Join community innovators, entrepreneurs, and business leaders for a day of networking and workshops. GLEQ and SmartZone award winners will be announced during the evening program. For registration and more information, click here.
Category: Detroit
Entrepreneur Innovation Series: How to Start a Sales Call
The Southfield Chamber of Commerce’s Entrepreneur Innovation Series continues with Kirk Armstrong of Gary Weinberg & Associates helping participants rethink how they approach the first five minutes of a sales call. To register, click here.
Working the Trade Show Effectively
This lunch and learn session will help train staff in how to work a trade show booth properly. Topics of discussion include planning and goal setting; effective communication tactics; qualifying and gathering leads; personal behavior, habits and grooming; and successful lead follow-up. For details, click here.
NanoBio, Merck to Collaborate on Gates-Funded RSV Vaccine
The acronym RSV is one that often inspires dread in the hearts of parents—it stands for Respiratory Syncytial Virus, and it hospitalizes 75,000 to 125,000 children under the age of one each year, infecting almost all children by the age of two. RSV can also have a life-threatening impact on the elderly. There is a … Continue reading “NanoBio, Merck to Collaborate on Gates-Funded RSV Vaccine”
Greenstart Accelerator Hatches Four Energy Startups
Will the startup accelerator model that’s proved so popular and successful in the Web and mobile sectors also help to boost entrepreneurship in other industries, such as healthcare and cleantech? In a tottering economy that needs all the job-creating companies it can get, that’s a crucial question. And here in the Bay Area, it’s been … Continue reading “Greenstart Accelerator Hatches Four Energy Startups”
Lessons on Bouncing Back From Disaster
Disaster is defined by Merriam-Webster as a sudden or great misfortune or failure. In 2006, NPS Pharmaceuticals had certainly experienced its own “disaster.” With much of the company’s resources dedicated to building a commercial infrastructure in anticipation of FDA approval of its lead product for osteoporosis, the company was thrown a curve ball. NPS received … Continue reading “Lessons on Bouncing Back From Disaster”
Xconomist of the Week: Stephen Wolfram on Big Ideas & Companies
Stephen Wolfram is not one to be summed up in a few pithy quotes. Well, too bad. Here is his life in a nutshell: “I grew up in England and went to all sorts of good schools that I thought were completely irrelevant.” “By the time I was 20 years old, I was a physics … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Stephen Wolfram on Big Ideas & Companies”
Urban Science Expands Detroit Headquarters to Accommodate Growth
Urban Science, a Detroit-based company founded 34 years ago to help bridge science and marketing functions primarily for automotive clients, recently announced it has expanded to a larger and completely renovated 100,000-square-foot space. The new digs, at 400 Renaissance Center in Detroit, will accommodate Urban Science’s growing business and work force. “People think of the … Continue reading “Urban Science Expands Detroit Headquarters to Accommodate Growth”
Ingenuitas Puts Open-Source Software to Work in Manufacturing
In ancient Roman times, Ingenuitas was a legal term for those who had been born free, and the word served to distinguish those who had enjoyed freedom since birth from freemen who started out in slavery. Nathan Oostendorp, Katherine Scott, and Anthony Oliver chose Ingenuitas as the name of their startup tech company because the … Continue reading “Ingenuitas Puts Open-Source Software to Work in Manufacturing”
Classing Up the Joint
Regular visitors to Xconomy.com may have noticed that we did some redecorating over the weekend. Our new look and feel, courtesy of the crazy talented Rob Hunter of True Italic in New York, is the first in a series of changes we’ll be making over the next few months—all aimed at making it easier and … Continue reading “Classing Up the Joint”
Lean Startups? I Prefer Mine Phat
I read the book and found it quite enjoyable. And with all due respect to Eric Ries and all of the VCs out there chasing lean startups, I recognized one simple truth. I still like my startups Phat. A phat startup aims to solve a very big, very difficult problem that will transform an industry. … Continue reading “Lean Startups? I Prefer Mine Phat”
It Takes a Village to Raise a Biotech Startup: Highlights from the Tweetchat
Carol Gallagher, the former CEO of Calistoga Pharmaceuticals, is glad to see Gilead Sciences spending billions on acquiring a new drug for hepatitis C, rather than spending billions on stock buybacks. And Jason Rhodes, the chief business officer of Epizyme, borrowed a line from Hillary Clinton, on how “it takes a village” to raise a … Continue reading “It Takes a Village to Raise a Biotech Startup: Highlights from the Tweetchat”
While Politicians Fight, Entrepreneurs Focus on “Smart Health”
A new decade of “smart health” arrived in 2011. Granted, it wasn’t always easy to discern – what with the noisy background of healthcare legal challenges and political one-upmanship. Fortunately, even while various policies continue to be ironed out, a set of resilient entrepreneurs have been busy making sure we get smarter about our health. … Continue reading “While Politicians Fight, Entrepreneurs Focus on “Smart Health””
Power2Switch Lands $1,300,000 New Funding Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fdfbca62-4004-4dad-ab5d-fa5185f8fecc&Preview=1 Date 12/6/2011 Company Name Power2Switch Mailing Address 820 W Jackson Blvd Chicago, IL 60607 Company Description Power2Switch empowers both households and businesses by providing access to practical information and continuing education, enabling our clients to make smart, cost-effective, and sustainable decisions about energy usage. Website http://www.Power2Switch.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction … Continue reading “Power2Switch Lands $1,300,000 New Funding Round”
ALTe Named to Forbes List of America’s Most Promising Companies
Last week, Forbes magazine announced that Auburn Hills, MI-based ALTe Powertrain Technologies, developer of the first range-extended plug-in hybrid electric vehicle powertrain for light commercial fleet applications, made its list of America’s most promising companies. ALTe is one of only three companies listed in the Capitol Goods industry category, the only hybrid technology company, and the … Continue reading “ALTe Named to Forbes List of America’s Most Promising Companies”
Join Us at 3 pm ET/Noon PT for Tweetchat on Biotech Startups
Quick reminder for those of you on Twitter to join us for a live chat at 3 pm Eastern/Noon Pacific on the state of biotech startups. Carol Gallagher (@carol_gallagher) and Jason Rhodes (@JasonPaulRhodes) are the featured guests, who will field questions on how biotech startups can make it at a time when biotech venture capital … Continue reading “Join Us at 3 pm ET/Noon PT for Tweetchat on Biotech Startups”
Steve Jobs’s Dying Realization About Biology and Technology
Take a guess who made the following statement: “I think the biggest innovations of the 21st century will be at the intersection of biology and technology. A new era is beginning.” A. Bill Gates B. Steve Jobs C. Paul Allen The comment has gotten little attention in the last few weeks, but it jumped off … Continue reading “Steve Jobs’s Dying Realization About Biology and Technology”
iPubSci: An Alternative to Unaffordable Science Journals
Advances in the biomedical sciences are highly dependent upon researchers having a clear understanding of the current state of knowledge. This information is primarily acquired by having access to the scientific literature via professional journals and, less commonly, books. Unfortunately, this body of literature has not only expanded greatly over the past few decades, most … Continue reading “iPubSci: An Alternative to Unaffordable Science Journals”
U-M Competition Helps Earliest Stage Startups Refine Business Models
The Michigan Business Challenge, a four-month business plan competition sponsored by the University of Michigan’s Zell Lurie Institute, kicks off today in Ann Arbor. Student teams will compete for $60,000, gaining valuable feedback and broadening networks along the way. And the public is invited to watch at every step. Tim Faley, managing director of the institute … Continue reading “U-M Competition Helps Earliest Stage Startups Refine Business Models”
WeVideo Makes Cloud Video Editing Look Like Kids’ Stuff
Video editing software is way too hard to use. At least, that seems to be what most consumers think. It explains why most of the videos you’ll find on YouTube and other video sharing sites are so raw, with no cuts, titles, or other effects. Apparently, people have a hard enough time just getting video … Continue reading “WeVideo Makes Cloud Video Editing Look Like Kids’ Stuff”
Join Us for a Tweetchat Monday on Biotech Startups
[Update: 10:50 am PT] Biotech VCs had their chance to vent on Twitter last week about the sad state of affairs in financing startups, and now it’s time for the entrepreneurs to take their turn. So we’re bringing together a couple of top biotech startup executives, Carol Gallagher and Jason Rhodes, to share their thoughts … Continue reading “Join Us for a Tweetchat Monday on Biotech Startups”
Define My Style Obtains $690,000 Seed Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=fed39a1d-ea26-40d0-b420-56d3dc18bf86&Preview=1 Date 12/2/2011 Company Name Define My Style Mailing Address 1917 Bigelow St Cincinnati, OH 45219 Company Description Define My Style is an online, style-centric community to empower creative and curious high school and college girls, ages 15-24. Access to this audience is highly desirable to B2C companies; creating B2C2B opportunities. Members … Continue reading “Define My Style Obtains $690,000 Seed Funding”
WorkForce Software Raises $17 Million in Series A, Mezzanine Funding
Livonia, MI-based WorkForce Software recently announced it has raised $17 million in Series A and mezzanine funding. The round of funding came from Los Angeles-based K1 Capital and Raleigh, NC-based Triangle Capital, and is a combination of Series A funding ($5 million) and mezzanine funding ($12 million). The company was founded in 1999 by three Michigan natives … Continue reading “WorkForce Software Raises $17 Million in Series A, Mezzanine Funding”
Xconomist of the Week: 5 Questions with Sapphire Energy CEO Jason Pyle
November was a big month for news in the algae-based biofuels sector. On November 7, roughly four months after renewable fuels were approved for use in commercial aviation, United Airlines flew passengers from Houston to Chicago aboard a Boeing 737-800 powered by a mixture of algae-based jet fuel and conventional, petroleum-based fuel. Two days later, … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: 5 Questions with Sapphire Energy CEO Jason Pyle”
A123 Lays Off 125 Staff at Michigan Plants
Waltham, MA-based A123 Systems (NASDAQ: [[ticker:AONE]]), the lithium-ion battery maker, has laid off about 125 employees at its manufacturing facilities in Livonia and Romulus, MI. The news originally broke the week of Thanksgiving and was reported by media outlets including the Observer & Eccentric and Crain’s Detroit Business. The layoffs are apparently the result of … Continue reading “A123 Lays Off 125 Staff at Michigan Plants”
Cheers and Jeers: National Surveys Find Southeast Michigan Sad, Booming, Smart
Another day, another (wholly unscientific) survey from Men’s Health indicating Detroit is a crappy place to live. This time, they’ve named the Motor City the second saddest city in the United States; in August, the lad mag skewered residents of our fair city for not buying iPads fast enough. This time around, they’ve created their … Continue reading “Cheers and Jeers: National Surveys Find Southeast Michigan Sad, Booming, Smart”
You’ll Be Dead Soon-Carpe Diem
Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything—all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure—these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. —Steve Jobs Watching an … Continue reading “You’ll Be Dead Soon-Carpe Diem”
MSU Bioeconomy Institute Snags State and Federal Funding For Proof of Concept Center
The Michigan State University Bioeconomy Institute in Holland, MI announced earlier this month that, in an effort to establish a cluster of biotech businesses, it is the recipient of more than $1 million in grants: $580,000 from the U.S. Commerce Department’s Economic Development Administration and $500,000 from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The grants will … Continue reading “MSU Bioeconomy Institute Snags State and Federal Funding For Proof of Concept Center”
WorkForce Software Garners $17,000,000 Series A Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=8c295bad-6d91-4008-8991-2d29c789945a&Preview=1 Date 11/29/2011 Company Name WorkForce Software Mailing Address 38705 Seven Mile Road Livonia, MI 48152 Company Description WorkForce Software, Inc. is a leader in workforce management software and time and attendance systems for mid-sized and large employers. Website http://www.workforcesoftware.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $17,000,000 Transaction Round Series A Proceeds … Continue reading “WorkForce Software Garners $17,000,000 Series A Funding”
CEED Microloan Orientation
In today’s economic climate, many companies face a shortage of capital. Come to this meeting to learn more about microlending, an alternative funding strategy. Click here for details and registration.
BioArbor: Pitching to Venture Capitalists
A group of investors and Accuri Cryometers officials will re-enact the pitch presentation they gave in 2007 . The audience will have the opportunity to interrupt the pitch at any time to ask questions. To register, click here.
Cracking the Entrepreneur Code
[Editor’s Note: This article is a lightly edited transcript of a talk delivered by Ryan Howard, founder and CEO of Practice Fusion, at Morgenthaler Ventures’ DC to VC Healthcare IT Showcase on September 22, 2011.] At Practice Fusion, it took us three years to get to our first million dollars in revenue. Electronic health records … Continue reading “Cracking the Entrepreneur Code”
Versant Ventures’ Partner Cuts Back on Biotech Work to Spend Time With Family. For Real
You learn early in journalism that when a business leader says he or she is resigning to “spend more time with family,” it’s usually baloney. Maybe they clashed with colleagues, got a better job somewhere else, or are bailing out from a sinking ship. The shades of gray are rarely discussed publicly. Yet Versant Ventures’ … Continue reading “Versant Ventures’ Partner Cuts Back on Biotech Work to Spend Time With Family. For Real”
The Green Garage Hopes To Incubate Urban Sustainability in Detroit
For months, we watched the renovations and wondered what the heck they were turning that building a few doors down from the Bronx bar into. A Whole Foods, someone said. A bike shop, the construction worker lounging outside the building two summers ago told me confidently. Finally, we divined a name from the sign posted … Continue reading “The Green Garage Hopes To Incubate Urban Sustainability in Detroit”
Ann Arbor Data Center Open House
Online Tech hosts an open house to celebrate the opening of its new data center. Industry and compliance experts from Dell, Comcast, and VMWare will be on hand to answer questions. To register, click here.
What Happens When a Herd of VCs Runs Away From Biotech? Highlights From Yesterday’s Tweetchat
[Corrected: 8:41 am ET] Turns out you can say a whole lot about the biotech venture capital crisis in 140 characters or less. Yesterday, Xconomy hosted a lively back-and-forth on the state of life sciences investing and innovation with guest Daphne Zohar (@daphnezohar), the founder and managing partner of Boston-based PureTech Ventures. I tried to … Continue reading “What Happens When a Herd of VCs Runs Away From Biotech? Highlights From Yesterday’s Tweetchat”
PBS NewsHour Features Xconomy in Report on Startup Accelerators
In a segment featured Tuesday night on the PBS NewsHour, correspondent Hari Sreenivasan brings an outsider’s curiosity to the strange, wonderful world of startup accelerators. The eight-minute report features Sreenivasan’s interviews with entrepreneurs and mentors at TechStars, AngelPad, and Y Combinator—archetypes of the venture incubator wave (or is it a bubble?) that we’ve been chronicling … Continue reading “PBS NewsHour Features Xconomy in Report on Startup Accelerators”
News Flash: Grass is Green, Sky is Blue, VCs are White Men
“Yeah, I love being famous. It’s almost like being white, y’know?”-Chris Rock On Monday, November 21, the National Venture Capital Association and Dow Jones VentureSource released the results of the 2011 Venture Census, which reported statistics about ethnicity, gender and other characteristics of the venture capital industry garnered from a poll that included 600 VC … Continue reading “News Flash: Grass is Green, Sky is Blue, VCs are White Men”
7 Questions LPs Should Ask VCs (But Don’t)
It’s that time of year: annual investor meetings for limited partners (LPs). LPs are the people who fund venture firms and the general partners (GPs) are the people who lead them. At these meetings, LPs pour over general partners’ (GPs’) reports, calculate TVPI (total value: paid in)/ IRR (internal rate of return), digest confidential past … Continue reading “7 Questions LPs Should Ask VCs (But Don’t)”
Xconomist of the Week: Larry Smarr’s Quest for ‘Quantified Health’
A couple of months ago, the publisher and CEO of the weekly Strategic News Service Newsletter introduced an article by San Diego Xconomist Larry Smarr, saying, “This issue may be the most important Special Letter we have ever published.” Smarr’s 23-page article, which takes up the newsletter’s entire Sept. 26 issue, is part scientific paper … Continue reading “Xconomist of the Week: Larry Smarr’s Quest for ‘Quantified Health’”
Join Us at Noon ET/9 am PT for a Tweetchat on the Biotech VC Crisis With Daphne Zohar
Just a quick reminder here to join us for the Tweetchat today with Daphne Zohar of PureTech Ventures. This chat, on the crisis in biotech venture capital, will be on Twitter today at Noon Eastern/9 am Pacific. I will be asking questions from @ldtimmerman and @xconomy while Zohar will be answering from her account (@daphnezohar).You … Continue reading “Join Us at Noon ET/9 am PT for a Tweetchat on the Biotech VC Crisis With Daphne Zohar”
Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter on Tackling the Pharmaceutical R&D Crisis (Part 2)
Yesterday, we ran the first installment of an interview with Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter, in which he says the pharmaceutical industry is breaking out of its current rut, and is beginning to get more productive at pumping out more innovative new drugs. Today, we follow up with the second half of the interview, which … Continue reading “Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter on Tackling the Pharmaceutical R&D Crisis (Part 2)”
ExactTarget Obtains $40,000,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=20574107-203d-4953-ad95-45a55b3c0e30&Preview=1 Date 11/22/2011 Company Name ExactTarget Mailing Address 20 North Meridian Street Indianapolis, IN 46204 Company Description ExactTarget is on a mission. We’re dedicated to providing the most powerful on-demand software for email communications and finding the best and brightest marketers on the planet to revolutionize the way people think about email. … Continue reading “ExactTarget Obtains $40,000,000 New Funding”
ArdentCause: Women on the Verge
One day, Rosemary Bayer came to her friend Kathleen Norton-Schock with an idea sparked by her experience as a volunteer for the Michigan Council of Women in Technology (MCWT): How could a nonprofit better manage volunteers and resources while improving communication with grantees? Though they didn’t realize it at that moment, Bayer’s idea became the … Continue reading “ArdentCause: Women on the Verge”
Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter on Tackling the Pharmaceutical R&D Crisis (Part 1)
John Lechleiter has spent his entire 32-year career at Eli Lilly, and now he’s the CEO just as the company faces one of the bigger challenges in its history. Over a three-year stretch, Lilly will lose patent protection on five blockbuster drugs that generated $12.7 billion in sales last year—more than half of its revenues. … Continue reading “Eli Lilly CEO John Lechleiter on Tackling the Pharmaceutical R&D Crisis (Part 1)”
Braintree Obtains $1,000,007 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5d1b3469-1fca-4906-ae21-0495e526ebe0&Preview=1 Date 11/21/2011 Company Name Braintree Mailing Address 833 W. Jackson Chicago, IL 60607 Company Description We help businesses process credit card payments by providing a merchant account, payment gateway, recurring billing and credit card storage. We work with companies primarily based in the U.S. but do have several large international customers. … Continue reading “Braintree Obtains $1,000,007 New Funding”
ChanRx Obtains New Financing Round
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=cab9e67d-260e-4544-af3b-859c342ed807&Preview=1 Date 11/21/2011 Company Name ChanRx Mailing Address Undisclosed Garfield Heights, OH 44105 Company Description The company is developing small molecule drugs to treat atrial fibrillation. Website Undisclosed Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount Undisclosed Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes The company, a spin out of Cleveland-based ChanTest, will use the funding … Continue reading “ChanRx Obtains New Financing Round”
DeNovo Sciences Wins Accelerate Michigan’s $500K Grand Prize
Fifty-three companies and 42 angel and investment groups participated in this year’s Accelerate Michigan business plan competition, which just wrapped up Thursday evening with the announcement of contest winners. At stake, according to event organizers, was more than $1 million in cash and prizes. Participants competed for prizes ranging from $10,000 to $500,000 over three … Continue reading “DeNovo Sciences Wins Accelerate Michigan’s $500K Grand Prize”
Why Mint.com for Health Is a Terrible Idea, and How Keas Pivoted
If you’re a hammer, you just want to smash nails; if you’re a programmer, you just want to build features. But features do not a successful product make. This is the central myopia that eventually blinds even the most brilliant engineer-entrepreneurs, unless they’re smart enough to surround themselves with people who can check their bias. … Continue reading “Why Mint.com for Health Is a Terrible Idea, and How Keas Pivoted”
SetPoint Medical Obtains $1,500,000 New Funding
Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6ac111fc-c58f-4a6c-bfc0-e9ab1b420f65&Preview=1 Date 11/18/2011 Company Name SetPoint Medical Mailing Address 1000 Twelve Oakes Center Wayzata, MN 55391 Company Description The company develops neuron-modulation platform technology to treat chronic diseases. Website http://www.setpointmedical.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $1,500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Senior convertible promissory note. Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory … Continue reading “SetPoint Medical Obtains $1,500,000 New Funding”