Q&A: Stewart Beal on the future of Ypsilanti’s Thompson Block
The road to redevelopment for the Thompson Block has been both long and winding, to put it nicely. But its developer is willing to shed a little light on what’s ahead and why it’s worth the journey. Stewart Beal wants to turn the historic building on the eastern edge of Ypsilanti’s Depot Town into a combination of lofts and commercial space. He was well on his way to doing so before the financial crisis and then a fire hit the development.... [Read More...]
EMU set to begin work on Pray-Harrold renovation in spring
Construction crews are gearing up to start work on the Pray-Harrold Building at Eastern Michigan University. Work on the $42 million renovation project is expected to begin this spring. Construction workers will be replacing many of the core systems in the building, such as electrical and mechanical. This will be the first significant work done on the building since it was built in 1969. The university also wants to make the building more compliant... [Read More...]
Four More Michigan Companies Receive Support from Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund
Four more Michigan companies recently received investments from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund. To date, 38 Michigan companies have received seed funding from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, a collaborative effort of Michigan’s SmartZones. Combined, Mandy & Pandy, Algal Scientific, Axenic Dental, and RealBio Technology received $924,000 from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund. read more… Read More →
SPARK featured in Crain’s article on future of entrepreneurship and innovation to drive Michigan’s future
November 12, 2009 - Crain’s Detroit Business article on the future of Michigan is entrepreneurship and innovation. “One example is the West Michigan Science & Technology Initiative in Grand Rapids. There is also Ann Arbor Spark, Next Energy and quite a few others, and they’re all doing great work but are limited in the scale they can achieve. We need to expand their capacity — almost putting them on steroids — so they can... [Read More...]
12 Annual FastTrack Awards Presented
SPARK and Weidmayer, Schneider, Raham & Bennett were pleased to present FastTrack awards to 14 companies this year at Deals of the Year. To receive the award, companies demonstrated a 20 percent average growth over three consecutive years. We congratulate these companies on their growth and success. Read More →
Thomson Reuters Sales Career Event on September 21st
Thomson Reuters has immediate sales opportunities and is interested in meeting experienced sales professionals at a networking event held in their Dexter office. The event will be held on Monday, September 21 from 5:00 – 7:00 PM. During this event there will be a brief presentation regarding sales careers at Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting, and you will have a chance to network with the sales leadership team. Despite the tough economic environment,... [Read More...]
Boot Camp ROI
The SPARK Entrepreneur Boot Camp is really something special. We read often about ‘Boot Camps’ around the country that help entrepreneurs start their new companies. But when we drill down to see what is offered, their format, the content, etc. we come back to the same conclusion; the SPARK Entrepreneur Boot Camp is unique. We have been providing this Boot Camp twice a year since 2002. 181 companies have gone through the two day... [Read More...]
Three Ann Arbor Entrepreneurs Finalists for Ernst & Young Award
Three Ann Arbor entrepreneurs are Central Great Lakes region’s finalists for Ernst & Young’s annual Entrepreneur of the Year award: Michelle Crumm, president, Adaptive Materials Inc. Judy Ravin, CEO, Accent Reduction Institute L.L.C. Rich Sheridan, president, Menlo Innovations L.L.C. Winners will be announced at a gala event Thursday, June 11 at the Ritz-Carlton in Dearborn. Fingers crossed for these Ann Arbor business leaders! Read More →
