Category: Detroit

Backstitch Flips Switch on Service Aiming to Cut Through Web’s Noise

Backstitch, the Detroit-based software startup that automatically curates content and organizes the noise of the Internet according to users’ preferences, went live last week with expanded tools and services, the culmination of about a year’s work teasing out what its customers truly want, the company said. Co-founder Jordan Warzecha said that Backstitch still offers a … Continue reading “Backstitch Flips Switch on Service Aiming to Cut Through Web’s Noise”

FDA Cuts Limit on Esperion Cholesterol Drug, Considers Competitors

[Corrected 7/8/15, 1:40 p.m. See below.] As the FDA considers whether to approve two new cholesterol drugs with blockbuster potential, the agency also removed a “partial clinical hold” on the amount the maker of a third competing drug can test in clinical trials. Esperion Therapeutics, based in Ann Arbor, MI, announced Tuesday that the FDA removed … Continue reading “FDA Cuts Limit on Esperion Cholesterol Drug, Considers Competitors”

Intern Season is Here—But Companies Need A Better Hiring Strategy

It’s summer and that means intern season is in full swing. According to a recent Washington Post piece by Jeffrey Selingo, “More than 70 to 80 percent of new hires at big companies like Facebook, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, and eBay come through their internship programs now, compared to about half or less just a decade ago.” … Continue reading “Intern Season is Here—But Companies Need A Better Hiring Strategy”

ONL Therapeutics Promotes New Lead Drug, Expands Clinical Program

ONL Therapeutics, a University of Michigan spin-out working on sight-preserving therapies for retinal diseases, announced that it has changed course in its drug development program. The company has promoted a new lead drug candidate and has expanded its planned clinical studies to include both dry and wet forms of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). John Freshley, … Continue reading “ONL Therapeutics Promotes New Lead Drug, Expands Clinical Program”

Biopharmaceutical Haiku, Round Two

Ebola doctors Heroic efforts admired Angels of mercy!   Genome sequencing Compare normal with patient Secrets revealed   Next-gen sequencing One big issue still out there Interpretation   Republicans rule Eye Affordable Care Act Newly covered screwed?   2.3 percent Medical devices tax Soon to disappear?   Advertised widely Personalized medicine More substance, less hype … Continue reading “Biopharmaceutical Haiku, Round Two”

Weyn Seeks to Develop Mobile Games Targeting Women, People of Color

Ida Byrd-Hill first came to Xconomy’s attention in 2011 for her efforts to introduce Detroit kids to the “wild, wild world of intellectual property” through a board game called Fluke: The Wealth Building Game of Accidential Inventions. Now, Byrd-Hill is taking the same approach—teaching people about wealth through gaming—and putting a digital spin on it. … Continue reading “Weyn Seeks to Develop Mobile Games Targeting Women, People of Color”

Why I Killed Noncompetes at My Startup—And You Should, Too

There’s a battle brewing in Boston that every local startup founder and employee is closely watching, but the outcome will have implications far beyond Massachusetts. As our state legislature weighs several bills that would ban noncompete agreements, the New England Venture Capital Association (NEVCA) and many entrepreneurs, including myself, are arguing that the time is … Continue reading “Why I Killed Noncompetes at My Startup—And You Should, Too”

Roundup: Hatch Detroit, TechTown, DeNovo, & More

Here’s a look at news you may have missed from Michigan’s innovation hubs: —Comerica Hatch Detroit, the annual contest that awards $50,000 to the winning startup venture, will accept applications from entrepreneurs until July 24. (All applications must be filled out online.) In addition to the cash, the winner will also receive a package of … Continue reading “Roundup: Hatch Detroit, TechTown, DeNovo, & More”

Five Obstacles That Impede Startup Innovation

If you’re building a startup, chances are that you’re aspiring to innovate – to create something new or do something differently. In fact, innovation and entrepreneurship go hand in hand. However, many startups unwittingly create obstacles that hamper innovation in their organization. What are some of those obstacles and how can you avoid them? Fear … Continue reading “Five Obstacles That Impede Startup Innovation”

Milestones of Innovation 9: Early Bird On Station

Fifty years ago, on June 28, 1965, an exotic device named Early Bird made it possible to transmit an uninterrupted live television show across the Atlantic from Europe to America or vice versa. This event, a landmark on the way to today’s interconnected world, happened less than 40 years after the first radio-telephone conversations between … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 9: Early Bird On Station”

Out of the Digital Health Fog, More Investments Are Coming in 2015

Venture capitalists have been talking up the rewards of digital health for some time now, and we are certainly putting our money where our mouth is. Record-breaking dollars continue to flow into health care IT startups. According to Rock Health, digital health saw over $4B in funding in 2014, more than doubling funding from 2013 … Continue reading “Out of the Digital Health Fog, More Investments Are Coming in 2015”

U-M’s Desai Family Accelerator Announces Inaugural Startup Class

Last summer, the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and College of Engineering announced the creation of a new accelerator that would be open to any startup—no university affiliation required. Earlier this month, the Desai Family Accelerator selected its first cohort of five companies, and they’ll now spend the summer trying to refine and … Continue reading “U-M’s Desai Family Accelerator Announces Inaugural Startup Class”

How Your Startup Can Run With Unicorns

Have you noticed those unicorns outside your office? Recently, there’s been an uptick in the all-important $1 billion “unicorn” valuation for startups in the tech industry. In the VC-funded startup community, the young companies receiving such valuations are in the media daily. When an entrepreneur considers her unicorn counterparts, it’s not hard to see why … Continue reading “How Your Startup Can Run With Unicorns”

Library High: San Francisco Public Library Offers Online Diploma With Cengage

[Corrected 6/26/15, 9:32 am. See below.] Educational technology is often cast as a solution to the high cost of a college degree, which Americans see as the essential gateway to reasonable earnings. But in San Francisco, which has one of the most highly educated populations in the country, more than 30,000 people over 25 lack … Continue reading “Library High: San Francisco Public Library Offers Online Diploma With Cengage”

Blue Medora Garners $4,103,286 New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1ef9f2e1-3d00-4989-a207-5c3f300a1d37 Date 6/25/2015 Company Name Blue Medora Mailing Address 3225 N Evergreen Dr NE Grand Rapids, MI 49525 USA Company Description Based in Grand Rapids, MI USA, Blue Medora is a software development company specializing in the development, implementation, and support of software products for the enterprise systems management marketplace. Website http://www.bluemedora.com … Continue reading “Blue Medora Garners $4,103,286 New Funding”

Metro Detroit Teacher’s App Helps Students Master Organic Chemistry

In 20 years of teaching college-level organic chemistry to high school students at Detroit Country Day, Julia Winter has perfected a method of conveying difficult scientific concepts to students. Now, she’s formed a company based in Ann Arbor, MI, called Alchemie to share what she’s learned with parents and kids. The endeavor began two years … Continue reading “Metro Detroit Teacher’s App Helps Students Master Organic Chemistry”

Introducing Exome, Xconomy’s New Home For Biotech and Health Coverage

By now you’ve had a day or two to meet Exome, Xconomy’s new place for all things life sciences, health, and biotech, which launched Monday. Let me amend that. Some things are new, which I’ll get to in a moment, but some things remain the same: the reporting and analysis you expect from me, Ben … Continue reading “Introducing Exome, Xconomy’s New Home For Biotech and Health Coverage”

U.S. IPO Activity Loses Steam to PE Deals in First Half of 2015

In the strange times category of today’s innovation news, a preview of IPO activity through the first half of 2015 suggests that market bubbles don’t always rise. In fact, the total number of IPO deals and proceeds actually sank through the first half of 2015, with 101 IPOs raising total proceeds of $19.7 billion, according … Continue reading “U.S. IPO Activity Loses Steam to PE Deals in First Half of 2015”

Automation Alley Puts More Cash Into Civionics, Lighthouse Molding

Automation Alley, the Troy, MI-based technology business association and accelerator, announced today that it has put additional money into two of its incubator clients, Civionics and Lighthouse Molding, through its pre-seed fund. Each company received $25,000 earlier this year when they started in Automation Alley’s 7Cs program to help advanced manufacturing startups grow. Today, Civionics … Continue reading “Automation Alley Puts More Cash Into Civionics, Lighthouse Molding”

Houston Dares to Challenge the Bicoastal Model of Biotech Growth

World-class universities, prominent medical institutions, a talented workforce, access to capital and favorable geography are critical factors required to stimulate and support a dynamic regional bioscience industry. Some might believe that these factors only converge along the coasts of New England and California, and many new and growing biotech companies may feel that they are … Continue reading “Houston Dares to Challenge the Bicoastal Model of Biotech Growth”

Welcome To The Sharing Economy. Cancer Researchers Are Next.

We’re sharing everything these days. Rides. Spare rooms. Pictures of things wrapped in bacon. Our thoughts, 24 hours a day. Next up: Cancer data? It can’t come soon enough for Charles Sawyers. Sawyers is one of the world’s most decorated cancer researchers, and his long resumé includes crucial work that helped make imatinib (Gleevec) one … Continue reading “Welcome To The Sharing Economy. Cancer Researchers Are Next.”

Roundup: MI Science Center, Phrixus, #hack4detroit, Quicken Loans

Here’s a look at news from around Michigan’s innovation hubs: —University of Michigan spin-out Phrixus Pharmaceuticals is taking another step toward clinical trials of its Duchenne muscular dystrophy drug, thanks to more support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s SMARTT program will provide services to produce … Continue reading “Roundup: MI Science Center, Phrixus, #hack4detroit, Quicken Loans”

Transforming Health Care for Those Who Need it Most

Like other engaged consumers, my family of athletes tries out many of the new healthcare related wearables and apps. From counting steps to counting calories, there is a site or app out there for everything we do. But it’s not my immediate family that can benefit most from these tools. Today, devices are bought and … Continue reading “Transforming Health Care for Those Who Need it Most”

Flagship CEO on Backing NY Biotech, Moderna, and Investing in a Boom

It’s been a jam-packed few months for Flagship Ventures, one of the Boston area’s most well-known biotech startup creators. The Cambridge, MA-based VC firm just raised a $537 million fund of its own, and recently became a founding investor in the eye-popping $217 million Series A for Denali Therapeutics, a startup led by a group … Continue reading “Flagship CEO on Backing NY Biotech, Moderna, and Investing in a Boom”

Lycera Secures $29,892,748 Series B Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=34e39712-ee89-4c9e-b14d-b8f09f530ae4 Date 6/22/2015 Company Name Lycera Mailing Address 2800 Plymouth Rd. Ann Arbor, MI 48109 USA Company Description Lycera is an early-stage pharmaceutical company developing first-in-class drugs to treat immune disorders. Lycera’s technology platforms include proprietary small molecules that modulate a target, which is central to cellular bioenergetics along with molecules that … Continue reading “Lycera Secures $29,892,748 Series B Financing”

Are You a Human Closes on $4.2M Series A, Plans Expansion of Human ‘Whitelist’

Are You a Human, the Detroit-based technology company focused on online identity verification, announced today that it has closed on a $4.2 million Series A round. Participating in the round were Detroit Venture Partners, which has invested in the company in the past; Boulder, CO-based Foundry Group Angels; MDC Dream Ventures, the investment arm of … Continue reading “Are You a Human Closes on $4.2M Series A, Plans Expansion of Human ‘Whitelist’”

Social Media Day Detroit

Business professionals, innovators, influencers, and interested citizens are invited to participate in this event for an opportunity to connect their online networks offline, in a face-to-face setting, bringing communities closer together. Event includes a fireside chat about technology’s role in a resurgent city. For more information, click here.

Wallet, Watch, and What We Learned from Google I/O and Apple’s WWDC

The two leading platform owners in the smartphone industry, Apple and Google, are going in very different directions—particularly in their philosophies about privacy, and approaches to the “next billion” smartphone users—with major implications for app developers and consumers. Team Apptentive attended both companies’ annual developer conferences, held in late May and early June, in San … Continue reading “Wallet, Watch, and What We Learned from Google I/O and Apple’s WWDC”

Are You a Human Obtains $4,200,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=3e505e44-92dc-4783-8c92-b64c9d9564ce Date 6/18/2015 Company Name Are You a Human Mailing Address 1555 Broadway St. Detroit, MI 48226 USA Company Description Are You a Human, LLC develops human authentication applet for use on websites. The company was formerly known as AYaH, LLC. It was incorporated in 2011 and is based in Ann Arbor, … Continue reading “Are You a Human Obtains $4,200,000 Series A Financing”

In the Age of Uber, Lawn Guru Takes Yard Care Services Digital

The Uber-fication of modern life continues as service providers of all stripes realize they can capitalize on the peer-to-peer service model that has worked so well for the ride-sharing startup. Just in time for summer, there’s a new, locally based app called Lawn Guru that allows users to connect with lawn care professionals and order … Continue reading “In the Age of Uber, Lawn Guru Takes Yard Care Services Digital”

A123 Systems, Apple Reach Settlement and Dismiss Lawsuit

A123 Systems has agreed to dismiss a lawsuit it filed against Apple for allegedly “poaching” the electric-car battery maker’s employees. The companies have reached a confidential settlement agreement, according to a document filed Monday in Massachusetts district court. No terms of the settlement were released in the court documents. A123’s attorney Michael Rosen of Foley … Continue reading “A123 Systems, Apple Reach Settlement and Dismiss Lawsuit”

Dynatrace and Keynote Merge to Dominate in App Performance

Quick: name a Boston-based software company with 1,700 employees, $450 million in annual revenue, and plenty of room to grow. Oh, and it’s also currently running a 26 percent pre-tax profit, according to its CEO. That would be Dynatrace, which was spun out of Detroit tech giant Compuware last December after the latter was bought … Continue reading “Dynatrace and Keynote Merge to Dominate in App Performance”

Top Legal Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Launching Startups

High-impact entrepreneurship is not for the faint of heart. Most venture-backed businesses don’t achieve the levels of success their founders and investors hoped for. Indeed, a significant number will fail. Having worked as legal counsel for dozens of venture-backed startups over the years, what frustrates me most is the number of companies that fail not … Continue reading “Top Legal Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make When Launching Startups”

Ambassador Garners $2,350,000 Series A Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6933f484-a52a-4390-9dad-494b0be303cc Date 6/17/2015 Company Name Ambassador Mailing Address 301 W Fourth St. Royal Oak, MI 48067 USA Company Description Ambassador is the best way to reward your customers for promoting your products online. Ambassador provides an end-to-end solution: you can create, track and manage all your custom referral programs from a single … Continue reading “Ambassador Garners $2,350,000 Series A Financing”

Techstars Acquires Nonprofit UP Global, As Startup Industry Matures

Techstars, one of the nation’s foremost startup accelerator programs, has acquired the nonprofit entrepreneurship education outfit UP Global in a bid to cover the full spectrum “from idea to IPO.” The Seattle-based nonprofit may be best known as the umbrella group overseeing Startup Weekend events, 54-hour sprints held in cities around the world in which … Continue reading “Techstars Acquires Nonprofit UP Global, As Startup Industry Matures”

Business Intelligence Seminar

Troy-based iDashboards will host a free business intelligence seminar for business and technology professionals that want to learn more about leveraging dashboard technology to track metrics and make better decisions. Click here for more information.

Women in Mobile/Wireless

The Mobile Technology Association of Michigan hosts this kick-off event for the Women in Mobile Tech Advisory Council, a statewide group working to identify opportunities in the field. A panel of women leaders in the mobile/wireless tech space from a cross-section of industries will discuss current, relevant issues. For details and registration, click here.

MI Roundup: Brightmoor Maker Space, Ford, Rockwell Medical

Here’s a look at news you may have missed from around Michigan’s innovation hubs: —The University of Michigan and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) announced last week that they’re launching a crowdfunding campaign on Patronicity to transform a vacant 3,200-square-foot building on the Detroit Community Schools campus into the Brightmoor Maker Space, a place where … Continue reading “MI Roundup: Brightmoor Maker Space, Ford, Rockwell Medical”

Avalon Debuts Three More Tiny Biotechs In Risk-Share Deal With GSK

We fly, you buy. That’s been the formula for the Avalon Ventures-GlaxoSmithKline biotech collaboration, with Avalon scouting for ideas around the country and GSK bankrolling them into startups that it can ultimately acquire. Avalon announced three more tiny startups today to bring the total so far to six. Today’s debuts are Adrenergics, going after treatments … Continue reading “Avalon Debuts Three More Tiny Biotechs In Risk-Share Deal With GSK”

#Hack4detroit Seeks to Improve City Services Through Open Data Portal

We started the week out talking about hackathons in Detroit, and we’ll finish the week the same way, although #hack4detroit has a twist: Participants are using the city of Detroit’s open data portal to create apps that will benefit city residents or help streamline operations. Automation Alley’s #hack4detroit event starts at 7 p.m. tonight at … Continue reading “#Hack4detroit Seeks to Improve City Services Through Open Data Portal”

Milestones of Innovation 8: Ten Minutes in White House Shapes World War II

Seventy-five years ago today, science took a seat next to the American presidency. It was a move of immense and continuing consequences for innovation in this country and across the world, not only in a war to the death but in the decades of uneasy peace that followed. The actual event on June 12, 1940 … Continue reading “Milestones of Innovation 8: Ten Minutes in White House Shapes World War II”

Lycera’s End Game? $104M Celgene Deal Could Lead to Buyout

It’s been a big week for Lycera, a biotech firm focused on immunotherapy that spun out of the University of Michigan nearly a decade ago. On Tuesday, the company announced a deal with Celgene, of Cranbury, NJ, that could spell the beginning of the end for the Michigan biotech. Celgene has taken an option to … Continue reading “Lycera’s End Game? $104M Celgene Deal Could Lead to Buyout”

Rare Heart Disease Advocate: “I’m More Relieved Than I’ve Ever Been”

[Corrected 6/10/15, 10:14pm. See below.] Katherine Wilemon had a celebratory glass of wine a couple hours ago, which some say is good for the heart. Even better for Wilemon, however, is the reason she’s celebrating: In a two-day discussion about two new drugs aimed at high cholesterol, a panel of outside advisors recommended that the FDA … Continue reading “Rare Heart Disease Advocate: “I’m More Relieved Than I’ve Ever Been””

Techstars Mobility Launches with Office at Ford Field, New Partners

At long last, the inaugural session of the Techstars Mobility program officially launched Tuesday from its 10,000-square-foot office at Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions. Ten companies working on a range of mobility-related products and services will spend the next three months developing their ideas in Detroit, culminating with a demo day on Sept. … Continue reading “Techstars Mobility Launches with Office at Ford Field, New Partners”

Rockwell Helping Manufacturers (Slowly) Join the Internet of Things

Just as connected devices are slowly but surely making their way into our homes, the Internet of Things is also starting to impact the manufacturing industry. The going is slow: Less than 14 percent of U.S. manufacturers have linked up their factory machines with their enterprise software, says Keith Nosbusch, CEO of Milwaukee-based Rockwell Automation … Continue reading “Rockwell Helping Manufacturers (Slowly) Join the Internet of Things”