

A 1950's-era apartment building near Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak has been rehabbed into what the developer describes as "upscale urban flats." Metropolitan 13, or Met13, is located at 4000 W. 13 Mile Road. The 40-unit project offers completely renovated two-bedroom units and services and amenities meant for urban professionals who don't spend much time at home but want a living space that feels fashionable and comfortable and is close to the places they work and play. Met13 offers free Wi-Fi, an outdoor living room and round-the-clock services. For developer Jeffrey Kaftan, president of Kaftan Communities, the renovation represents a lifestyle- and design-focused way to see the leasing market. "We really see the Metropolitan brand as a confluence of design and living," he says. "You can find a number of examples in the marketplace where design has been brought to products like cars and watches, but there are not many examples of that in rental housing. We’re trying to bring that to the forefront in the urban flat rental market in the metro Detroit area. Young professionals are asking for a living environment that gives them the opportunity to express their individual sense of style and the Metropolitan brand’s urban flats do that beautifully." Kaftan is nephew to Sheldon Kaftan, who in 1960 moved into an apartment at what is now Met13. Kaftan Communities invests in and rehabs residential and commercial properties throughout metro Detroit. Source: Sue Voyles, Logos Communication Writer: Kim North Shine

CureLauncher secures $500K Series B, signs 4 big clients

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Health

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September 25, 2014

CureLauncher has closed on a Series B round of funding worth $500,000. The Bloomfield Hills-based startup that likes to refer to itself as the Wikipedia of clinical trials also closed on a half-million-dollar Series A last year. The Series B was led by Birmingham-based early stage venture capital firm InkWell. "It will help us grow fast," says Steve Goldner, chairman & CEO of CureLauncher. "It will add more talent to the team." CureLauncher's software is a one-stop shop for people looking to participate in clinical trials. Tens of thousands of clinical trials are held in the U.S. each year but they are routinely delayed because of enrollment issues. CureLauncher's database cuts out the delay by connecting sick people with cutting-edge treatments. "In the last year we have signed worldwide master service agreements with four of the largest pharmaceutical companies and clinical research organizations around the world," Goldner says. That has allowed CureLauncher to hire five people over the last year, and it's currently looking to hire three more. The relationship managers help prospective patients calling into CureLauncher's offices to find the best clinical trials. The two-year-old startup now has a staff of 14 employees and two summer interns. Source: Steve Goldner, chairman & CEO of CureLauncher Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Douglas Communications Group exemplifies new age in local media

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General

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September 25, 2014

Sharlan Douglas has become a prime example of what it often means to be working in media in the 21st century. The Royal Oak resident has a career in local media that includes stints at WKBD TV as a promotion coordinator and a vice president of marketing & development for Metropolitan Center for High Technology, TechTown's predecessor from the 1980s/90s. Today she is the owner of her own boutique public relations firm, Douglas Communications Group, a partner in a wine-tasting staffing company, and a recently elected member of the Royal Oak City Commission. "I enjoy having the ability to control my work," Douglas says. That means working from home with her one-woman PR firm. Today she handles a number of local clients, her largest being Carlisle/Wortman Associates. She handles a lot of the owned media for the Ann Arbor-based planning firm, such as producing content for blogs, newsletters, and trade show materials. One of the current projects is helping create awareness of how populations in local communities are aging and what that means to their areas. She is doing similar work for the LGBT Older Adult Coalition, which has partners like Affirmations in Ferndale and the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan. "How do you respond to that shifting?" Douglas says. Douglas was recently elected to a seat on the Royal Oak City Commission. She had served on the city's planning commission for nine years prior and is an active member of the Michigan Association of Planning. She is also a partner in Professional Pours, a staffing agency for wine sampling in grocery stores. Think of the people with a small table that ask shoppers if they would like to try a taste of a new wine. Professional Pours finds the people making the pitch. "I am doing more and more work for Professional Pours," Douglas says. Source: Sharlan Douglas, owner of Douglas Communications Group Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Intergenerational partnerships fuel success in metro Detroit companies

By Dennis Archambault

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Arts & Culture

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September 25, 2014

"Make new friends and keep the old..." is more than just a nice sentiment, it can be a smart business strategy. Pairing the energy and creativity of young entrepreneurs with the experience and contacts of elder business leaders has proven to be a powerful tool for several metro Detroit firms.

For manufacturers, being green means more green in the bank

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Community Development

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September 25, 2014

A recent Kettering University study found that manufacturers with green-oriented manufacturing companies with sustainable practices also enjoy sustainability in profits as well. Excerpt: "A team of researchers led by Kettering University's Dr. Thomas Ngniatedema from the Department of Business have presented empirical evidence regarding the importance of corporate environmental consciousness and a company’s financial performance. "This study is an invitation to corporate investment in innovative pollution prevention because we found that companies that score well according to objective environmental criteria realize stronger financial returns than their counterparts." Ngniatedema said... The manufacturing industry included companies in sectors such as consumer products; vehicles; food and beverage; industrial goods; pharmaceuticals; technology; and utilities, while the service industry consisted of firms in sectors such as banking and insurance; financial industries; healthcare, media, travel and leisure; and retail. "We found that firms in the manufacturing industry tend to be more green-oriented than those in the service industry," Ngniatedema said." More here.

RedViking’s engineers score awards as firm adds staff

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Economic Development

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September 25, 2014

RedViking likes to think of itself as the home to some of the top engineering talent in Metro Detroit. Now it has some hardware to back it up. Three of the Plymouth-based testing company’s employees (Chris Lake, Greg Giles, and Jason Stefanski) recently were recognized in Plant Engineering's "Engineering Leaders Under 40" class for 2014. The awards recognize up-and-coming talent in the engineering sector of manufacturing. "Each of those guys has a strong background in engineering," says Randy Brodzik, president & CEO of RedViking. "As we have grown they have grown with us and helped us grow." The 31-year-old company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Superior Controls, builds testing systems for manufacturers in the automotive, defense, and aerospace industries. The testing systems, which often focus on power train systems, are quite precise and require extensive engineering. RedViking has experienced a significant bump in growth in recent years on the strength of manufacturers, including automotive. Aerospace work has supplied its biggest gains over the last year. That has allowed RedViking to hire a number of people. The company currently has a staff of about 200 employees and half a dozen interns. It has added 15 jobs (mostly engineers) in the last year and is looking to hire another 10 people right now. Those jobs include engineers, sales, and project managers. The company is holding a job fair at its headquarters (46247 Five Mile Road in Plymouth) between 4-8 p.m. on Oct. 23. More info here. "One of the things we have been successful at is recruiting strong engineering talent," Brodzik says. Source: Randy Brodzik, president & CEO of RedViking Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.