Tangent’s history with SPARK dates back to 2009, when they participated in Entrepreneur Boot Camp program. Tangent was named “Best of Boot Camp” the year they participated. Many graduates of Boot Camp take the knowledge they gained and go on to win business plan competitions or secure funding.  In this case, Tangent went on to receive funding through SPARK’s Pre-Seed Capital program in 2010 to help their innovative technology move beyond proof of concept. Funding for this program is provided by the Michigan Strategic Fund and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and is focused on moving companies forward to commercialization.

With the support of this 4.5 million venture capital investment, Tangent will be able to once again take the next step forward in growing their business.

The university recorded 101 license and options for its technology in the fiscal year ending on June 30. That's more than any other previous year. U-M researchers also recorded 322 inventions and filed for 122 patents. U-M also helped launch 11 start-ups that utilize technology originating in university labs.

"Doing more is good," says Ken Nisbet, executive director of University of Michigan Office of Tech Transfer. "But doing more high-quality agreements is better. We strive for that."

U-M Tech Transfer is also focusing on helping guide these start-ups from initiation to acquisition. A key part of that transition is its new Venture Accelerator at the North Campus Research Complex. The Venture Accelerator provides lab and office space, along with other business development resources for U-M start-ups. So far 10 start-ups are occupying the space, including some venture-backed firms.

"We're doing things to complete the opportunity, to package it and make it attractive for people to invest their time and money," Nisbet says.

U-M recorded $16 million in tech transfer revenues, which include royalties and equity returns. These revenues are reinvested in research and education. U-M's total research spending hit $1.24 billion last year.

"Our pipeline is very strong," Nisbet says. "We have great people and great research."

Source: Ken Nisbet, executive director, University of Michigan Office of Tech Transfer
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The university's School of Medicine has developed a laser that has the potential to melt fat without harming surrounding tissue and could be used to treat acne. The laser has a 1,708-nanometer, infrared beam that takes advantage of a unique wavelength that fat can absorb more efficiently than water. This allows it to penetrate skin with minimal harm on its way to reach and destroy deeper pockets of fat. It can also treat acne by targeting the oil-producing sebaceous glands, which are known to be involved in the development of the skin disease.

"We basically tune our laser to optical wavelength so it resonates with certain tissues like fat, not with 85 percent of the other parts like water," says Mohammed Islam, professor of electrical engineering and internal medicine at U-M.

Islam says the laser is still in development and is at least 18-24 months away from receiving FDA approval. To get to that point, the laser needs to raise commercialization funds to push forward further research and testing.

Source: Mohammed Islam, professor of electrical engineering and internal medicine at the University of Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Sassa Akervall, COO of Akervall Technologies, and Skip Simms, senior vice president of Ann Arbor SPARK

Akervall Technologies recently repaid its Michigan Microloan Fund Program award, making it the first microloan recipient to repay funding.  The company, whose work on the innovative Protech Dent™ mouth guard was also awarded phase I SBIR funding, repaid its $15,000 microloan in just 15 months, nine months before it was due.

“Akervall Technologies is the perfect example of how the microloan funding is suppose to work,” said Skip Simms, Ann Arbor SPARK senior vice president and administrator of the Michigan Microloan Fund Program.  “Microloan funding helped Akervall jump the chasm between development and commercialization, providing a boost that the company used to market its product and acquire customers.  The Michigan Microloan Fund Program fills a critical funding gap for emerging companies entering the market.”

The Protech Dent is a semi-custom mouth guard made of a non-compressible thermoplastic with precisely positioned perforations that disperse impact forces before they can reach the teeth, using crumple zones to further reduce impact.

“The microloan we received from Ann Arbor SPARK helped us to buy goods for our first inventory of products and to redo our website,” said Sassa Akervall, chief operating officer, Akervall Technologies. “We were also able to bring in consultants to help us with social media marketing and a market analysis, activities that were invaluable in helping us lining up the right avenues for marketing and sales.”

“Akervall Technologies is now in a position of seeing our sales increase by 300 percent this year,” Akervall added.  “We are currently launching a new sales organization for North America and are also seeing an increase in international sales.  All of this activity was initiated with the help of the Michigan Microloan Fund Program award.”

The $15,000 of principal plus interest Akervall Technologies paid will be re-invested in the Michigan Microloan Fund Program.

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.

Terra-Telesis is based in Okemos and received Microloan funding for the commercialization of emerging technology based on its unique low profile, vertical axis wind turbine.  This core technology is being used to create a new innovation for use in airport facilities that will significantly decrease and in some cases eliminate their dependence on power from fossil fuels.  Based in Ann Arbor, KnowledgeWatch will use the microloan funding to support commercialization of its automated online knowledge product.  KnowledgeWatch tracks and harvests multiple information sources to deliver one page, convenient, custom, intuitive, real-time news digests for knowledge workers and decision makers.  Also based in Ann Arbor, uwemp is an educational software company.  Microloan funding will support commercialization of uwemp’s Confidence-Based Learning, its co-developed and licensed patented web-based learning engine.  Confidence-Based Learning offers students engaging and relevant curricula and programs to equip them with the necessary skills to succeed in today’s competitive economy.

Akervall Technologies are based in Ann Arbor and have developed the Protech Dent™ mouth guard.  Blaze Medical Devices is also based in Ann Arbor and is developing a novel system for analyzing stored blood that allows clinicians to predict the effectiveness of transfusions by assessing the levels and rates of quality loss during storage for individual units.  Ellison Corporation is based in Detroit and creates safety devices for public roadways giving advanced warnings to drivers as emergency vehicles approach intersections.  Waste Water Heat Transfers Systems, LLC has developed a cost effective and energy conserving device that extracts heat from the waste stream and uses the energy to pre-heat potable water before it enters a facility’s boiler.

Inventure Enterprises is based in East Lansing and is a global provider of management consulting and technology services for businesses.  LED Optical Solutions is based in Washington, Michigan and is a based design, development and manufacture of solid state lighting devices.  Their light bulbs save up to 60% on energy costs.  RiserCam, LLC is based in Saline, Michigan and designs, manufactures and sells specialized video equipment for shooting sports and the outdoors industry.