Estrakon hires 8 as it aims to close $750,000 seed round
Estrakon is in the midst of two things these days: wrapping up a six-figure seed capital round and a job-creation spurt. The Ann Arbor-based LED sign manufacturer recently received a $250,000 investment from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund. So far it has raised $600,000 in this seed capital round, and hopes to close out the round when it gets to $750,000 by the end of the month. The investment is coming on the heels of some rapid growth in the... [Read More...]
Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund Invests $585,000 in Three Start-Ups
Three Michigan companies recently received investments from the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, totaling $585,000. To date, the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, a collaborative effort of Michigan’s SmartZones, has awarded 63 Michigan companies with seed funding totaling more than $14 million. The Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund companies have attracted more than $18 million in matching grant and equity funds. In 2011, the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital... [Read More...]
Great Lakes Angels invests in Ann Arbor’s 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... [Read More...]
Great Lakes Angels invests in Ann Arbor’s 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... [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...]
Current Motor Co. lays groundwork for scooter production
Beta is a word commonly used with Internet start-ups, but it's a word that's en vogue with one automotive start-up, Current Motor Co. The Ann Arbor-based firm finished testing its pilot electric scooters earlier this year and is now in the final stages of developing its Beta bike. The three-year-old start-up hopes to begin mass producing the scooters later this year and with an eye for a market break-out in 2012. The company also plans... [Read More...]
Current Motor Co. lays groundwork for scooter production
Beta is a word commonly used with Internet start-ups, but it's a word that's en vogue with one automotive start-up, Current Motor Co. The Ann Arbor-based firm finished testing its pilot electric scooters earlier this year and is now in the final stages of developing its Beta bike. The three-year-old start-up hopes to begin mass producing the scooters later this year and with an eye for a market break-out in 2012. The company also plans... [Read More...]
U-M start-ups score $34K in Dare to Dream grants
The University of Michigan's Dare to Dream grants aren't so much about growing student-led start-ups as they are about growing the student entrepreneurs themselves. The Dare to Dream program, organized by U-M's Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, distributes up to $100,000 each academic year to U-M students. The grants range in size from $500 to $10,000 and help students fund things like feasibility studies, business... [Read More...]
U-M start-ups score $34K in Dare to Dream grants
The University of Michigan's Dare to Dream grants aren't so much about growing student-led start-ups as they are about growing the student entrepreneurs themselves. The Dare to Dream program, organized by U-M's Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, distributes up to $100,000 each academic year to U-M students. The grants range in size from $500 to $10,000 and help students fund things like feasibility studies, business... [Read More...]
Michigan Microloan Fund receives payback on successful start-up loans
The Michigan Microloan Fund Program got its start two years ago loaning seed capital to start-ups, and the first of those loans are starting to come due. One has even been paid back early. "We have $400,000 in loans that are due between now and the end of the year," says Skip Simms, a senior vice president of Ann Arbor SPARK and manager of the Michigan Microloan Fund Program. The $1.5 million fund got its start in the wake of the financial... [Read More...]
