Ann Arbor SPARK awarded $500,000 from the MEDC for SPARK East Incubator
Ann Arbor SPARK was recently awarded $500,000 from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s (MEDC) 21st Century Jobs Fund. The funding will support the Ann Arbor SPARK East business incubator. “MEDC support for Ann Arbor SPARK’s East incubator extends and enhances opportunities for start-ups throughout the region,” said Paul Krutko, president and CEO, Ann Arbor SPARK. “Business incubators play an important role... [Read More...]
Its a small world after all
Paul Krutko speaking at the VC breakfast. Our team is up bright and early this Tuesday morning to spread the word of cool technologies, high returns, and the growing venture capital scene in Michigan to a group of around 30 Silicon Valley VC’s and high net worth individuals. The group was very interested in hearing more about our upcoming CEO Podcast between Paul Krutko, President and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK, and Jan Garfinkle, Founder and Managing... [Read More...]
Bay Area CEO’s Experience Pure Michigan
It was a chilly but eventful Monday in the Valley for our MichAGAIN team. After visiting many coffee shops, some owned by Michiganders (shout out to Good Karma Cafe), speaking with students in the Society of Computer Engineering at San Jose State University, and learning about the Hacker Dojo in Mountain View (stay tuned for tomorrow’s update) it was time for our CEO to CEO dinner. No, there is no free parking in San Jose either! It was highly attended... [Read More...]
SPARK’s Business Development Team Heads to San Jose
Greetings from San Jose! Ann Arbor SPARK’s Business Development team has arrived in California this week on a business and talent attraction trip surrounding the MichAGAIN campaign that is administered by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. We are hosting three events during our stay in the San Jose area and have meetings set up with business leaders. Our team hopes to educate businesses about all the opportunities that are available... [Read More...]
Former Pre-Seed Funding Company Receives Venture Capitol Investment
Tangent Medical Technologies, a recipient of Pre-Seed Capital Funding in 2010 through Ann Arbor SPARK, has recently secured 4.5 million in venture capital to bring their product to market. This funding will accelerate the commercialization of Tangent’s medical device, the NovaCath™, which is designed to replace the intravenous drug systems that are currently used in hospitals. Tangent’s history with SPARK dates back to 2009, when they participated... [Read More...]
Michigan Venture Capital Association puts $3.1 million into new programs
Michigan's emerging venture capital community has taken some significant steps forward in the last few years, welcoming a handful of new VC firms and watching one of its star players cross the $100 million mark. These are among the first fruits harvested from continued work to build up the state's investment community. The Michigan Venture Capital Association looks to continue that with a few new programs focused on growing the state's... [Read More...]
Ann Arbor SPARK Wins Excellence in Economic Development Award from the International Economic Development Council
We’re proud to have been recognized by the International Economic Development Council with an Excellence in Economic Development Award. The award recognized the MichAGAIN campaign in the category of Human Capital for communities with populations of 200,000 – 500,000. “We recognize Ann Arbor SPARK for providing successful strategies to promote new standards in economic development in this period of global recovery,” said Dennis Coleman,... [Read More...]
Live Event Streaming Kicks Off This Week!
We’re excited to kick off our live event Web streaming this week with three great events: Marketing Roundtable on September 13, BioArbor on September 14, and Deal Structures on September 15. The Marketing Roundtable, from 5:30-7 p.m., is on how to turn customers and stakeholders into advocates. Join consumer and business marketing experts as they reveal the latest integrated marketing and customer satisfaction strategies for creating relationships... [Read More...]
Finding a Good Crop of Employees: NPR Offers Up Close Look at Michigan’s Agriculture Economy
A recent “Changing Gears” series on Michigan Radio explored Michigan’s agriculture economy. In part five of the five part series, SPARK president and CEO Paul Krutko offers that “prospective workers want to take jobs in places where they know there are more jobs.” With his insight, Krutko explains that agriculture talent — and the needs of this population — are no different that the needs of high tech workers... [Read More...]
Ann Arbor SPARK scores $10.8M for investments and programs
Ann Arbor SPARK plans to spread $10.8 million it received from the state last week toward replenishing the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, funding the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition and starting the Michigan Angel Fund. The Michigan Economic Development Corp awarded the money from the state’s 21st Century Jobs Fund. Most of it, $9.17 million, will go toward reloading the four-year-old Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund. The $14 million... [Read More...]
