L to R: Lee Gorman, WriteSteps; Jan Gensheimer, Boot Camp Director; Suzanne Klein, Write Steps; Amy Cell, Ann Arbor SPARK; Anik Ganguly, Drill instructor (The Gain Group)

Also at the Boot Camp celebration, Tyler Paxton of Are You a Human (AYaH) was awarded “Best Pitch” by the judges.  AYaH is creating and marketing a human authentication applet for use on websites.

Congrats to both companies!

The Smart Zone Award is sponsored by the Michigan SmartZones, funded through the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund and administered by Ann Arbor SPARK. It was created to benefit early-stage entrepreneurial companies that have written a strong, technology-based business plan and are already moving ahead with implementation. Statewide, 84 companies initially applied and of those, 21 competitors submitted full plans which were reviewed by venture capital firms located in Boston, the Bay Area, and Chicago.

InPore is producing a unique platform technology in the form of Silapore™ particles, highly porous, sub-micron sized silica material.  Silapore™ particles will be used as an additive for reinforcement in many polymer based products.  InPore Technologies’ Roston intends to utilize the SmartZone award to quickly expand product testing and to enhance the development of Silapore.

Of the news, Eran Bashan, PhD., Co‐founder and CEO of HYGIEIA, Inc. said, “First and foremost, we are pleased to announce achievement of this milestone to our current and potential investors. Along with other significant accomplishments, the granting of the FDA 510(k) clearance demonstrates that HYGIEIA is on track with its business plan. The longer range vision to revolutionize diabetes careis advanced by another mile.”

Congratulations on the exciting progress and achievement!

“But Nanos, who got his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Kalamazoo College, wasn’t a businessman. He credits the economic development organization Ann Arbor SPARK with helping him to develop a business plan and file for patents. Nanosystems were also one of many start-ups in the state that benefitted from free equipment that Pfizer Inc. donated when it closed its Ann Arbor research campus last year.”

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.

This award is presented to a woman business owner who is doing something innovative in her business or who has started an innovative business.  Merrill’s mission as CEO and Founder of RealKidz is to enhance children’s self-esteem by providing them with age-appropriate clothing they look good in and are excited to wear. The idea for RealKidz came to founder, Merrill Guerra, after experiencing the frustration of trying to find clothing for her plus-size daughter. After researching the market, she formulated the business plan and secured initial funding from friends and family. She was able to close her first round of funding in November of 2008 and recently received matching funds from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund.

We congratulate this most deserving woman.

Have you read the FAQ regarding the 21st Century Jobs Fund competition recently?  Here’s the link: http://ref.themedc.org/cm/attach/18efd0c7-95d3-4a2f-89e4-cae672d8ecd2/20080428_FAQs.pdf

Here are some highlights that shed more light on  the RFP.

You already know there will be 2 types of loans, a straight loan and a convertible note.  Which will apply to you?  The MEDC says this will be negotiated with the SEIC Board.  Actually it will be negotiated with a MEDC person first since they bring recommendations to the SEIC Board or designated committee.  The key takeaway here is that it can be negotiated and if you want a straight loan be prepared to make a strong case for it because they would probably prefer the convertible note.

Here’s a biggy change in my opinion.  You are required to provide a 3 year projection of your balance sheet, income statement and cash flow.  The question was if they could all be put on one page.  The answer was 3 pages.  The big change is that these 3 pages are to be in your business plan and are included in your 25 page limit.  That means your business plan is really only 22 pages. For some of you this could be tough. If you are creative maybe you can put these forecasts on fewer than 3 pages but remember the minimum size font is 10.

Their definition of Indirect Jobs is much more clear.  This is a soft number that you can estimate.  How much space you use to explain this number is directly related to how important it is to sell your application.  If the manufacturer you engage to build your widget has to hire 100 people then it’s a big deal and you should explain how you got that number.  If you aren’t creating many indirect jobs then don’t waste a lot of time on it. Remember, 1099 employees are counted in your FTE count of your company.

More about the loans, they say repeatedly that the loan documents are still being created but will be on the web site as soon as approved by the SEIC Board.  Hopefully that will happen at their next meeting in early May. One very important clarification the MEDC has now made is that the loan will be collatoralized, and assets secured with this state loan will be first priority secured.

There is a lot more in the FAQ and we encourage you to check it out. We also encourage you to ask more questions, and sooner than later.

Give us a call if you want to discuss any of these issues further.