Bizdom – Xconomy

Smartsheet Buys TernPro, Seattle Developer of Collaboration Tools

Smartsheet, a Bellevue, WA-based company that develops collaborative software allowing users to track projects and manage company processes, announced Tuesday it has acquired Seattle-based TernPro, whose flagship product Slope lets customers mark up documents, images, videos, and other media before releasing them to a wider audience. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Smartsheet’s … Continue reading “Smartsheet Buys TernPro, Seattle Developer of Collaboration Tools”

Invest Michigan Hits Milestone, Backs Fiftieth Company in Four Years

Invest Michigan, an investment fund supported by the state-backed Michigan Strategic Fund, hit a major milestone at the end of 2018: it invested in its fiftieth company in four years. Ann Arbor’s Spellbound, which has developed a therapeutic tool to help kids cope with illness and engage in treatment through augmented reality technology, received the … Continue reading “Invest Michigan Hits Milestone, Backs Fiftieth Company in Four Years”

After Record-Breaking 2017, Invest Michigan Expects Another Big Year

Invest Michigan, the Detroit-based early-stage capital fund, had an eventful 2017 and is off to a busy start already in 2018. We caught up with CEO Charlie Moret for an update and to find out what’s ahead for the fund in the coming year. Invest Michigan, established in 2014 by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, … Continue reading “After Record-Breaking 2017, Invest Michigan Expects Another Big Year”

As He Bids to Buy Company, What Are Dan Gilbert’s Plans for Yahoo?

According to a report published in the Detroit News today, Quicken Loans chairman Dan Gilbert is serious enough about buying Yahoo that he’s lined up financing from investor Warren Buffett, the second-richest man in America. Buffett told CNBC Monday that his firm, Berkshire Hathaway, has offered to be a potential finance partner while Gilbert leads … Continue reading “As He Bids to Buy Company, What Are Dan Gilbert’s Plans for Yahoo?”

WaitTime Screens Are Now Live at the Palace and in Pistons App

Basketball fans in Michigan haven’t had much to cheer about lately. The Detroit Pistons are battling for an NBA playoff spot despite being ranked eighth in the Eastern Conference, and we won’t even mention what happened at the NCAA tournament a few weeks ago. However, Motor City startup WaitTime is trying to add a little … Continue reading “WaitTime Screens Are Now Live at the Palace and in Pistons App”

Techstars Expands Programs for Early-Stage Michigan Entrepreneurs

Techstars has been doing a bit of revamping in the last year—it acquired and merged networks with UP Global, the nonprofit organization behind Startup Weekend; it launched a retail startup accelerator in partnership with Target in Minneapolis and a mobility startup accelerator in Detroit; pulled the plug on a robotics accelerator in San Diego; and … Continue reading “Techstars Expands Programs for Early-Stage Michigan Entrepreneurs”

Big Changes Coming to Bizdom’s Detroit Accelerator

I was at a gathering last week when I first heard the rumors: Bizdom, Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert’s startup accelerator in downtown Detroit, was supposedly closing its doors. Details were scarce among partygoers, but more than one journalist I talked to said the incubator was going to wind down operations, a plan seemingly confirmed … Continue reading “Big Changes Coming to Bizdom’s Detroit Accelerator”

Breaking Down Barriers: A Detroit-Ann Arbor Dinner Conversation

Growing up in East Lansing, MI, I wasn’t aware of the “invisible forcefield on US-23,” as TechTown Detroit’s executive-in-residence Gerry Roston eloquently phrases it, that acts as a barrier between Detroit and Ann Arbor. It seemed inconceivable to me that I, someone who grew up about 80 miles from Detroit, had visited the city more … Continue reading “Breaking Down Barriers: A Detroit-Ann Arbor Dinner Conversation”

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”

Sprinkle Camp Offers Hackers an All-Expense-Paid Weekend in Detroit

Detroit in 2015 reminds a lot of people of New York City (minus the functional public transportation system, of course) before former mayors Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg helped transform it into a bright, shiny playground for the upwardly mobile. The edge that used to attract artists and innovative thinkers of all stripes to the … Continue reading “Sprinkle Camp Offers Hackers an All-Expense-Paid Weekend in Detroit”

TernPro’s $395K Seed Round to Push Collaboration Software to Market

TernPro, the Detroit-based startup developing collaboration software called Slope, announced this week that it has closed on a round of seed funding worth $395,000. Slope’s investors include Bizdom, Venture for America, and angels based in Michigan, New York, and Ohio. The team behind Slope, which allows marketing and creative teams to store, organize, and collaborate … Continue reading “TernPro’s $395K Seed Round to Push Collaboration Software to Market”

Payment Scholar Wants to Take the Pain Out of K-12 School Paperwork

Parents: When was the last time you spent the evening filling out forms for your kid’s classes or activities? Chances are, it was a one-off form with no opportunity to save the basic information to be used again in the future. Payment Scholar, a Detroit-based startup, is on a mission to save parents time by … Continue reading “Payment Scholar Wants to Take the Pain Out of K-12 School Paperwork”

WaitTime Evolves to Give Stadiums Tools For a Better Fan Experience

Last year, as the orange, white, and blue-clad masses celebrated the Detroit Tigers home opener, Xconomy reported on a local startup called WaitTime that aimed to provide up-to-the-minute information on the length of beer and bathroom lines for attendees of concerts and sporting events. We checked in with WaitTime’s founder, Zachary Klima, to find out … Continue reading “WaitTime Evolves to Give Stadiums Tools For a Better Fan Experience”

Birdhouse Aims to Be Go-To App for Families Coping with Autism

[Corrected 1/5/15, 2:35 pm. See below.] Ben Chutz and Dani Gillman, co-founders of the Detroit-based startup Birdhouse for Autism, launched their company in 2012 because they were struggling to manage their daughter’s autism with the current tools available. For years, Gillman relied on paper notebooks, then a table she designed in Microsoft Word and printed … Continue reading “Birdhouse Aims to Be Go-To App for Families Coping with Autism”

MC Hammer Offers Tips to “Innovate the Hood” at Detroit Event

Detroit Pistons fans of a certain age will always have a place for MC Hammer in their hearts, since his song “U Can’t Touch This” will forever be associated with the triumphant Bad Boys era of the early 1990s. But not many of us, perhaps, have kept up with Hammer’s career since then. It turns … Continue reading “MC Hammer Offers Tips to “Innovate the Hood” at Detroit Event”

U-M Launches New Accelerator Open to All Michigan Startups

The University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and College of Engineering have teamed up to launch the Desai Family Accelerator, which will help support early-stage ventures with mentorship and financial resources. Plus, there’s a twist: Despite being backed by U-M, the accelerator is open to any Michigan startup. “They don’t have to have a … Continue reading “U-M Launches New Accelerator Open to All Michigan Startups”

Venture for America Fellows Fall in Love with Detroit, Start TernPro

After Brian Bosche graduated from Dartmouth in 2012, he headed for Detroit, sight unseen, as part of the Venture for America program. “I had heard not-great things in the media, but seeing all the development and the startup scene really impressed me,” he says. “I realized it was a community I wanted to be a … Continue reading “Venture for America Fellows Fall in Love with Detroit, Start TernPro”

MI Roundup: BANSEM’s Impact, Versicor, Hatch Detroit, Co-Lab Detroit

Here’s a look at recent news from Michigan’s innovation hubs: —Today, Ann Arbor SPARK, Automation Alley, Macomb-OU Incubator, and TechTown Detroit announced their collective impact on Michigan’s innovation economy: 7,725 technology jobs and 225 technology companies created. Those companies have gone on to garner $300 million in follow-on investment. After a $3 million grant from … Continue reading “MI Roundup: BANSEM’s Impact, Versicor, Hatch Detroit, Co-Lab Detroit”

Cribspot Wins Techweek Detroit Startup Competition

Since Monday, Techweek Detroit has taken downtown by storm, hosting discussions and keynote speeches featuring tech titans, a show highlighting local fashion designers, a town hall meeting, a “food truck face-off,” and cocktail parties galore. Techweek’s two-day conference, held Thursday and today at the old federal building on Fort Street, was a fun atmosphere when … Continue reading “Cribspot Wins Techweek Detroit Startup Competition”

TechTown, Bizdom to Use JPMorgan Chase Grants to Support Startups

Yesterday, JPMorgan Chase chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon joined Governor Rick Snyder and Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan to announce the global financial services firm plans to invest $100 million in Detroit over the next five years—including some funding for local startup initiatives. Critics immediately pointed out that $100 million is a drop in the bucket … Continue reading “TechTown, Bizdom to Use JPMorgan Chase Grants to Support Startups”

Serial Entrepreneur’s Website Highlights Detroit’s Hidden Gems

When I was riding in an Uber car the other day, the driver and I got to talking about Detroit and the misperceptions that people who don’t spend any time here have about the city. He told me about an out-of-town friend who asked him if he worried about people shooting at him as he … Continue reading “Serial Entrepreneur’s Website Highlights Detroit’s Hidden Gems”

WaitTime Hopes to Find Shortest Beer Line at the Ballpark

Today is the home opener for the Detroit Tigers, a day when busloads of suburbanites descend upon downtown to engage in extreme day drinking and related mayhem to celebrate the start of the Major League Baseball season. Wouldn’t it be great if revelers could pull up an app to check which beer lines in Comerica … Continue reading “WaitTime Hopes to Find Shortest Beer Line at the Ballpark”

Detroit’s Backstitch Offers Users a Way to Sift Through the Web’s Noise

If you’re like me, you spend your days toggling back and forth between a dozen or so tabs crowding the top of your computer screen: One for e-mail, a few for social media, a few for news, one to monitor college basketball in anticipation of the NCAA tournament, and one for celebrity gossip for when … Continue reading “Detroit’s Backstitch Offers Users a Way to Sift Through the Web’s Noise”

Foodjunky Aims to Take the Pain Out of Ordering Lunch for Meetings

I have so much lunch-ordering shame. Should some poor soul offer to pick up lunch for me, I have to write my order down in such ridiculous detail—veggie sandwich, no sprouts, no cucumbers, light onions, extra banana peppers; if they have vinegar and oil, ask for lots of vinegar but just a splash of oil—that … Continue reading “Foodjunky Aims to Take the Pain Out of Ordering Lunch for Meetings”

Roundup: Motozuma Opens Detroit Office, WSU Student Ventures Snag Funding

A few items to catch up on around town: —Motozuma has reportedly opened up an office in Detroit. The Naperville, IL-based startup allows users to set up free online savings accounts where they can put money towards a new car and invite friends and family to help contribute. Motozuma users are rewarded for their savings … Continue reading “Roundup: Motozuma Opens Detroit Office, WSU Student Ventures Snag Funding”

Talking TechTown’s Reboot, Detroit’s Robustness With Charlie Moret

Charlie Moret, the TechTown business incubator’s new managing director of technology-based entrepreneurship, says he’s a lifelong “intrapreneur.” His passion has always been innovating, but he’s often been doing it from inside a broader organization. That’s a major reason why, when given the opportunity to reboot TechTown’s programs and take them back to their high-technology roots, … Continue reading “Talking TechTown’s Reboot, Detroit’s Robustness With Charlie Moret”

BizGrid Details Resources for Detroit Entrepreneurs

This week, the Detroit Business Support Network released the BizGrid, a resource for Motor City entrepreneurs who may be unsure of where to turn for support. Billed as an “infographic,” the BizGrid is a 9-by-27 ½-inch chart with an eye-catching design that serves as a sort of map to the different resources available to local … Continue reading “BizGrid Details Resources for Detroit Entrepreneurs”

GreenLancer Obtains $222,500 Series A Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=033b648f-9175-403d-ba8a-fdba239cd893 Date 7/11/2013 Company Name GreenLancer Mailing Address 1150 Griswold Street Detroit, MI 48226 Company Description GreenLancer’s online platform is providing the next generation of alternative energy engineering services and significantly reducing the soft costs associated with developing alternative energy projects. Website http://www.greenlancer.com Transaction Type Venture Equity Transaction Amount $222,500 Transaction Round … Continue reading “GreenLancer Obtains $222,500 Series A Financing Round”

Bridging the Gap Between Ann Arbor and Detroit: A Proposition

The University of Michigan’s Office of Tech Transfer hosted its semi-annual Entrepreneurs Engage yesterday, and the turnout appeared to be even larger than the one held in February. The unconference format calls for the audience to suggest discussion topics, and then attendees spend about 45 minutes in each discussion—or they don’t. There are only a few rules: … Continue reading “Bridging the Gap Between Ann Arbor and Detroit: A Proposition”

Get to Know Your College Town With Guidesmob’s Apps

When I was in college, back in the 1990s, new students curious about what their university’s town had to offer relied on the local alternative weekly newspaper’s annual guide to places to go and things to do. Published in late summer, some of the information in it was already outdated by mid-semester as restaurants and … Continue reading “Get to Know Your College Town With Guidesmob’s Apps”

Balanon Leaves Detroit Labs for Protean Payment

Last Friday morning, Xconomist Henry Balanon, co-founder and director of mobile at app development shop Detroit Labs, sent an e-mail through the Madison Building, Detroit Labs, and Bizdom e-mail lists telling respondents that, effective at the end of the workday, he was leaving the company he co-founded: “This has been an incredibly difficult decision because I’ve … Continue reading “Balanon Leaves Detroit Labs for Protean Payment”

Campus Commandos’ Adam Grant on Marketing to College Students

If you’re a certified geezer like I am (let’s say Generation X and older), then you have likely run into a brick wall when trying, at some point, to communicate with a Millennial. My big communication breakdown moment happened last spring, when my second cousin Tyler turned 16. He had exactly zero interest in rushing … Continue reading “Campus Commandos’ Adam Grant on Marketing to College Students”

NewME To Bring Silicon Valley to Detroit With Pop-Up Event

The San Francisco-based NewME Accelerator, a tech startup incubator focused on businesses led by minorities underrepresented in the tech world, is planning a Detroit pop-up accelerator May 29 to May 31. The three-day event is being held in partnership with Google for Entrepreneurs, TechTown, Bizdom, the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan, and Wayne State University. … Continue reading “NewME To Bring Silicon Valley to Detroit With Pop-Up Event”

Rapt.fm Offers Online Space for Freestyle Rappers to Battle

My friend Troy has a rapping alter ego he calls Masta Flow. At parties, after a certain number of beverages have been consumed, Masta Flow often makes an appearance. Masta Flow’s freestyle raps usually veer toward the scatological and are often cringeworthy because of clumsy execution. On one occasion, when Masta Flow popped up and … Continue reading “Rapt.fm Offers Online Space for Freestyle Rappers to Battle”

Quixby Garners $25,000 Seed Funding

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=bed878e3-2f8e-4113-ae99-de1384b24f0c&Preview=1 Date 4/28/2013 Company Name Quixby Mailing Address 526 S. Main Street Akron, OH 44311 Company Description Quixby can save online computer parts buyers hassle while generating more money for suppliers. The Quixby software accomplishes this by automatically telling online computer parts buyers whether or not the parts they are buying are … Continue reading “Quixby Garners $25,000 Seed Funding”

eCollect Receives $25,000 Seed Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=e6b0f6f6-7585-49b8-8c24-c61f4b925424&Preview=1 Date 4/28/2013 Company Name eCollect Mailing Address 6133 Rockside Rd Building 2 Independence, OH 44131 Company Description eCollect takes the costly administrative burden from companies or government entities that deal with bounced checks. Website http://www.ecollectohio.com Transaction Type Accelerator Transaction Amount $25,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes The company will use the … Continue reading “eCollect Receives $25,000 Seed Round”

SkuServe Secures $25,000 Seed Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=5577080b-97d5-4744-b73c-8df37b16925c&Preview=1 Date 4/28/2013 Company Name SkuServe Mailing Address 250 W Huron Rd Cleveland, OH 44113 Company Description SKUserve is building a cloud-based Product Data Management System for the Industrial Supply and MRO sector. We provide distributors and Internet retailers with up-to-date, accurate and complete / rich product content; including high-quality product images … Continue reading “SkuServe Secures $25,000 Seed Funding Round”

Mascot Secret Garners $25,000 Seed Funding Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=6bb7d18a-a912-4a3a-b318-47c2c7ac6bc6&Preview=1 Date 4/28/2013 Company Name Mascot Secret Mailing Address 250 W Huron Rd Cleveland, OH 44113 Company Description Mascot Secret is a mobile app-based company that connects with sports stadiums to allow fans to automatically upgrade their seats during a game. The company is currently beat testing with Gilbert’s Cleveland Cavaliers, but … Continue reading “Mascot Secret Garners $25,000 Seed Funding Round”

Canopi Secures $25,000 Seed Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=0483bbb0-6d12-478a-a285-167d04134fb4&Preview=1 Date 4/28/2013 Company Name Canopi Mailing Address 250 W Huron Rd Cleveland, OH 44113 Company Description Find and Follow bloggers who share your interests, all in one place. Website http://www.canopi.me Transaction Type Accelerator Transaction Amount $25,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes The company will use the proceeds to accelerate its initial … Continue reading “Canopi Secures $25,000 Seed Financing”

Guidesmob Lands $25,000 Seed Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=1d97ad86-657a-4baa-b103-0e495d039540&Preview=1 Date 4/28/2013 Company Name Guidesmob Mailing Address 1555 Broadway St. Detroit, MI 48226 Company Description GuidesMob makes College Town Guides that give users instant, hyper-local access to information about Restaurants, Businesses, Transportation, Nightlife, Places of Interest, and Happenings. We love Detroit, so we put our Headquarters there. Website http://www.guidesmob.com Transaction Type … Continue reading “Guidesmob Lands $25,000 Seed Financing Round”

Backstitch Receives $25,000 Seed Financing

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=aa767fa0-3436-4adf-8e8e-04f43178d98d&Preview=1 Date 4/28/2013 Company Name Backstitch Mailing Address 1555 Broadway #375, Detroit, MI 48226 Company Description Backstitch combines social media, news, shopping and other information into a single destination, and can apply filters by keywords, prices, etc. Website http://www.backstit.ch Transaction Type Accelerator Transaction Amount $25,000 Transaction Round Seed Proceeds Purposes The company … Continue reading “Backstitch Receives $25,000 Seed Financing”

Venture Funding in Detroit Down in Q1, Still Higher Than 2011

According to MoneyTree data released today, first-quarter venture funding in southeast Michigan was down compared to the first quarter of 2012, though the deal count rose by one. Compared to last year, funding in Q1 2013 was down by almost two-thirds, with venture capitalists investing $17.6 million in 13 deals. However, 2012 was a record-high … Continue reading “Venture Funding in Detroit Down in Q1, Still Higher Than 2011”

GreenLancer Raises $275,000 From Group of MI Investors

GreenLancer, the Detroit-based solar engineering company Xconomy profiled last July, announced last week that it has oversubscribed its Series A fundraising round, snagging $275,000 from four Michigan-based investors. The company, which is based online and employs a national network of contract employees, or greenlancers, to work on jobs, is leaving the round open as it … Continue reading “GreenLancer Raises $275,000 From Group of MI Investors”

Wayne State’s Warrior Fund Invests in Four Student Ventures

Late last month, student-run startups from the Blackstone LaunchPad incubator gathered for pitch competition on the campus of Wayne State University (WSU). The startups were able to pitch for up to $5,000 in funding from the Warrior Fund, WSU’s pre-seed fund to support student tech startups. Blackstone, which operates on the campuses of WSU and … Continue reading “Wayne State’s Warrior Fund Invests in Four Student Ventures”

GreenLancer Obtains $275,000 New Financing Round

Feed Type Link http://www.venturedeal.com/Search/SearchResultTransactionDetail.aspx?TransactionId=a24593ff-b703-43e3-8a72-cf07d600e070&Preview=1 Date 3/28/2013 Company Name GreenLancer Mailing Address 2843 E. Grand Blvd Detroit, MI 48211 Company Description GreenLancer’s online platform is providing the next generation of alternative energy engineering services and significantly reducing the soft costs associated with developing alternative energy projects. Their standardized processes and systematic workflows have resulted in virtual … Continue reading “GreenLancer Obtains $275,000 New Financing Round”

Bizdom Continues to Attract Out-of-State Talent

As Dan Gilbert, founder and chairman of Quicken Loans, continues snapping up downtown Detroit skyscrapers and adding to his dominion, the Bizdom tech startup accelerator that he established in the Motor City seems to be hitting its stride. The chic, geek-magnet (in a good way) Madison Building—which houses Bizdom and a number of the startups … Continue reading “Bizdom Continues to Attract Out-of-State Talent”

Detroit Venture Partners Reportedly Invests $750K in Chalkfly

According to a report in Crain’s Detroit Business today, Detroit Venture Partners is poised to announce it has invested $750,000 in Chalkfly, a startup Xconomy profiled in September. Joining the round is Bizdom; Ludlow Ventures, which is also located with Chalkfly in downtown Detroit’s Madison Building; Rick DeVos’ Grand Rapids-based Start Garden; and the Chicago-based Griffon … Continue reading “Detroit Venture Partners Reportedly Invests $750K in Chalkfly”

Bizdom, TechTown, Invest Detroit Launch $1M Technology Exchange

Thanks to a $1 million grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund, Detroit business incubators Bizdom and TechTown are partnering with Invest Detroit on a new initiative called the Detroit Technology Exchange (DTX). DTX will consist of programs geared toward strengthening Detroit’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, attracting and retaining talent, and getting investment money flowing through the local startup … Continue reading “Bizdom, TechTown, Invest Detroit Launch $1M Technology Exchange”

Mobile Madness Motor City: Highlights and Takeaways

Startup founders, industry leaders, investors, and a high number of young, engaged Detroiters crowded into the auditorium at the Compuware Building downtown last Thursday for Mobile Madness Motor City, Xconomy’s first mobile technology event in Detroit. We’ve held Mobile Madness events to great success in other cities across the Xconomy network, and Detroit was no … Continue reading “Mobile Madness Motor City: Highlights and Takeaways”