Talent is a critical key to economic prosperity. In an effort to provide Ann Arbor companies with greater access to talent, Ann Arbor SPARK is in Silicon Valley with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation as part of the MichAGAIN series – recruiting trips to regions that have top talent from software developers and marketing professionals to C-level executives and life scientists with Michigan roots and interest in coming home. This week, we are hosting two receptions – one in San Francisco and one in Palo Alto – and will be joining alumni from the University of Michigan and Michigan State University for a tailgate at the Tigers-A’s game in Oakland on Saturday.

Ann Arbor SPARK has a busy week. While here, CEO Paul Krutko and SPARK Business Development VP Luke Bonner is meeting with Silicon Valley companies interested in expansion efforts in Ann Arbor, much like Google and Barracuda Networks have done in the past few years.

As the director for Talent Enhancement, I am meeting with regional colleges and universities with strong business and computer engineering programs. Developing relationships with these schools will enable us to open new pipelines to graduates for Ann Arbor employers.

Upon arriving in San Francisco, I had dinner with fellow UM Center for Higher and Postsecondary Education (CSHPE) alum and friend, Dr. Aaron Anderson, who is Director of Management at San Francisco State University’s College of Business. After a tour of the Castro, we sat down for dinner to discuss strategies for how Ann Arbor employers to recruit top SFSU MBA graduates. Selling the Ann Arbor Region’s career opportunities and quality of life are key messages for ambitious California natives, which will be part of the presentation I am giving to students on campus tonight.

Following an initial visit in November 2011, I returned to San Jose State University on Tuesday to meet with Lisa Tikofski and Jill Klees of the career services office, who were eager to learn more about SPARK and my role as talent director, suggesting I should add “relationship builder” to my title and commenting that the SPARK brand of open source, collaborative economic development was unique and great. They shared a few ideas of how we can develop a relationship that will provide Ann Arbor Regional employers with access to their computer science and engineering students and graduates. Next steps include recruiting students for internships in Ann Arbor for the summer, and piloting a virtual informational session with Ann Arbor Regional employers and their students.

Up next in opening this pipeline to young Silicon Valley talent is a visit to Santa Clara University to meet with Jocylen Ashton of the Graduate Business Career Management office. Graduates of this premier business school represent a rich talent pool for our companies – it all starts with “hello” and builds with the development of relationships.

On behalf of Ann Arbor companies, I am off to continue saying “hello” and building relationships to create greater access to top talent!

An additional 15,000 square feet of space at the front of the facility, which totals 50,000 square feet, will be built out into office space at some point in the future, says Michael Smith, the firm's manager of global marketing communications and branding.

The facility was in a raw state when Tecumseh Products Co. purchased it in late 2010. "We actually had dirt floors in the building," Smith says.

No more. The lab space now has a slew of computer simulation, testing, and analysis tools, including two large-scale environmental chambers with hydrocarbon refrigerant testing capability, as well as full-scale reliability and calorimeter testing and a hemi-anechoic chamber.

The Pittsfield Township-based manufacturer, which employs 6,300 worldwide, moved its lab facilities from Tecumseh because "we like being near Ann Arbor. It gives us the opportunity to be close to the University of Michigan and the research hub and all the other things that Ann Arbor provides."

Twenty-five employees work at the new lab. Most are transfers from Tecumseh, but three are new hires. There are no plans to add more employees at this time, Smith says.

Source: Michael Smith, manager of global marketing communications and branding, Tecumseh Products Co.
Writer: Tanya Muzumdar
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Shifting Code was designed to help meet the growing demand in Metro Detroit for software developers. The program's curriculum is based on the input of a core group of employers, and consists of learning modules of specific, in-demand coding languages. The 12-week course is taught through a hybrid approach of online education and face-to-face instruction.

"In areas where you're looking for entry-level programmers this is a great program," says Bill Wagner, co-founder & CEO of SRT Solutions.

SRT Solutions is one of the local tech firms that has hired 65 percent of Shifting Code's first class. Wagner points out that Shifting Code provides the foundation for people with skills outside of traditional software skill set to become more involved in computer programing development.

"The industry is about a lot more than code," Wagner says. "This is about user-interface experts and graphic designers."

Source: Bill Wagner, co-founder & CEO of SRT Solutions
Writer: Jon Zemke 
News from Concentrate

Excerpt:

"Students at two Ypsilanti high schools now have the opportunity to decide each other’s fate when violating school policy.
Cooley Law School and Dean Joan Vestrand have partnered with the Ypsilanti Public Schools to create the Ypsilanti High School Student Court."

Read the rest here.
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Excerpt:

To capture places that are open to smart 20-somethings, where you can not only build friendships and look for mates but create the personal and professional networks that are so crucial to both career and happiness, we added the share of adults who are college graduates along with the percentage of the population that has never been married. The eight variables we based our rankings on are:

    +Unemployment rate, via the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
    +Share of jobs in professional, technical, and creative occupations (BLS)
    +Percent of adults with a BA and above, via the American Community Survey  (ACS)
    +Average salaries and wages for professional, technical, and creative occupations (BLS)
    +Rental share of housing (ACS)
    +Money left over after paying for housing (ACS)
    +Share of adults that have never been married (ACS)
    +Share of commuters who use public transit (ACS)

Read the rest of the story here.
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Excerpt:

"Cities such as Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, Flint, Traverse City and Eaton Rapids are considering engineering steps that will alter local rivers to increase drops, create obstacles and pools and manufacture eddies for safety — upgrades designed to provide paddlers with a white-water experience.

It's a technique that has been successful in communities such as Petoskey and Williamston and, to a greater degree, in nearby South Bend, Ind.

Read the rest here.
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TechArb moved into a basement office the 505 E Liberty building next to the Michigan Theatre last year. Menlo Innovations will be moving in to a 17,000-square-foot space in the same building, close enough to literally reach out and touch the incubator.

"They will be on the other side of the glass from us," says Rich Sheridan, CEO of Menlo Innovations. "Sharing that entrepreneurial spirit is very exciting."

Almost since its founding a decade ago, Menlo Innovations has been synonymous with its quirky Kerrytown office. However, the company outgrew its 6,000-square-foot space and not only needed room for future growth but wanted to maintain a presence in downtown Ann Arbor.

"It's not without a large amount of sadness that we're leaving here," Sheridan says. "We loved being here."

Menlo Innovations has just enjoyed its best revenue year ever. That growth is largely thanks to the software firm cashing in on the acquisition of Accuri Cytometers, of which Menlo Innovations owned a stake. Menlo has hired six people over the last year, including one in April. Those new jobs include programmers, project managers and Menlo Innovations' registered trademark position, high-tech anthropologists.

"There is software in everything these days," Sheridan says. "(Our customers) really have to build a software team from scratch or look to an established team like us. That is compelling."

Source: Rich Sheridan, CEO of Menlo Innovations
Writer: Jon Zemke
News from Concentrate

Excerpt:

"Mobiata, developer of some of the most popular travel apps on the market, announced today that its popular app FlightBoard was named the best travel app of the year in the 2012 Webby Awards competition. FlightBoard, which launched in June 2010, is available on iPhone, iPad and Android devices. Cited as a must-have app for the frequent traveler, it was designed after the Arrivals and Departures Board at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris and turns a user's screen into an arrival and departures board for any airport in the world."

Read more here.
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The company's team of four people are working to bring to market the SmartAirway, a new tool that improves the efficacy and safety of emergency intubation. The start-up spent its first year working on product development and creating prototypes. That work will start to come to fruition later this year.

"We believe we will have a product on the market in less than a year," says Hannah Hensel, CEO of Brio Device.

Brio Device won the Best of Bootcamp at the Ann Arbor SPARK Entrepreneurs Boot Camp last summer. It is also looking to graduate from the TechArb, a business incubator for U-M students, this year and move onto another business accelerator in Michigan. One year from now, the start-ups expects to be generating revenue, have its own office and begin hiring.

"We expect to double our employee base," Hensel says.

Source: Hannah Hensel, CEO of Brio Device
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
News from Concentrate