Ann Arbor USA Blog » Jon Zemke http://blog.annarborusa.org Recent News & Information from Ann Arbor SPARK Fri, 10 Feb 2012 02:23:14 +0000 en hourly 1 Great Lakes Angels invests in Ann Arbor’s Blaze Medical Devices http://blog.annarborusa.org/great-lakes-angels-invests-in-ann-arbors-blaze-medical-devices/ http://blog.annarborusa.org/great-lakes-angels-invests-in-ann-arbors-blaze-medical-devices/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:10:28 +0000 admin http://blog.annarborusa.org/great-lakes-angels-invests-in-ann-arbors-blaze-medical-devices/ Blaze Medical Devices recently closed a $250,000 seed capital round that was led by a handful of investors from the Great Lakes Angels Group.

The Ann Arbor-based startup is developing a product that focuses on quality control and optimization for the blood banking and transfusion industry. The technology analyzes stored blood to allow clinicians to predict the effectiveness of transfusions by assessing the levels and rates of quality loss during storage for individual units.

The investors from Great Lakes Angels moved on investing in Blaze Medical Devices so they could take advantage of Michigan's angel tax credit (it expired at the end of 2011) and because the 5-year-old start-up has also received two patents. That sort of forward progress makes the start-up an attractive company for a future acquisition.

"It appears Blaze Medical Devices will need less than $10 million to get to an exit," says David Weaver, chairman & founder of the Bloomfield Hills-based Great Lakes Angels. "That creates the opportunity for less dilution."

Weaver adds that Blaze Medical Devices is aiming to be acquired by 2015 or 2016. By then it should have $40 million in sales, proving the products viability but still leaving a high ceiling for  future sales.

Source: David Weaver, chairman & founder of Great Lakes Angels
Writer: Jon Zemke
News from Concentrate

]]> http://blog.annarborusa.org/great-lakes-angels-invests-in-ann-arbors-blaze-medical-devices/feed/ 0 Great Lakes Angels invests in Ann Arbor’s Blaze Medical Devices http://blog.annarborusa.org/great-lakes-angels-invests-in-ann-arbors-blaze-medical-devices-2/ http://blog.annarborusa.org/great-lakes-angels-invests-in-ann-arbors-blaze-medical-devices-2/#comments Fri, 13 Jan 2012 02:10:28 +0000 admin http://blog.annarborusa.org/great-lakes-angels-invests-in-ann-arbors-blaze-medical-devices-2/ Blaze Medical Devices recently closed a $250,000 seed capital round that was led by a handful of investors from the Great Lakes Angels Group.

The Ann Arbor-based startup is developing a product that focuses on quality control and optimization for the blood banking and transfusion industry. The technology analyzes stored blood to allow clinicians to predict the effectiveness of transfusions by assessing the levels and rates of quality loss during storage for individual units.

The investors from Great Lakes Angels moved on investing in Blaze Medical Devices so they could take advantage of Michigan's angel tax credit (it expired at the end of 2011) and because the 5-year-old start-up has also received two patents. That sort of forward progress makes the start-up an attractive company for a future acquisition.

"It appears Blaze Medical Devices will need less than $10 million to get to an exit," says David Weaver, chairman & founder of the Bloomfield Hills-based Great Lakes Angels. "That creates the opportunity for less dilution."

Weaver adds that Blaze Medical Devices is aiming to be acquired by 2015 or 2016. By then it should have $40 million in sales, proving the products viability but still leaving a high ceiling for  future sales.

Source: David Weaver, chairman & founder of Great Lakes Angels
Writer: Jon Zemke
News from Concentrate

]]> http://blog.annarborusa.org/great-lakes-angels-invests-in-ann-arbors-blaze-medical-devices-2/feed/ 0 Walk This Way: The Challenge Of Pedestrian Malls http://blog.annarborusa.org/walk-this-way-the-challenge-of-pedestrian-malls/ http://blog.annarborusa.org/walk-this-way-the-challenge-of-pedestrian-malls/#comments Wed, 07 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000 admin http://blog.annarborusa.org/walk-this-way-the-challenge-of-pedestrian-malls/ The idea of establishing a pedestrian mall in downtown Ann Arbor has long been discussed but never acted upon. Concentrate's Jon Zemke looks at how some communities have found great success with their people-only plazas, but most have encountered failure. Would Tree Town buck the odds or struggle like the rest?
News from Concentrate

]]> http://blog.annarborusa.org/walk-this-way-the-challenge-of-pedestrian-malls/feed/ 0 MI vs SF: The Art Of The Business Plan Competition http://blog.annarborusa.org/mi-vs-sf-the-art-of-the-business-plan-competition/ http://blog.annarborusa.org/mi-vs-sf-the-art-of-the-business-plan-competition/#comments Fri, 02 Dec 2011 02:02:26 +0000 admin http://blog.annarborusa.org/mi-vs-sf-the-art-of-the-business-plan-competition/ One excels at style. The other, substance. But when it comes to nurturing an entrepreneurial ecosystem, both matter. Jon Zemke attends Silicon Valley's quarterly Founder Showcase and our own annual business plan competition, Accelerate Michigan, and finds a clash of both cultures and community.
News from Concentrate

]]> http://blog.annarborusa.org/mi-vs-sf-the-art-of-the-business-plan-competition/feed/ 0 The Passion Of Rich Sheridan http://blog.annarborusa.org/the-passion-of-rich-sheridan/ http://blog.annarborusa.org/the-passion-of-rich-sheridan/#comments Wed, 10 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000 admin http://blog.annarborusa.org/the-passion-of-rich-sheridan/ Richard Sheridan has seen it all. The burst of the tech bubble, downsizing, basement start-up anxieties, and, finally, success. Today his Menlo Innovations is a company that wins accolades for its work philosophy and clients for its bottom line. Jon Zemke talks to Ann Arbor’s go-to guy on entrepreneurship about what it takes to build a successful company. Hint: coffee may play a role.
News from Concentrate

]]> http://blog.annarborusa.org/the-passion-of-rich-sheridan/feed/ 0 The Young & Entrepreneurial: David Merritt http://blog.annarborusa.org/the-young-entrepreneurial-david-merritt/ http://blog.annarborusa.org/the-young-entrepreneurial-david-merritt/#comments Mon, 28 Jun 2010 19:47:01 +0000 admin http://blog.annarborusa.org/?p=1218 Photo credit: Dave Lewinsky

Photo credit: Dave Lewinsky

In an article published last week, Concentrate offers a great look at David Merritt, a young entrepreneur who founded I Miss You, or IMU.  IMU is an apparel company that fulfills David’s dream of blending business savvy with community commitment and service.

In the article, writer Jon Zemke offers that David is exactly the type of up and comer that is the foundation of our state’s best and brightest economy.  The article offers David’s insight on growing a company, why he chose to come back to Ann Arbor to grow IMU here, and what could work to attract others like him to locate in the Ann Arbor region.

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