Category: Detroit

Nutshell Building New CRM Software From Scratch, With A Big Focus On Mobile

For Guy Suter, starting from scratch is a good thing. At least when it comes to user interfaces, he says. His Ann Arbor-based startup Nutshell is building a customer relationship management software system from the ground up that he says offers a better user experience than what’s long been out on the market. Suter first … Continue reading “Nutshell Building New CRM Software From Scratch, With A Big Focus On Mobile”

For Startups, Is Friction Always Bad?

There’s probably nary a Web entrepreneur who hasn’t had a forehead-slapping “Why didn’t I build Groupon?” moment at some point in 2010. Well, I had an experience like that this week, reading Devin Friedman’s superb article “The Viral Me” in the December issue of GQ. It’s all about the Y Combinator venture incubator in Mountain … Continue reading “For Startups, Is Friction Always Bad?”

Blue Spark Attracts Another $5M

Blue Spark Technologies, a Westlake, OH-based company that makes printed batteries for flexible electronics, among other applications, has raised an additional $5 million in B-round funds from non-institutional investors, VentureWire reports this morning. The company had raised $2.5 million in two earlier closes of the B round. Those previous investors were Early Stage Partners, which … Continue reading “Blue Spark Attracts Another $5M”

Ann Arbor’s Shepherd Intelligent Systems Hopes to Move to the Front of the Bus in GPS Fleet-Tracking Biz

If you’ve ever taken a bus … anywhere … then you know all about an unwritten Law of Motion that goes something like this: A body that arrives at a bus stop tends to stay at rest. A long time. A Second Law might state that the velocity of the bus’s arrival is in inverse … Continue reading “Ann Arbor’s Shepherd Intelligent Systems Hopes to Move to the Front of the Bus in GPS Fleet-Tracking Biz”

Blue Spark Technologies Secures $7,500,000 Series B Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=42f05d10-8ce3-4319-bdcd-45380c339d81&Preview=1 Date 12/16/2010 Company Name Blue Spark Technologies Mailing Address 806 Sharon Drive Westlake, OH 44145 Company Description Blue Spark Technologies, Inc. is the leader in developing flexible, printed, “green,” proprietary power source solutions for battery-powered printed electronic systems. The company was founded as Thin Battery Technologies in 2002 with patented technology … Continue reading “Blue Spark Technologies Secures $7,500,000 Series B Funding Round”

Real Time Farms, From Former Android Developer, Offers Crowdsourced Local Food Guides for Farmer’s Markets and Restaurants

“Android kind of felt like a startup,” Ann Arbor native Karl Rosaen says of the original development team for Google’s mobile phone platform. Rosaen says the entire team could fit inside a single conference room at the company headquarters. As a software engineer he saw Android go from the initial device launch to a technology … Continue reading “Real Time Farms, From Former Android Developer, Offers Crowdsourced Local Food Guides for Farmer’s Markets and Restaurants”

Saagara Planning New Health Apps, Getting Advice from Ted Dacko, Former HealthMedia Chief

Ann Arbor-based Saagara, the maker of breathing exercise apps for mobile devices, plans to release new products aimed at specific health conditions in the coming months after spending a year of marketing a yoga-inspired app for the iPhone, says co-founder and CEO Nagabhushanam “Bobby” Peddi. (I actually demoed the firm’s yoga breathing app online for … Continue reading “Saagara Planning New Health Apps, Getting Advice from Ted Dacko, Former HealthMedia Chief”

Lutonix Secures $10,000,001 Series C Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=de2a9b02-5079-48b1-8c88-77a31bfbe900&Preview=1 Date 12/14/2010 Company Name Lutonix Mailing Address 7351 Kirkwood Lane North Maple Grove, MN 55369 Company Description The Vision of Lutonix is to improve the quality of life for patients with vascular disease through innovative solutions. The Mission of Lutonix is to rapidly develop and commercialize the safest and most efficacious … Continue reading “Lutonix Secures $10,000,001 Series C Funding Round”

Cardiovascular Systems Receives $3,500,000 New Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=d766531c-fcf2-4482-a333-e8acd3bc0978&Preview=1 Date 12/14/2010 Company Name Cardiovascular Systems Mailing Address 651 Campus Drive St.Paul, MN 55112 Company Description Replidyne is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing innovative anti-infective products. Website http://www.replidyne.com Transaction Type Debt Transaction Amount $3,500,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes Proceeds purposes were not disclosed. SEC regulatory filing. M&A … Continue reading “Cardiovascular Systems Receives $3,500,000 New Round”

Simms named Ann Arbor SPARK CEO

Ann Arbor SPARK, a Michigan regional business incubator, has appointed Skip Simms interim president and CEO, replacing Michael Finney, who was named today as the new director of the Michigan Economic Development Corp. by Governor-elect Rick Snyder. Simms previously served as Ann Arbor Spark’s vice president for entrepreneur business development as well as manager of … Continue reading “Simms named Ann Arbor SPARK CEO”

Armune BioScience Takes $500K Top Prize, U-M Students Get Award for Clean Energy System, and More Winners from Michigan’s Big Biz Plan Contest

[Updated—12/13/10 at 8:55 pm Eastern time. See editor’s notes.]  A major business plan competition has sent its winners home with cash and other prizes to help make their dreams become reality. The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, which its organizers call the largest business plan competition in the world, has named the companies and student groups … Continue reading “Armune BioScience Takes $500K Top Prize, U-M Students Get Award for Clean Energy System, and More Winners from Michigan’s Big Biz Plan Contest”

Dell Acquires Compellent Technologies for $820,000,000

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bd4642a7-32ae-4f44-96bc-fadf172baefc&Preview=1 Date 12/13/2010 Company Name Compellent Technologies Mailing Address 7625 Smetana Lane Eden Prairie, MN 55344-3712 Company Description Compellent delivers affordable, modular storage solutions exclusively through business partners that provide companies of all sizes enterprise-level storage capabilities without big system costs or complexities. Website http://www.compellent.com Transaction Type M&A Transaction Amount $820,000,000 Transaction … Continue reading “Dell Acquires Compellent Technologies for $820,000,000”

At a Confab in Phoenix, Lamenting (and Inventing) the Future of News

What do we mean by “the news”? As recently as 20 years ago, the answer was pretty clear—it was whatever the media establishment was telling us. There were well-worn models for packaging news (in printed newspapers or half-hour broadcasts) and paying for it (through advertising and, to a lesser extent, subscriptions). There were sharply defined … Continue reading “At a Confab in Phoenix, Lamenting (and Inventing) the Future of News”

Aastrom Announces $22.5M Public Offering to Help Fund Stem Cell Trials

Aastrom Biosciences, an Ann Arbor, MI-based biotech company developing experimental adult stem cell therapy, announced this morning a $22.5 million public offering at a purchase price of $2.25 per unit. Aastrom (NASDAQ: ASTM) plans to use the proceeds for research and development expenses, according to a news release. As Luke Timmerman, Xconomy’s national biotech editor, … Continue reading “Aastrom Announces $22.5M Public Offering to Help Fund Stem Cell Trials”

High-Tech Jobs Evaporate By the Thousands in Detroit and San Francisco Bay Area; Boston, San Diego, Seattle Hold Their Own

In 2009, employment at high-tech companies either declined or stayed essentially flat in all of the cities Xconomy calls home, according to a study of the nation’s top 60 “cybercities” released this week by TechAmerica, a Washington, D.C.-based trade association for the information technology industry. Though the underwhelming job data certainly accords with most people’s … Continue reading “High-Tech Jobs Evaporate By the Thousands in Detroit and San Francisco Bay Area; Boston, San Diego, Seattle Hold Their Own”

Ann Arbor Hosts “World’s Largest” Biz Plan Contest This Week, $1M-Plus for Winners

Big dreams and lots of cash are happily colliding this week in Ann Arbor. Today begins the final three-day event for the inaugural Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, which organizers are calling “the world’s largest business plan competition.” The event at the University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex is expected to feature 50 companies from … Continue reading “Ann Arbor Hosts “World’s Largest” Biz Plan Contest This Week, $1M-Plus for Winners”

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”

FamilyMint, Fusion Coolant Systems, Shepherd Intelligent Systems Awarded Michigan Microloans

Three Michigan companies have received a combined total of $145,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, managed by the Ann Arbor Spark business incubator, bringing the total amount invested through the fund to more than $1.8 million since it was launched in July 2009. Microloans available through the fund range from $10,000 to $50,000 and … Continue reading “FamilyMint, Fusion Coolant Systems, Shepherd Intelligent Systems Awarded Michigan Microloans”

Relume Technologies Foresees Growth Driven by Advances in LED Displays, Smart Grid

Relume Technologies might become one of the great growth stories in the state of Michigan’s tech sector next year. The Oxford, MI-based maker of light-emitting diode (LED) lighting products and networked lighting control systems is aiming for significant increases in revenue and employment over the next year, president and chief technology officer Peter Hochstein says. … Continue reading “Relume Technologies Foresees Growth Driven by Advances in LED Displays, Smart Grid”

Google, Amazon Play Catch-Up in Group Buying: Analysis and Reactions from BuyWithMe, Tippr

In the Wild West of group-buying and daily-deals sites, there’s about to be a major showdown. Investors have been talking about consolidation in this sector for a while now—and it looks like that’s where things are headed. But not without a few curveballs first. Last week, Google (NASDAQ: [[ticker:GOOG]]) was widely reported to be pursuing … Continue reading “Google, Amazon Play Catch-Up in Group Buying: Analysis and Reactions from BuyWithMe, Tippr”

Plex Plumps Up With $500K to Target New Customers in Food, Healthcare, Defense Industries

Plex Systems was started in 1995 to help those in the automotive space track every single detail of the manufacturing process, and has since grown to attract more than 500 companies as customers. But now the company has beefed up with some extra private equity funding and money from its management to target new industries. … Continue reading “Plex Plumps Up With $500K to Target New Customers in Food, Healthcare, Defense Industries”

How to Raise Money for an Honest-to-God Innovative Biotech Startup: Highlights from Convergence

[Update: 1:15 pm Eastern] Lots of people in biotech think they are doing innovative things, even when they are really doing something pretty conservative, like testing a proven drug for some new use, or crafting some new way to deliver a therapy with more efficiency or convenience. But how, especially in today’s sluggish economy, do … Continue reading “How to Raise Money for an Honest-to-God Innovative Biotech Startup: Highlights from Convergence”

OnShift Garners $2,300,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=60285054-96bc-40d7-9bbf-1a92401c87c5&Preview=1 Date 12/6/2010 Company Name OnShift Mailing Address Undisclosed Cleveland, OH 44101 Company Description OnShift provides web-based staff scheduling and shift management software for the healthcare industry. Website http://www.onshift.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $2,300,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes This investment will be used to accelerate OnShift’s sales and marketing … Continue reading “OnShift Garners $2,300,000 New Funding”

Shoutlet Receives $6,000,000 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a26f8a69-e352-4aa8-a1a4-53bc0143c4b7&Preview=1 Date 12/6/2010 Company Name Shoutlet Mailing Address 1 Erdman Place Madison, WI 53717 Company Description Shoutlet provides a centralized platform that helps companies manage and monetize their social media communication. Website http://www.shoutlet.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $6,000,000 Transaction Round Series B Proceeds Purposes Shoutlet will use the funding to … Continue reading “Shoutlet Receives $6,000,000 Series B Financing”

Bill Allowing 25% Tax Credits For Angel Investors Heads For Michigan Governor’s Signature

Michigan’s angel, venture capital and entrepreneur communities are hailing this week’s passage by the state Legislature of tax breaks for angel investors. The bill, passed by both houses and expected to be signed into law by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, gives angel investors a 25 percent tax credit over two years, with a maximum of $250,000 … Continue reading “Bill Allowing 25% Tax Credits For Angel Investors Heads For Michigan Governor’s Signature”

GM Ventures Aims to Ensure Parent’s Future By Investing in the Best Automotive Startups: Q&A With President Jon Lauckner

In early July, General Motors announced the creation of its own venture capital arm, General Motors Ventures. The $100 million fund was set up, GM said, to identify and help develop and bring to market innovative automotive technologies. To date, the fund has made just two investments, but more are on the way (read on). … Continue reading “GM Ventures Aims to Ensure Parent’s Future By Investing in the Best Automotive Startups: Q&A With President Jon Lauckner”

Mobile Sign Language Startup Not Tone-Deaf to Ann Arbor Area’s Promise

When Mobile Sign Language Systems won an Ann Arbor Spark business plan competition last summer, and as a result got incubator space and other services, the University of Michigan-spawned startup was able to survive a crucial year of development. “I don’t think that our business would have been moving in the direction it’s going if … Continue reading “Mobile Sign Language Startup Not Tone-Deaf to Ann Arbor Area’s Promise”

How To Keep Academic/Big Pharma Alliances from Going off the Rails

The Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston made headlines earlier this month after siding with Novartis in a brewing legal battle with a Dana-Farber spinout, Gatekeeper Pharmaceuticals. The disagreement stems from both companies claiming they are the rightful licensees of certain intellectual property (IP) created by Dana-Farber researchers. The IP, originally committed to Gatekeeper via an … Continue reading “How To Keep Academic/Big Pharma Alliances from Going off the Rails”

NanoBio Nabs $6M from Gates Foundation for Nasal Spray Vaccine

NanoBio, the Ann Arbor, MI-based developer of new vaccine formulations made to be more potent and easy to deliver, has snapped up a $6 million grant from the Seattle-based Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The money will help fund development of the first nasal spray vaccine against one of the most common bugs that causes … Continue reading “NanoBio Nabs $6M from Gates Foundation for Nasal Spray Vaccine”

It’s Complicated: Survey Reveals Rough Patches in FDA’s Working Relationship With Life Sciences Industry

The life sciences industry says its working relationship with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has improved, particularly for the early stages of the agency’s product review process. But a survey of 50 life science companies, primarily in California and Massachusetts, also pointed to rising concerns about the latter part of the product review process, … Continue reading “It’s Complicated: Survey Reveals Rough Patches in FDA’s Working Relationship With Life Sciences Industry”

EcoSynthetix Raises $7.2M from U.S. Backers, Much More from Abroad

EcoSynthetix has garnered more support from both domestic and international investors, according to an SEC filing. The Lansing, MI-based company—which applies its “green chemistry” to make latex and other materials from renewable resources—said it has raised $7.2 million from U.S. investors in an equity funding round. The filing does not list the investors in the … Continue reading “EcoSynthetix Raises $7.2M from U.S. Backers, Much More from Abroad”

The Myth of the “Patent Cliff”

Doctors, patients, and investors who follow the biopharmaceutical business all recognize that the industry is exceedingly complex and in the midst of change. Companies struggle daily with a multifaceted mix of scientific, clinical, and business unknowns. Will a drug be medically effective and make it through clinical trials? Will it get the thumbs up from … Continue reading “The Myth of the “Patent Cliff””

Dinner With Microsoft’s Craig Mundie: On Xbox Kinect, Instantaneous Total Recall, and a More Secretive Culture

I recently had dinner here in the Boston area with Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer. With just one other guest present, it was an unusually personal and far-ranging discussion. Most of the talk was of a general nature—more background than anything else. Still, a few things stuck with me as noteworthy. I … Continue reading “Dinner With Microsoft’s Craig Mundie: On Xbox Kinect, Instantaneous Total Recall, and a More Secretive Culture”

EcoSynthetix Obtains $30,240,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=67ef5440-b4f1-4f73-9898-614b51e4db38&Preview=1 Date 11/29/2010 Company Name EcoSynthetix Mailing Address 3900 Collins Road Lansing, MI 48910 Company Description The company’s mission is to be the world’s leading supplier of biolatex™ emulsions helping our customers reduce their reliance on petroleum-based products. Website http://www.ecosynthetix.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $30,240,000 Transaction Round Undisclosed Proceeds Purposes … Continue reading “EcoSynthetix Obtains $30,240,000 New Funding”

Q3 Venture Capital Terms: Like a Rolling Stone

For me, the latest venture financing report for the third quarter that ended September 30 brings to mind Bob Dylan’s revolutionary rock ballad, “Like a Rolling Stone.” There is not only a sense of shattered hubris throughout the industry (granted, in some places more than others); there are no clear trends in the analysis of … Continue reading “Q3 Venture Capital Terms: Like a Rolling Stone”

Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition

The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition, with more than $1 million in cash for Michigan entrepreneurs, targets mid-to-late-stage business start-ups with potential to generate an immediate impact on Michigan’s economy, as well as student concepts with longer-term business viability. With more than $1 million in cash winnings, plus in-kind awards of services, staffing and software, organizers … Continue reading “Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition”

Xconomy Adds Marginize Widget for Social Conversations; Check In for a Chance to Win a Free Event Ticket

There’s a new way to share and discuss your favorite Xconomy articles with your friends on a variety of social-media channels: Marginize. If you’re reading this article on the Xconomy website, you’ll see the new Marginize tab on the far right edge of your browser window. Click on this tab and the Marginize bar will … Continue reading “Xconomy Adds Marginize Widget for Social Conversations; Check In for a Chance to Win a Free Event Ticket”

Forward Into the Breach: Private Practice and Data Security

“The fantastic advances in the field of electronic communication constitute a greater danger to the privacy of the individual.” 1963 quote from Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren. I moderated a panel last week for Xconomy that was focused on consumer-oriented healthcare information technology. The panel included 2 hospital chief information officers (one current, one … Continue reading “Forward Into the Breach: Private Practice and Data Security”

Scale Computing Garners $17,000,000 Series C Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=2685f558-c426-49ad-bb8e-2643f91d781a&Preview=1 Date 11/23/2010 Company Name Scale Computing Mailing Address 5225 Exploration Drive Indianapolis, IN 46241 Company Description Scale Computing was founded to reduce storage costs, increase your control, and make managing storage much more convenient. We call it the Three Cs. Others call it the emergence of Third Generation storage. Our customers … Continue reading “Scale Computing Garners $17,000,000 Series C Round”

BioArbor: Taking Your Company to the Next Level

This MichBio- and Spark-sponsored event aims to educate entrepreneurs on how to accelerate their startups. NRG Energy director Walt Young and George Dunbar, chairman of Accuri Cytometers and Arboretum Ventures partner, will share their insights on getting companies roaring. Register here.

Ann Arbor OpenCoffee

This free morning networking event aims to connect the different entrepreneurs and investors in the area. They’ll likely come from companies in the cleantech, IT, and life sciences spaces. Sign up here to let them know you’re dropping by, too.

GloStream Seeks to Make Software Easy for Doctors to Use, Built on What They Already Know—Microsoft Office

Troy, MI-based gloStream calls itself the Microsoft Office of medical practice software. Yet in addition to emulating the business strategy behind Microsoft’s dominant desktop applications franchise, gloStream has actually built its software for doctors’ offices on the Redmond, WA-based software giant’s (NASDAQ:[[ticker:MSFT]]) technology. There are thousands of companies that embed Microsoft technology into their software—and … Continue reading “GloStream Seeks to Make Software Easy for Doctors to Use, Built on What They Already Know—Microsoft Office”

Calling All Entrepreneurs: Participate in a UN Survey on Entrepreneurship and Innovation

How do men and women small business owners approach innovation differently? That’s one of the questions the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development is seeking to answer through a six-country study that’s going on as we speak—as one of the organizers of the study, I’m looking for entrepreneurs in the U.S., both male and … Continue reading “Calling All Entrepreneurs: Participate in a UN Survey on Entrepreneurship and Innovation”

Apple TV vs. Roku: Battle of the Set-Top Boxes

Hi, my name is Wade, and it’s been 20 months since I paid for premium cable TV. As longtime Xconomy readers know, I canceled all but my basic cable channels in March 2009. Back then, it was a fairly radical thing to do, but nowadays I run into people all the time who’ve realized that … Continue reading “Apple TV vs. Roku: Battle of the Set-Top Boxes”

Formspring Garners $10,000,000 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a1788304-8d36-4794-8445-7dd173016b02&Preview=1 Date 11/19/2010 Company Name Formspring Mailing Address 6525 E. 82nd St Indianapolis, IN 46250 Company Description The Formspring.me product is still quite simple, enabling users to create a page inviting people to ask them anything, even anonymously. Wechsler said the company’s first priority is keeping up with infrastructure demands; it currently … Continue reading “Formspring Garners $10,000,000 New Funding”

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”