InfoReady Helps Customers Navigate $1 Trillion Grant Market With Search and Collaboration Software

Collaboration software for office workers isn’t new, and neither are technologies for doing refined, targeted Web searches. But Ann Arbor, MI-based InfoReady is combining those elements in a social networking-like interface to create a workflow tool that the company’s president and CEO Bhushan Kulkarni thinks will really shake things up. “I feel that we are … Continue reading “InfoReady Helps Customers Navigate $1 Trillion Grant Market With Search and Collaboration Software”

Buycentives’ Targeted Marketing Software Is Out to Break the One-Size-Fits All Tradition for Automobile Incentives

When it comes to the incentive deals offered by auto companies to potential car buyers, little has changed, despite advances in technology. Customers may be starting their auto purchases online, but automakers are still trying to reel them in with deals that are marketed more like the coupons found in a newspaper or Sunday flyer, … Continue reading “Buycentives’ Targeted Marketing Software Is Out to Break the One-Size-Fits All Tradition for Automobile Incentives”

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”

Three More Michigan Startups Get Microloans, Bringing Companies $1.4M In First Year

Three Michigan companies have received a combined $140,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund program, managed by the Ann Arbor SPARK business incubator. This latest round means the program has invested a total of more than $1.4 million in 39 companies since it was started in July 2009. Microloans range from $10,000 to $50,000 and are … Continue reading “Three More Michigan Startups Get Microloans, Bringing Companies $1.4M In First Year”

Five Things Michigan Entrepreneurs and Innovators Are Already Doing to Invigorate the State’s Economy

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 … Continue reading “Five Things Michigan Entrepreneurs and Innovators Are Already Doing to Invigorate the State’s Economy”

Airport Wind Turbine, Educational Software, Customized News Get Michigan Microloan Funds

Three Michigan companies have received a combined $104,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, managed by the Ann Arbor SPARK business incubator. This latest round means the program has invested a total of more than $1.3 million in 36 companies since it was started last July. Microloans range from $10,000 to $50,000 and are reserved … Continue reading “Airport Wind Turbine, Educational Software, Customized News Get Michigan Microloan Funds”

Startup School, Round Two: The 2010 Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators

A common trait among entrepreneurs is their distaste for working alone. Fortunately, there are programs across the country that aim to surround startups with entrepreneur comrades, seasoned execs, and investors, to provide both community and guidance. We rounded up these programs last year in the inaugural Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators, and are back again … Continue reading “Startup School, Round Two: The 2010 Xconomy Guide to Venture Incubators”

Major Michigan Business Incubators Get $3M Incentive to Get Their Act Together

Southeast Michigan’s four major business incubators are, at last, discovering how to work together, with $3 million worth of prodding from the New Economy Initiative, a philanthropic organization aimed at transitioning the region to an innovation-based economy. The leaders of Ann Arbor SPARK, Techtown in Detroit, Automation Alley in Troy, MI, and the Macomb-OU INCubator … Continue reading “Major Michigan Business Incubators Get $3M Incentive to Get Their Act Together”

Michigan Microloan Fund Awards Lifelines Worth $122,000 Combined to Four More Companies

Four Michigan companies have received a combined $122,000 through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, managed by the Ann Arbor SPARK business incubator. The latest funding round brings the total amount invested through the program to more than $1.2 million among 35 companies since July 2009, according to a news release today. Microloans available through the … Continue reading “Michigan Microloan Fund Awards Lifelines Worth $122,000 Combined to Four More Companies”

Mobile Sign Language Systems Wins Competition

Mobile Sign Language Systems, a University of Michigan startup developing smart phone software that translates spoken English into real-time video of sign language, has won an Ann Arbor SPARK business pitch competition, beating out four competitors. The company will get incubator space in Ypsilanti, MI, and $50,000 in business acceleration services.

Five Companies Picked To Slug it Out for Ann Arbor SPARK Incubator Space

Five companies ranging in focus from fueling to family planning will have a chance to compete for $50,000 in business acceleration services and a one-year incubator lease at SPARK East in Ypsilanti, MI, on June 4. Business incubator Ann Arbor SPARK, which first announced the competition at the end of April, listed the finalists today. … Continue reading “Five Companies Picked To Slug it Out for Ann Arbor SPARK Incubator Space”

Without a Thriving Detroit, Michigan Cannot Catch that Train to Prosperity

When I attended Wayne State University in Detroit back in the mid-’80s, scattered around downtown Detroit were white pillars that supported… nothing. They looked as though they were part of a kind of ancient Roman ruin—but these pillars were brand new. They were the beginnings of Detroit’s People Mover, a raised monorail that was to … Continue reading “Without a Thriving Detroit, Michigan Cannot Catch that Train to Prosperity”

Microloans Help 3 Michigan Companies See Another Day

Customers of three Michigan companies might soon see much better now that the Michigan Microloan Fund has given them a combined $121,000 to develop their products. Seeing what you’re killing: RiserCam, based in Saline, MI, makes video equipment for the outdoors industry. Its flagship product is the Roscoby Riser Cam, which is a flash memory … Continue reading “Microloans Help 3 Michigan Companies See Another Day”

Michigan Startups to Pitch For Ann Arbor SPARK Incubator Space

Business incubator Ann Arbor SPARK is asking Michigan startups to take their best shots at five open spots in a business pitch competition it plans to host on June 4, the group announced today. The winner will get up to $50,000 in business acceleration services and a one-year incubator lease at SPARK East in Ypsilanti, … Continue reading “Michigan Startups to Pitch For Ann Arbor SPARK Incubator Space”

Michigan Microloan Fund Gives $115K

The Michigan Microloan Fund Program has awarded three startup companies a combined total of $115,000, according to an announcement Monday by Ann Arbor SPARK, which manages the fund. Companies receiving the funds are CYJ Enterprises, a Detroit-based startup commercializing an emergency management system for child and adult care providers; Ann Arbor, MI based Ix Innovations, … Continue reading “Michigan Microloan Fund Gives $115K”

Intervention Insights Lands New Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a33fca11-6075-4bcf-afe4-dccb51f58150&Preview=1 Date 3/31/2010 Company Name Intervention Insights Mailing Address 710 Kenmoor Grand Rapids, MI 49546 Company Description OncInsights™ is Intervention Insights’ medical information service that combines cutting edge bioinformatics tools with disease insight to specify molecularly targeted drugs to help community oncologists develop informed treatment plans for their patients. Website http://www.interventioninsights.com Transaction … Continue reading “Intervention Insights Lands New Funding”