Excerpt:

"“There’s this gap between ‘I have this cool idea,’ which is not a business, but it’s a cool idea, it’s a kernel of a business, but how do you transfer into the framework of a business which you could then go do a feasibility study on to see if it’s worth doing?” said Tim Faley, managing director of the Zell Lurie Institute."

Read the rest here.
News from Concentrate

“Since joining Ann Arbor SPARK, I’ve met with more than 80 business owners who are advancing our region’s economy; there’s an incredible depth of expertise in our region,” said Krutko.  “The podcast series is designed to not only highlight that expertise, but also make it available to others who could benefit from the wisdom those business leaders can share.”

The podcasts will feature successful local businesses, business owners and business leaders.  Throughout these conversations, the CEOs will share best practices, lessons learned and an “in the trenches” view of the region’s economy.

The first podcast, available now on Ann Arbor SPARK’s website, is an insightful conversation with Mary Sue Coleman, president of University of Michigan.  Coleman discusses the role of a research university in economic development and the impact of University of Michigan’s partnership with Ann Arbor SPARK on the region.

Subsequent Ann Arbor SPARK CEO Podcasts: Conversations on Economic Opportunity, will feature regional leaders, including Ken Fischer, president of the University Musical Society, Mike Miller, head of Google Ann Arbor, Jan Garfinkle, managing director of venture capital firm Arboretum Ventures, and many more.

Ann Arbor SPARK will release new podcasts on its website every two weeks through 2012.  A full schedule of podcasts is available on SPARK’s webpage.

Lakeside Software, a leader in business intelligence solutions for IT professionals, today announced the acquisition and opening of a new R&D facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This facility will be primarily utilized for product design and development, and will accelerate company growth by making it easier to hire top technical talent from the Ann Arbor metropolitan area. The new facility is fully operational and is located at 112 South Main Street in Ann Arbor; Lakeside’s corporate headquarters will remain in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.

The company had announced in March 2011 plans to expand in the Ann Arbor area, and had received a Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA) tax credit to help encourage the expansion.

Founded in 1997, Lakeside Software has grown organically without outside investment. The company’s products employ differentiated technology in the form of a patent-protected distributed database architecture for data collection and aggregation that delivers unprecedented depth of information and insight into user experience. Lakeside has also successfully established key partnerships with global systems integrators and technology firms that use the company’s technology to implement desktop transformation and virtualization services. The company was recently designated Technology Company of the Year by Automation Alley, Michigan’s largest technology business association.

“We’re excited to be expanding in Michigan and in the Ann Arbor area. Michigan is technology-friendly and offers a wealth of technology talent that we will employ to drive our continued growth.” Michael Schumacher, founder & CEO, Lakeside Software.

“Ann Arbor SPARK worked with Lakeside Software early on to support the company’s expansion efforts to our region, including working with MEDC and other officials to secure the incentives that emerging companies need to grow. The tech talent here will ensure that Lakeside Software will hit the ground running, quickly ramping up its operations and getting down to business. Long term, the depth of tech talent in Ann Arbor will be a strategic asset for Lakeside Software.” Paul Krutko, President and CEO, Ann Arbor SPARK.

Joe Minock and Kyle Mulka developed a smartphone application that uses a QR code (think a checkerboard-like bar code that can appear on a touch screen) so people can claim discounts on purchases. Those codes tell the business whether the buyer found the ad on Facebook or from a friend. The software also reveals the gender and age of the buyer.

This software has been in a private Beta launch since it came out last year. Now the company is expanding the technology it uses, allowing businesses and customers to make that connection with other new forms of communications, such as text messages.

“We have really focused on the consumer interaction,” says Joe Minock, co-founder and CEO of Deal Savant. “We have made it easier for consumers to get the deal. We expect that will dramatically improve the client interaction and retention rate.”

Deal Savant expects to add 100 new businesses to its Beta launch this fall. It hopes to have a few thousand businesses as clients within the next year.

Source: Joe Minock, co-founder and CEO of Deal Savant
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The show is hosted by Chris Holman, and regularly highlights success stories from around the state in the world of business and finance. It’s also focused on discussing solutions to the challenges facing Michigan’s economy, from technology to manufacturing.

Paul’s first and second interviews with the Michigan Business Beat were in September and October. He spoke about recruiting new senior talent into SPARK, and the fresh perspectives they are bringing into the organization. Other topics include MichAgain, SPARK’s upcoming talent attraction event in San Jose, CA. The event is aimed at attracting Michigan alums back to the Great Lakes State. He also spoke about the upcoming Deals of the Year awards and the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. These topics are just the tip of the iceberg, so be sure check out the recording for yourself here. Check back with us later in November for Paul’s next interview!

"We recruit nationwide but some of our best employees have been coming from the University of Michigan," says Chris Kurecka, manager of Michigan engineering for Cataphora.

The nine-year-old firm employs 37 people, including one employee and two interns at the new Ann Arbor office. A number of Cataphora's executive team members also have Ann Arbor roots. The company's CEO, CTO, and Kurecka all graduated from U-M.

Cataphora plans to grow its new office to 10-20 people within the next 12-18 months. It chose the new office, with the help of Ann Arbor SPARK, at 500 E Washington because of the vibrancy and walkability of downtown, plus its close proximity to U-M's Central Campus.

"It's nice to be within walking distance of everyone," Kurecka says. "We're also trying to attract students so being within walking distance of the university is great."

Source: Chris Kurecka, manager of Michigan engineering for Cataphora
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

"We recruit nationwide but some of our best employees have been coming from the University of Michigan," says Chris Kurecka, manager of Michigan engineering for Cataphora.

The nine-year-old firm employs 37 people, including one employee and two interns at the new Ann Arbor office. A number of Cataphora's executive team members also have Ann Arbor roots. The company's CEO, CTO, and Kurecka all graduated from U-M.

Cataphora plans to grow its new office to 10-20 people within the next 12-18 months. It chose the new office, with the help of Ann Arbor SPARK, at 500 E Washington because of the vibrancy and walkability of downtown, plus its close proximity to U-M's Central Campus.

"It's nice to be within walking distance of everyone," Kurecka says. "We're also trying to attract students so being within walking distance of the university is great."

Source: Chris Kurecka, manager of Michigan engineering for Cataphora
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

"We recruit nationwide but some of our best employees have been coming from the University of Michigan," says Chris Kurecka, manager of Michigan engineering for Cataphora.

The nine-year-old firm employs 37 people, including one employee and two interns at the new Ann Arbor office. A number of Cataphora's executive team members also have Ann Arbor roots. The company's CEO, CTO, and Kurecka all graduated from U-M.

Cataphora plans to grow its new office to 10-20 people within the next 12-18 months. It chose the new office, with the help of Ann Arbor SPARK, at 500 E Washington because of the vibrancy and walkability of downtown, plus its close proximity to U-M's Central Campus.

"It's nice to be within walking distance of everyone," Kurecka says. "We're also trying to attract students so being within walking distance of the university is great."

Source: Chris Kurecka, manager of Michigan engineering for Cataphora
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

"We recruit nationwide but some of our best employees have been coming from the University of Michigan," says Chris Kurecka, manager of Michigan engineering for Cataphora.

The nine-year-old firm employs 37 people, including one employee and two interns at the new Ann Arbor office. A number of Cataphora's executive team members also have Ann Arbor roots. The company's CEO, CTO, and Kurecka all graduated from U-M.

Cataphora plans to grow its new office to 10-20 people within the next 12-18 months. It chose the new office, with the help of Ann Arbor SPARK, at 500 E Washington because of the vibrancy and walkability of downtown, plus its close proximity to U-M's Central Campus.

"It's nice to be within walking distance of everyone," Kurecka says. "We're also trying to attract students so being within walking distance of the university is great."

Source: Chris Kurecka, manager of Michigan engineering for Cataphora
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

“Attracting and retaining Arbor Networks in the Ann Arbor region is reflective of Ann Arbor SPARK’s work to help IT businesses grow in the region,” said Paul Krutko, Ann Arbor SPARK president and CEO.  “Our business attraction and retention team structured the incentive package on the behalf of the company and the City of Ann Arbor.  SPARK will continue to work closely with Arbor Networks to support its long-term needs, including helping the company connect with tech talent.”

Arbor Networks is headquartered in Massachusetts; its operations here in Ann Arbor are focused on R&D.

Arbor Networks is a leading provider of network security and management solutions for next-generation data centers and carrier networks, including the vast majority of the world’s Internet service providers and many of the largest enterprise networks in use today. Arbor’s proven network security and management solutions help grow and protect customer networks, businesses and brands.