MEDC Teams With InfoReady To Help Michiganders Build Careers
InfoReady Corporation, provider of social media-based search and collaboration software products, recently teamed with the MEDC to deliver the Career Matchmaker and Career Investment Calculator web tools for Pure Michigan Talent Connect. The site features a Job Portal along with the InfoReady software-based Career Matchmaker, which determines industries and areas in high demand, and a Career Investment Calculator, which helps job-seekers evaluate... [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...]
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...]
Akervall Technologies Repays $15,000 Michigan Microloan Fund Program Award
Sassa Akervall, COO of Akervall Technologies, and Skip Simms, senior vice president of Ann Arbor SPARK Akervall Technologies recently repaid its Michigan Microloan Fund Program award, making it the first microloan recipient to repay funding. The company, whose work on the innovative Protech Dent™ mouth guard was also awarded phase I SBIR funding, repaid its $15,000 microloan in just 15 months, nine months before it was due. “Akervall Technologies... [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...]
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...]
New Board of Directors Announced at Annual Meeting
New members to the Ann Arbor SPARK board of directors are Dr. Susan W. Martin, president, Eastern Michigan University, and John Hieftje, mayor, City of Ann Arbor. New to the Ann Arbor SPARK executive committee are Elliot Forsyth, senior vice president, human resources and operations, ProQuest, Jan Garfinkle, managing director, Arboretum Ventures, Leigh R. Greden, executive director of government and community relations, Eastern Michigan University,... [Read More...]
