I recently had the honor of being interviewed for an Xconomy article. When I finished reading the article, I read a number of the related posts. One of them, “Five Things Entrepreneurs and Innovators Can Do To Invigorate Michigan’s Economy,” bothered me because, in my opinion, it leaves one thinking that Michigan is completely missing the boat with regard to invigorating its entrepreneurial community.
I expressed my concern to the article’s author, Sonya Erickson, who replied that her assignment was “to suggest five areas that can contribute to entrepreneurial growth in any city,” and in this regard the advice she provides is quite good.
What she missed, however, is that Michigan is making significant progress in the five areas she mentions. That these successes were overlooked is perfectly understandable given that the majority of the national media coverage regarding Michigan is negative.
Michigan is executing a vibrant and productive turnaround story. And that is the purpose of this article—to show Sonya, and others, the untold story. I will show how Michigan has been pursuing many of the activities discussed by Sonya and consequently may well become the epicenter of the “North Coast” entrepreneurial community.
Before addressing Sonya’s five points, just two quick comments: First, I have been immersed in the Michigan entrepreneurial community for the better part of the past decade and have an insider’s vantage point from which to address these points.
Second, the tenor of this article will be mostly positive (because there is a lot of positive to report). However, I am also fully aware of the challenges that face the state as it continues its difficult transition from a 20th century economy to a 21st century one. (With regard to this—a simple plea to the state’s leaders in Lansing—please focus your prodigious energies on leading the charge into the 21st century as opposed to continuing to fight a rear-guard battle for the economy of the 20th century.)
1. Focus on areas of competitive advantage: The state of Michigan has addressed this head-on. Simply look at the homepage of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). This page shows six sectors of competitive advantage, but those of us in the (technology-focused) entrepreneurial community speak to four sectors. How do we get from six to four? Automotive engineering and advanced manufacturing are typically treated as being a single sector; and the film sector, well, that just doesn’t count!
Four sectors. How much more focus could one ask for? Importantly, we are seeing
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Author: Gerry Roston
Gerald Roston, Ph.D., P.E., has served as a senior executive for several technology-focused startups. Currently, he is serving as the CEO for InPore Technologies, Inc., a Michigan State University spinout bringing to market Silapore particles, a novel polymer additive that simultaneously improves strength, stiffness, durability, and fire retardancy of plastics. He also works as a consultant/coach, through Pair of Docs Consulting, with his activities focused on helping start-up companies succeed by assisting them with the development of technology and business plans, raising funding (both non-dilutive and equity), and managing business operations. Recent engagements have resulted in the raising of more than $10 million, primarily from state and federal programs. He also actively participates in business development activities, such as finding potential customers, partners, and investors.
During his career, Dr. Roston has worked with numerous companies, both large and small, managing R&D/product development activities, transitioning research concepts into products, identifying and pursuing investment opportunities, and marketing to early adopters. His experiences span a broad range of industries and technologies, including serving as the technical program manager for an emissions control program ($25M/yr budget) that successfully redesigned a line of locomotive products to meet EPA regulations; managing a startup which is developing a fully fiber-integrated, mid-infrared light source for military and telecommunications applications; managing the development of advanced signal processing software for use in mass-marketed digital audio products; and inventing and patenting a variety of robotic and automation products and technologies.
While working towards his doctoral degree at Carnegie Mellon University, Dr. Roston led a team of researchers that conceptualized and prototyped an integrated lunar lander/rover under grants from NASA, LLNL, and MDSSC. Previously, Dr. Roston had worked at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where he made major contributions to one the first robots used to assist surgical procedures and was a founding member of the NASA Mars Rover team.
Dr. Roston is currently the Vice President of Programs for the New Enterprise Forum (an Ann Arbor organization that assists technology-focused start-ups), sits on the NIH Clinical Neurophysiology, Devices and Neuroprosthetics SBIR/STTR Study Section, has more than two dozen publications, and four issued patents (with several pending).
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