Ann Arbor USA Blog » Investments

MI has new Tax Credit for Angels

Skip Simms — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 20:48:40 +0000

Heading to the Governor for signature is HB 5921 the Small Business Investment Tax Credit bill. Finally there is a credit Michigan Angels can use. A big SHOUT OUT to Representative Ellen Lipton for proposing this bill and pushing it all the way to the goal line. This legislation may prove to be one of the most important programs that will release the millions of private capital in Michigan that is currently sitting on the sidelines. It also makes our early stage companies competing for private equity competitive with counterparts in Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

The processes and procedures that investors need to follow to obtain the credit still need to be approved so it will be a month or so before companies and investors can start applying. SPARK will have programs explaining the criteria and procedures, for companies and investors, in January, as soon as all the details are worked out. Stay tuned for information about those events.

In a nutshell this credit will give qualified individual investors in qualified companies in 2011 and 2012 a 25% tax credit against their MI tax liability for each dollar (minimum $20,000) invested in a MI early stage company. The credit must be used over at least two years but can be spread over 5 years. Maximum of $500,000 of investments are eligible for a single investor, but it is cumulative over multiple investments.

Stay tuned for more.

Michigan Receives A 2010 Silver Shovel Award

Maricat Eggenberger — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:32:02 +0000

The 5th annual Gold and Silver Shovel awards were recently awarded to U.S. states to celebrate success in job creation and positive economic impact. The awards were given out by Area Development, a leading executive magazine covering site selection and facility planning. Silver Shovel awards are given to 10 states in three population categories. Michigan along with Texas and Florida received Silver Shovels in their 10 million population group.

The annual Shovel Awards recognize state economic development agencies that drive job creation through innovative policies, infrastructure improvements, processes and promotions that attract new employers as well as investments in expanded facilities. New York received the top award, the Gold Shovel award.

Angels in the open

Skip Simms — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 19:20:56 +0000

Business Week just published a list of the most active and successful angels in the country. Check out this article http://bwnt.businessweek.com/interactive_reports/future_of_tech_2010/

The disappointing part of the list is that all investors, except #25, invest in IT companies only. IT of course covers a lot of industry subsectors like software, mobile apps, gaming, computing, internet, etc. But I didn’t see alternative energy, materials, robotics, security or bio tech on anyones list. #25 invests in medical devices.

Nonetheless it’s good to see angels willing to put their names and records out there for people to see. Hopefully this will encourage more people to make investments in our future.

Four More Michigan Companies Receive Support from Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund

admin — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:11:35 +0000

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…

Pre-Seed Fund Makes 3 More Investments

Skip Simms — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:38:08 +0000

3 start-ups receive $680,000 from state fund

The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund has made three more investments. They are:
Creative Byline of Holland
SenSound in Detroit
Biotectix in Ann Arbor

These investments are 29, 30 and 31 for the fund. It’s pretty impressive this little fund can make 31 investments in two years.
Yes there is still capital that can be deployed. More than $1million. There are currently 7 companies under review. Demand is not decreasing. Ann Arbor SPARK is applying for several million dollars more. Let us know if you want to give us a letter of support.

Biotectix web site
Company overview

SenSound web site
Business description

Pre-Seed Fund Press Release
Announcement of these 3 investments