“Companies that received support from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund are currently employing 285 people throughout the state and have attracted outside investment.  Matching support from other funding sources totaled $16.4 million for these Michigan companies.

A combined $2.5 million in Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund investments in 2010 were awarded to:

• Advanced Battery Concepts
• Armune BioScience, Inc.
• Current Motor Company
• Downstream, LLC
• Intervention Insights
• Innovative Surgical Solutions
• InfoReady Corporation
• InPore Technologies
• Inventure Enterprises
• NextCAT, Inc.
• Tangent Medical Technologies

Since the Michigan Microloan Fund Program was established in July 2009, 42 companies have received over $1.6 million in subordinated loans.

Read more about the news here.

When we last reported on this there was still about $2.8 million available to award but dropping down the list of next eligible winners by score found four were tied and they had a combined ask of more than $7 million. What to do?  Since so many months had passed since the applications were made and the awards were announced it was decided the MEDC staff needed to get an update on the four companies.  

Since then another company, Meditrina, has not been able to close on their match and had to forfeit their award.  That increased the amount of available funds to nearly $6 million.  One of the four new companies  eligible for funding has since gone away.  So the SEIC Board at their meeting last week approved $1,828,980 to each of the remaining three companies.  This awards the entire $30 million originally available to 18 companies.  The companies receiving the newly approved loans are: 

Venomix in Kalamazoo 

Danotek Motion Technologies in Plymouth 

NephRx in Kalamazoo 

Where does that leave the 21CJF competition program?  In limbo at the moment.  There will not likely be a 2009 competition.  There is no money available.  They, the MEDC and SEIC, are trying to find more money for the program but the possibility is slim.  We’ll keep you posted.

Here are the winners of the competition:

Accuri Cytometers, Inc.
Fulcrum Composites Inc
AI Medical Devices, Inc.
Critical Signal Technologies, Inc.
Solidica, Inc.
NeuroNexus Technologies, Inc.
Compendia Bioscience, Inc.
Hybra-Drive Systems, LLC
Nephrion, Inc.
Cielo MedSolutions LLC
Tolera Therapeutics, Inc.
Metabolic Solutions Development
Meditrina Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Avidimer Therapeutics, Inc.
Arbor Photonics
Nanocerox, Inc.
Pixel Velocity Incorporated

Hybra-Drive received the largest amount $3.352mm.  Fulcrum Composite asked for the smallest amount.  Both companies received investment from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund last year.

11 of the companies are in Ann Arbor.

Congratulations to the companies and the teams helping those companies prepare their applications.  Next round will probably start in January.

21CJF Website
Official website for all things 21st Century Jobs Fund

Applicants for this round of the 21st Century Jobs Fund competition were notified yesterday that they were approved to move forward to the written review phase.  About 90 companies are moving forward.  We haven’t heard yet what the 26 companies were told who didn’t move forward.

This phase of the competition will take another two weeks.  NCMS will recommend to the SEIC on Aug. 20 which of these companies should go forward to the interview stage.  This phase will take place between Sept. 2 and Sept. 20.  The message companies received yesterday said that they will not have a choice on when to appear.  They will be given a date and they have to be there or forfeit.  So don’t plan on being out of town in September if you are under consideration.

The MEDC did provide as they said at the beginning of the competition, two forms of note.  This was always a question but we are delighted to see they were able to follow through.  There may be some room for negotiation on some fine points like milestones, but if the terms of either note are unacceptable as presented you should probably notify them now and drop out.  Save everyone, including yourself, time and trouble.

So it seems the competition is moving along smoothly.  Good luck to all that applied and are still competing.

The SEIC Board has not yet selected a peer review organization for the 21CJF competition.  Their next meeting to make that decision is in mid-June, after the original June 4 deadline.  Therefore they had to push out the date.

It is actually a good thing in that it gives companies more time to raise their matching investments and/or commitments.

Have you registered?  No cost to register or obligation to apply so do it and get that step off your plate. Then go in and look at the actual application.  Doing so will probably generate some questions.  Submit those questions via the FAQ link.  The MEDC has been responsive in getting answers posted quickly.

We’re trying to stay up on the process so check back with us from time to time or feel free to call.

Shepherd Advisors is conducting a volunteer survey of companies considering application to the 21CJF competion.  http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=pub_2bWsXr5QdcceT8FBMjIw_3d_3d

The survey is short and is designed to capture some very general information about interested applicants.  By collecting this info we may get a sense of just how many applications there may be as well as the type and caliber of the applicant pool.  This could be helpful in a couple weeks as we get closer to the deadline of June 4 and you’re still on the fence as to whether or not to compete and pay the $500 fee.

The information gathered will be confidential and only the aggregate results will be shared.  It will also be shared only with those companies that participate so if you want to know what others are doing then take the survey.

Have you registered?  You need to register before you can apply.  There is no cost or obligation so go ahead and do it.  Here’s the link: https://www.medcawards.org/index.jsp

21CJF applicant survey
Survey of companies considering an application to the 21st Century Jobs Fund competition

21CJF Registration
Here’s where you register for the 21st Century Jobs Fund competition

Yesterday’s meeting of the SEIC Board was canceled since not enough members could attend to make a quorum.  Their next meeting is March 12.  See their schedule for the year here: http://www.themedc.org/Boards-Committees/SEIC-Board/Default.aspx

The main item on the agenda yesterday that is now delayed two weeks was to approve the announcement of the RFP for eligible companies of the $30 million next round of 21CJF awards. This approval will now take place March 12.

After approval there will be a 14 day public comment period.  At the next SEIC meeting scheduled for April 9 the RFP will be approved and sent out with the criteria and timetable for applying.  Applicants will probably have until some time in late May to apply.  Given the time frame required to perform all the reviews, recommendations for investments will probably be presented to the SEIC in August at the earliest.

Mark your calendar to look for news about the next round on March 12.

The SEIC board is meeting Monday February 25.  At that meeting they might approve the RFP for applicants to compete for the $30 million round of funding available this year.  Our friend David Haviland at Shepherd Advisors, who tries to attend all the SEIC meetings, was at the January meeting and reports on what he heard in his blog at

http://mi21cjf.proboards100.com/index.cgi?board=306news&action=display&thread=22.

A draft RFP has been reviewed by an SEIC committee and is expected to be presented at this meeting and approved.  It outlines who will be eligible to apply for investment. As is established in the legislation creating the 21st Century Jobs Fund it will be limited to companies in one of the four technology sectors of Advanced Automotive & Materials, Alternative Energy, Homeland Security, and Life Sciences.  The message coming from the MEDC and SEIC is that only for-profit companies that are early in their development but have revenue will be considered.  A match will be required but we’re short on details about what constitutes a match.  It’s probably safe to assume cash is best and at least a 1:1 ratio will be expected.

Another big difference this time will be the judging.  Emphasis will be more on commercialization and expectation for sales and employment growth versus technology. A business plan is going to be more important than a white paper.

So keep your eyes and ears open for news out of Lansing on Tuesday regarding the actions coming out of Monday’s SEIC meeting.  If you want to review the minutes of past SEIC meetings or see who the 19 members of the board are you can find it all at http://www.themedc.org/Boards-Committees/SEIC-Board/Default.aspx.

Shepherd Advisors blog on January SEIC meeting
David Haviland gives a good summary of what was discussed at the meeting.

SEIC Board
SEIC members, minutes and responsibilty

Our friend David Haviland went to the Michigan Strategic Fund Board meeting last month to find out what he could about the next competitive round of funding via the 21st Century Jobs Fund.  Follow the link below for his report.  It’s a good review of the big picture of the 21CJF program and the portion committed to the competition for early stage companies.

David says the SEIC will meet in January with a couple weighty issues: 1) how will the review process work and by whom; and 2) review the RFP and determine when to release it for competitor applicants.  David indicates the SEIC won’t meet again until March.  I went to the MEDC website to see when the SEIC Board is scheduled to meet and their 2008 schedule is not up yet.  They met monthly for a while in 2007 and I think they could meet in February if they felt there was a productive reason.  There is a sense of expediency with all parties.  Everyone in Lansing wants the next round to get going.  Maybe I’m just being too optimistic. Furthermore there is a strong desire by all concerned to make the award decisions quicker than last time around. So I think David’s assessment that it could be August before awards are made, my optimistic view is that it could be June or July if they can get their act together.  Of course, among the cynical in the crowd it could be September with checks not being cut until October or later.

The MOST IMPORTANT thing to know at this time is a suggestion from key MEDC staff.  Draft a good business plan.  The business plan format will probably the one they will use for competition submissions, rather than a grant type application.  Remember, the awards this time around will be going for companies ready to start commercializing their products and services, no research activity.

Skip Simms

David Haviland’s 21CJF Update
Dave’s update on the next round for 21CJF