Endowment helps entrepreneurial U-M students to go from idea to biz
There's little doubt that the university is an incubator for big ideas. But how many of those ideas can be translated into business? And what is the process for doing that? Tim Mayleben, CEO of biotech firm Aastrom Biosciences and former COO of Esperion Therapeutics, decided to help that process along. Excerpt: "“There’s this gap between ‘I have this cool idea,’ which is not a business, but it’s a cool idea,... [Read More...]
Why Zingerman’s stays in Ann Arbor
Much has been written of Zingerman's – both locally and nationally. But few have bothered to ask why co-founder Ari Weinzweig chose and continues to choose Ann Arbor as the business's home. Until now. Excerpt: "Despite all this fame, you’ve had tussles with the city about expanding the deli. [Laughs] The town is very engaged, with highly educated and opinionated people. They’re good to sell specialty foods to, and... [Read More...]
Student demand grows SE Michigan’s rental landscape
Three of the five top real estate deals in 2011 were in Ann Arbor… and fueled by the student rental market. SE Michigan has long lagged behind other metro areas when it comes to rental options – particularly in downtown setting. But it look like the market is slowly changing. Excerpt: "The vacancy rate for apartments in Ann Arbor was 3.6 percent at the end of the third quarter, according to information from Washington, D.C.-based... [Read More...]
Insider Guide: Jayme Bicknell
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Got Talent? A Conversation with Kurt Riegger
When it comes to building a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem, Kurt Riegger, COO of OcuSciences, argues that there's no lack of ideas or innovations in Ann Arbor. Talent with enough experience to execute on those ideas may be another question. Riegger has launched, funded, and advised 26 companies, and chats with Concentrate about what our community needs to succeed. News from Concentrate Read More →
POTUS returns to Ann Arbor
Maybe it's that he can't get enough Zingerman's. Whatever the reason, Barack Obama will be landing in Ann Arbor to give a speech at U-M, just three days after his State Of The Union speech. Excerpt: "This is the president's 10th visit to Michigan since taking office. He was in Michigan in October to visit GM's Orion Assembly plant with the South Korean president and spoke in Detroit on Labor Day. It will be his second... [Read More...]
What do community "best of" lists really tell us?
Ann Arbor lands on lots of best of lists. Lots and lots of lists. But do they really paint an accurate picture of what it's like to live in or visit our community? This fascinating article gets past the hype. Excerpt: "To even begin to understand how these slightly unsettling results are arrived at, we need to understand who compiles them and who they are for. The lists are made by well-travelled academics, researchers and journalists... [Read More...]
Could NHL Winter Classic come to Michigan Stadium?
The Big House entered the Guinness Book of World Records last year for attendance when it held The Big Chill, the Michigan – Michigan State hockey game. Could the NHL top that? Excerpt: ""They play on Jan. 1st. It's a holiday. It's long after our stadium is closed up. Everybody is out of town, and in fact I hope a lot of people are at a bowl game and watching our football team. So there's a lot of complications as... [Read More...]
Ann Arbor’s re:group adds 3 jobs, expands into healthcare field
Ann Arbor-based re:group is growing its bottom line and staff by adding more health-care businesses to its customer list. "We really have made a concerted effort to grow our business," says Carey Jernigan, director of business development for re:group. "We expect to grow significantly this year. I hope to double our revenue." The downtown-based firm that specializes in branding and Internet marketing has added the likes of St.... [Read More...]
Ypsilanti: Under The Radar
Public TV's local travel guide, Under The Radar, makes Ypsilanti its focus, indulging in a little local dining and drink. Excerpt: "On this episode of Under The Radar Michigan, we start things off in Ypsilanti at a restaurant that took us so far back in time, lunch was only 40 cents. We also discover some very cool places to live right downtown, and show you a classic tavern that the famous frequent. " The Ypsilanti / Leland episode... [Read More...]
