[Corrected 7/12/11, 4:05 pm.See below.]Margarita Barry is throwing a party. Who: Entrepreneurial, creative people in their 20s or 30s Where: Detroit When: Now RSVP: www.iamyoungdetroit.com Barry, 26, is the founder of I am Young Detroit, a web site [An earlier version mistakenly described the website as a social networking site. We regret the error.]that offers … Continue reading “Margarita Barry Leads Army Of Young Entrepreneurs To Detroit”
Author: Jillian Berman
Psssst…Are You Awake? I Have A Great Idea For A Company…
When most entrepreneurs wake up at night with their latest business or product idea, they would probably jot it down, go back to sleep and wait until the next morning to share it. But thanks to eRes, a new living-learning community at the University of Michigan, entrepreneurial-minded students can always find a sounding board for … Continue reading “Psssst…Are You Awake? I Have A Great Idea For A Company…”
U-M Spinout MEMStim Seeks Its Fortune In Neurostimulation Devices
Though Angelique Johnson is pleased her team won the $27,000 top prize in the Michigan Business Challenge earlier this year, the University of Michigan student, who’s earning a doctorate in electrical engineering, says the competition was not just about money. “Coming from the engineering side, I had a piece of technology, I did not know … Continue reading “U-M Spinout MEMStim Seeks Its Fortune In Neurostimulation Devices”
TED Wants Michigan To Get Crazy
Michigan got a little crazy last week. TEDxUofM didn’t have same star power as the annual conference in California that inspired it. But the message was undeniably similar. “Don’t get scared by the fact that [when] something is tough, crazy ideas are worth working on,” Thomas Zurbuchen, the founding director of University of Michigan’s Center … Continue reading “TED Wants Michigan To Get Crazy”
English Majors Can Do More Than Teach. U-M Liberal Arts Students Push For Entrepreneurial Classes
Rebecca Weisz was looking forward to studying entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan. A freshman in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA), she was hoping to apply what she learned from her communication studies to running the custom-made accessories business she launched earlier in the school year. To her dismay, Weisz learned … Continue reading “English Majors Can Do More Than Teach. U-M Liberal Arts Students Push For Entrepreneurial Classes”
University Officials: Budget Cuts Won’t Hurt Campus Entrepreneurship
Universities and colleges across Michigan may be scrambling to reduce costs as state officials weigh deep budget cuts to higher education. But programs that encourage entrepreneurship and innovation will likely be spared, school officials say. The programs are well-established and often funded by outside sources and therefore won’t be directly affected by the state funding … Continue reading “University Officials: Budget Cuts Won’t Hurt Campus Entrepreneurship”
BoroPharm seeks to expand at U-M North Campus Research Complex
When Pfizer closed its Ann Arbor, MI-based research facility in 2008, taking over 2,000 jobs with it, the community mourned the loss of such a prestigious, high tech employer. BoroPharm, however, saw an opportunity. “When they left…companies like ours were able to find people and offer them positions,” BoroPharm CEO Todd Zahn says. “In typical … Continue reading “BoroPharm seeks to expand at U-M North Campus Research Complex”
Now Showing on Gas Station TV: Impulse Buying!!!!
You’re pumping gas in the middle of an errand-filled Saturday afternoon. A commercial for the eatery down the road on the screen appears above the pump. Suddenly, your stomach growls. You head to the restaurant, armed with a coupon the pump had just spit out. For Gas Station TV, based in Birmingham, MI, that scenario … Continue reading “Now Showing on Gas Station TV: Impulse Buying!!!!”
Ghostly now haunts Tech Brewery
Ghostly International, a high tech art house, recently moved its Ann Arbor operations to Tech Brewery. The company moved its three full time staff members as well as a “cadre of interns” to the incubator at the end of February, Jeremy Peters, Ghostly’s director of creative licensing and business affairs, wrote in an e-mail to … Continue reading “Ghostly now haunts Tech Brewery”
U-M awards cash to student startups
The University of Michigan’s Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute of Entrepreneurial Studies awarded over $100,000 to student startups yesterday as part of its Michigan Business Challenge competition. One of the award recipients, MEMStim, is hoping to improve the field of neurostimulation by making MEMS electrode leads for medical device companies.
Help Wanted in Michigan: Immigrants Need Apply
Following a speech last week, six students approached Thomas Zurbuchen, associate dean of entrepreneurial programs at the University of Michigan, to ask him a few follow up questions Of that six, four were foreign nationals, a ratio that is typical of entrepreneurship related classes, he says. But Zurbuchen, an American citizen originally from Switzerland, these … Continue reading “Help Wanted in Michigan: Immigrants Need Apply”
U-M Research to Receive More IP Cash
Thanks to a recent decision by University of Michigan officials, services that support entrepreneurs and researchers will reap more benefits from U-M owned intellectual property. The Office of the Vice President Research will receive about $2 million in IP revenue. Last year, the school generated about $40 million in royalties.
In Southeast Michigan, Keeping Young Talent in the State a Constant Challenge
If Ashley Hartmann had her way, the junior at the University of Michigan would leave the state after getting her degree. “The job opportunities are horrendous in comparison to the rest of the nation,” Hartmann, a chemistry major, said at the MPowered Entrepreneurship career fair in the school’s student union last week. Michigan has struggled … Continue reading “In Southeast Michigan, Keeping Young Talent in the State a Constant Challenge”
For Civionics Co-Founders, Southeast Michigan an Accessible Base to Launch Wireless Sensor Company
Jerry Lynch, co-founder and executive vice president of Civionics, has experience navigating high-tech entrepreneurial ecosystems. And his experience has taught him that southeast Michigan is a premier place to grow a fledging company. Lynch’s Ann Arbor-based company makes wireless sensors that can monitor everything from the structural stability of a bridge to the energy consumption … Continue reading “For Civionics Co-Founders, Southeast Michigan an Accessible Base to Launch Wireless Sensor Company”
U-M Welcomes Startups to New Venture Accelerator on Former Pfizer Campus
“There’s not any other place I’d rather be right now,” Brandon McNaughton said standing at the door of his lab space at the University of Michigan’s Venture Accelerator, which opened officially on Tuesday. Those aren’t words most would expect to hear from a California native looking to launch his own start up. But McNaughton, the … Continue reading “U-M Welcomes Startups to New Venture Accelerator on Former Pfizer Campus”
For Arbor Photonics, a Myriad of Reasons Not to Flee to the Coasts
When Phillip Amaya, CEO of Arbor Photonics, was first brought in to head up the advanced laser processing company, he said he had every intention of locating the start up in California. But Michigan’s aggressive approach to home-growing businesses and keeping them in the state changed Amaya’s mind. “The state came through to help us … Continue reading “For Arbor Photonics, a Myriad of Reasons Not to Flee to the Coasts”
For Entrepreneurship Leaders at U-M, a Balance Between Teaching Innovation and Capitalizing On It
Timothy Faley, the managing director of the University of Michigan’s Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute or Entrepreneurial Studies, has a unique way of measuring his job performance. “It’s always turbulent at the wave front,” he says. “I know I’m doing my job when I feel the tension.” And indeed, according to Faley, the … Continue reading “For Entrepreneurship Leaders at U-M, a Balance Between Teaching Innovation and Capitalizing On It”
U-M Investment Group TAMID Introduces Students to Entrepreneurship, Israeli Startups
[Corrected, 4:40pm. See below] Last month, Jon Medved, the founder of Jerusalem-based Israel Seed Partners, a multi-million dollar venture capital fund, came to the University of Michigan to give a lecture on high-tech development. But Medved wasn’t there to talk about Silicon Valley or another U.S. startup hub. Instead he was meeting with a group … Continue reading “U-M Investment Group TAMID Introduces Students to Entrepreneurship, Israeli Startups”
U-M Leaders Say Snyder Pick Good News for Startup Community, But Worry He’ll Be Held Up by Bureaucracy
Last week, Michigan voters elected political outsider Rick Snyder, whose resume more closely resembles that of a technology entrepreneur than a career politician, as the state’s next governor. Before stepping into the political arena, Snyder served as president of computer giant Gateway, co-founded a venture capital firm called Avalon Investments, and was chairman of Ann … Continue reading “U-M Leaders Say Snyder Pick Good News for Startup Community, But Worry He’ll Be Held Up by Bureaucracy”
For Critical Signal Technologies, An Aggressive Approach to Growing the Telehealth Industry
Jeffery Prough, CEO of Critical Signal Technologies, is taking an alternative approach to reforming the healthcare system. Instead of getting caught up in political debate, Prough is using his business to try to improve healthcare conditions. Critical Signal, the Farmington Hills, MI-based company that Prough founded in 2006, is already one of the five largest … Continue reading “For Critical Signal Technologies, An Aggressive Approach to Growing the Telehealth Industry”
TechSmith Takes Long Road to the Top in Screen Capture and Recording Software
“Why not have a high-tech company in Michigan?” This is the question Bill Hamilton asks of those incredulous of the possibilities of success of a software company based in Okemos, MI. Hamilton, an Ann Arbor native, started TechSmith in 1988, and the company, best known for its screen-capture software, has weathered the challenges of a … Continue reading “TechSmith Takes Long Road to the Top in Screen Capture and Recording Software”
U-M Student Group, MPowered, Gears Up for 1,000 Pitches, Looks to Help Build Startup Ecosystem
A culture of entrepreneurial innovation might not be something one would expect to find in a rust belt state like Michigan, but one student group at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor is trying to change that. MPowered Entrepreneurship aims to cultivate and support student entrepreneurs in hopes that they turn their ideas into … Continue reading “U-M Student Group, MPowered, Gears Up for 1,000 Pitches, Looks to Help Build Startup Ecosystem”