“MEDC support for Ann Arbor SPARK’s East incubator extends and enhances opportunities for start-ups throughout the region,” said Paul Krutko, president and CEO, Ann Arbor SPARK. “Business incubators play an important role in our economy: The start-ups that receive assistance through SPARK East attract investment, retain talent and create jobs here in the region. Ann Arbor SPARK business incubators provide the critical support that start-ups need to become drivers of economic success.”

Ann Arbor SPARK was awarded $500,000 for the SPARK East business incubator, located in Ypsilanti, Mich. The funding will enable Ann Arbor SPARK to offer additional business incubator scholarships and business acceleration programming. The funding will also support new services developed specifically for students, including entrepreneur education.

To date, 42 start-ups have been assisted through programs and support offered at the SPARK East business incubator.

The first loan was to RealBio in Kalamazoo.  They make a disposable cell bio reactor.  Advanced Battery Concepts of Midland, winner of the GLEQ business plan competion, received the second loan. FreeStride Therapeutics in Ann Arbor received the other loan. View the press release.

Here’s yet another tool to help accelerate high growth companies that will be the job creators in a diverse 21st century economy.

There are two significant changes affecting distribution of this new money.  One is the match for an investment is lowered to one-half to one.  In other words to ask for a $200,000 investment from the fund a company only needs $100,000 of matching investment from others. 

The other big change is that a portion of the fund will go toward a newly created micro loan program.  About $1 million will be available in loans ranging in size from $10,000 to $50,000 for companies not quite in the pre-seed stage.  No match is required. 

Details about the fund and the new loan program will be presented at a meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, May 5) at noon at SPARK Central (330 E. Liberty, Ann Arbor).  Skip Simms, Manager of the fund, and Tom Anderson with Automation Alley, one of two collaborators reviewing loan applications, will make the presentation.  Information about the fund is also available on-line at www.annarborusa.org/start-ups/pre-seed-fund/ .

What they did discuss was how to handle the available $6.7 million that isn’t getting claimed from the most recent round of competition. Two more companies, Avidimer Therapeutics and Accuri Cytometers joined Cielo Med Solutions in not agreeing or unable to take the loans awarded. So the next two companies that had a tie score that just missed the cut are now eligible to step up and accept an award. Fisher Coach and Incept Biosystems are now going through due diligence and will probably sign notes totaling $3.875 million.
So what to do with the remaining $2,849,916. They can’t go to the companies with the next best scores. There are four of them and their combined ask is over $7 million. There was concensus that dividing the dollars up evenly among the four was not a good idea. What they did was ask the MEDC staff to do some investigation of the circumstances of those four companies today versus when they originally applied, nearly nine months ago.

One other action item on the agenda was the approval of the RFP for a $6.8 million award to a pre-seed fund. Applications will be due in February and the award in April.

Hopefully there will be a 2009 competition and it will come soon. Stay tuned.

SEIC Board and 21CJF Competition
Minutes and meeting dates for SEIC and info about 21CJF

Accuri Cytometers
website for Accuri

Ciello Med Solutions
web site for Cielo

Fisher Coachworks
website for Fisher Coachworks

Avidimer Therapeutics
website for Avidimer

Incept Biosystems
website for Incept Bio

The SEIC met last week to approve the list of companies that met the requirements for eligibility for the 21st Century Jobs Fund competition.  26 companies were rejected from the 117 that applied leaving 91 companies to be reviewed.  Those 26 should have received word by now but we haven’t heard any rumblings yet.

David Haviland with Shepherd Advisors attended the meeting and did his usual great job recapping the results in his blog.

As you know by now NCMS is the reviewing organization.  They have 75 reviewers lined up to start the process.  The written reviews are underway.  Half the reviewers are VCs or other technology start-up experts.

The SEIC meets again on August 20.  That’s the next time we will hear anything official about the competition.  We will learn at that time what companies will be asked to make personal presentations to reviewers in Lansing.

I have no doubt the deadlines will be met.  Same as you, we are anxious to see how many companies at the end of the day will be funded and at what levels.  We did learn something new last week from an insider.  There will not be just one loan document afterall.  There will be two, one a straight loan with warrants and the second a convertible note.  And both will be negotiable.

Good luck to all that applied and let the best plans win.

7/22/08 SEIC Board meeting summary

National Center for Manufacturing Sciences
web site