Kurek points out that the recent reauthorization of the federal Small Business Innovation Research grants brought stability back to the bio-tech space. Add to that the state of Michigan recently reauthorizing spending up to $500,000 annually over three years for bio-tech business consulting, and the woman behind the Ann Arbor-based consultancy is feeling optimistic.

"All of my clients breathed a sigh of relief," Kurek says. "It allows us to really ramp up what we were doing. This is a really good time after a lot of upheaval."

Biotechnology Business Consultants specializes in helping bio-tech start-ups develop their technologies and grow their business, a process that often takes several years of work and millions of dollars in investment. The company recently added an independent contractor to its staff of five employees. Kurek plans to create two more full-time jobs in the next year as her 22-year-old firm works to build up its new clients.

"My goal is not to be a high-growth business but to be a high-impact business," Kurek says. "I want to focus on our new clients we just landed."

Source: Lisa Kurek, managing partner of Biotechnology Business Consultants
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
News from Concentrate

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the North American International Auto Show at Cobo Center in Downtown Detroit.  Finding a suitable parking spot was not the easiest thing in the world, but I did manage to find one without much of a walk.  Cobo was decorated in it’s typical festive style this time of year, with every Auto Maker doing its best to impress the crowds of fans, peers, and societal elite that would be walking the floors over the next two weeks.

SPARK was there to celebrate the announcement of Hyundai’s Tech Center expansion. Hyundai is investing over $15 million in the expansion project, which it anticipates will create 50 new high tech automotive research and development jobs over the next three years.  Hyundai had considered expanding in several other states, but eventually decided on Superior Township because they offered a proposal that best fit their needs.  SPARK is excited about the funding structure that sealed the deal with Hyundai. It’s a creative model that SPARK used to pull together the state, Superior Township, and Hyundai.

Once at the show, we had the distinct pleasure of meeting Dr. Cho, the new President of Hyundai North America’s Technology Center.  Dr. Cho, a Stanford University Graduate, spent 5 1/2 years in Palo Alto. He recently gave this quote pertaining to the expansion in AnnArbor.com:

“This investment … in Michigan reinforces Hyundai and Kia’s commitment to U.S. vehicle development and American jobs,” said Won Suk Cho, president of the technical center, in a statement. “Investing in our locations, products and people is critical to Hyundai and Kia’s ability to compete with the best in the business. Hyundai and Kia are committed to doing everything it takes to work with its partners, including the state of Michigan, to be competitive in the marketplace.”

Hyundai, Superior Township, SPARK, and MEDC in front of the Hyundai Elantra.

There was a ton of press, MEDC personnel, and other economic development partners at the press event for Hyundai’s announcement.  Also in attendance at the event, were Governor Snyder and engineering students from 7 different universities.  The Governor had some great lines of advice to this group.  First, he recalled his own experience of deciding to stay in Detroit as an accountant, which obviously worked out for him!  He also encouraged the young talent to stay in Detroit, a city where they have the opportunity to make a difference.

We finished our trip to the 2012 Detroit Auto Show with a photo in front of the 2012 Car of the Year, the Hyundai Elantra. It was a whirlwind couple of hours, but really nice to see the Design and Engineering Talent in Detroit on display all in one place!

"The Ann Arbor area has had the good fortune of being an increasingly bigger cluster of automotive research and development activity among a number of different nameplates," says Paul Krutko, president & CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK.

The Ann Arbor area is home to a number research and development centers for automakers, most notably Toyota, which employs more than 1,000 people at two technical centers. Hyundai plans to invest $5 million into its technical center, the Hyundai America Technical Center, in Ann Arbor over the next five years.

The Korean automaker is also building a world class Hot/Cold Weather Dynamometer Test facility at its Superior Township location south of Ann Arbor. To help make this investment attractive, the state of Michigan will fund the construction of a new power substation that will power the building.

Ann Arbor SPARK also played a key role in making this investment possible. The economic accelerator agency helped Hyundai secure more than $2.5 million in new business development incentives from the state and Superior Township.

Source: State of Michigan and Paul Krutko, president & CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
News from Concentrate

Paul Krutko with Dr. Won Suk Cho, President, Hyundai America Technical Center, Inc. in front of the 2012 Car of the Year.

Hyundai is investing over $15 million in the expansion project, which it anticipates will create 50 new high tech automotive research and development jobs over the next three years.

“Ann Arbor SPARK’s business development team proactively works with businesses in the region to meet their needs as they grow and evolve,” said Paul Krutko, Ann Arbor SPARK president and CEO.  “Working with Hyundai, Ann Arbor SPARK was able to identify ways that the region and state could support the growth of the company’s North American technical center.

“Superior Township was a critical partner; the Township’s willingness to provide incentives for Hyundai’s expansion is crucial support for the new project,” Krutko added. “It’s this type of collaborative economic development between Ann Arbor SPARK, the state and regional communities that makes business choose to locate and grow here.

The Hyundai American Technical Center Inc. is a key design, technology, and engineering facility for Korean-based Hyundai-Kia Motors Group. This investment continues to demonstrate that the Ann Arbor region and southeast Michigan is a global hub for automotive research and development.

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 with customers that care, share and buy.  The panel will be moderated by Elizabeth Parkinson, senior vice president of marketing and communications, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and the panelists are David Lewan, vice president, Public Sector and Sales Operations, ForeSee Results and Son Tran, founder, Pitch Black Media.

The BioArbor event, from 6-7 p.m., is on the current state of Michigan’s bio-industry, including whether the state has what it takes to compete on the domestic and global stages.  Event speakers are Michael A. Finney, president and CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, and William U. Parfet, MBA, chairman and CEO of MPI Research Inc.

Deal Structures, from 5:45-8 p.m., is on deal structures, including term sheets, alternative deal structures and non-negotiable terms.  Event speakers are Ganesh “Ananth” Ananthasubramaniam of DTE Energy Venture, Paul McCreadie of Arboretum Ventures, and Ryan Waddington of Huron River Ventures.

Access to SPARK’s live event streaming is free!  For more information, visit http://www.annarborusa.org/live-events/index.html

Zingerman’s Brownfield Michigan Business Tax credit award is valued at $1.1 million and Madison Heights-based Powertrain Integration, LLC’s Technology Collaboration Credit is valued at $300,000 based on a $2 million investment in New Eagle LLC.

The tax credits were awarded by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the State of Michigan.

JAC Products is a leading tier 1 manufacturer of functional exterior automotive trim.  It is in the process of designing and developing 11 new roof rack/ trim systems for Toyota, Ford, Chrysler, Nissan, Subaru, Honda and Hyundai.  These products will launch from JAC Products’ Saline facility and be supported by its Shelby Township facility.

Read all about the news here.

The campaign is being carried out for three primary reasons: a) To support the University of Michigan football team and generate excitement among the fans in order to stop the 5-year losing streak to Ohio State University; b) To, for a moment, take the minds of everyone off the dire economy in the State of Michigan and put a smile on our faces; and c) To show the entire state and country that great things can be achieved in Michigan if we think outside the box and create innovative ideas.

To access “The Victors” ringtone and support the campaign, either:
1) Click on the “Hail to the Victors: 106,201 Campaign” graphic on the BongoTones.com homepage.
2) Go directly to http://www.bongotones.com/goblue

BongoTones.com is a Michigan-based global mobile entertainment Web site which allows users to upload, customize and create free mobile media (ringtones, etc.) from their personal files or search and send multimedia from a user-generated portfolio of 18,000 files. They have also created a social dynamic that establishes a community of users that have the same interests. Moreover, they provide an avenue for musicians and bands to convert their original music into mobile content and make them instantly available to fans. Since their official launch in March 2009, they have grown from an unknown domain in the marketplace, to being utilized 40,000 times a month in over 150 countries.

…Goldschmidt is one of the nearly 70 new startups that have begun working with Ann Arbor Spark this year, a roughly 25 percent increase from the same period in 2008, according to Skip Simms, director of business acceleration services at Spark.

Much of the spike is driven by an increased awareness of the resources available to Ann Arbor’s entrepreneurial community and an increase in those resources, Simms said.

For example, Spark has about $1.5 million in micro-loan funds available for startups that the agency lacked last year. The funds pay for things like company prototype completion, pre-revenue stage ramp-up costs, market research, marketing efforts and other early stage needs.

Spark’s new cash is available through three separate funds. The state of Michigan allocated about $1 million to Spark from its 21st Century Jobs Fund for the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund.

Another $275,000 is available from the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti SmartZone through the Local Development Finance Authority and Spark, as well as about $225,000 for startups in Eastern Washtenaw County through the Eastern Washtenaw County micro-loan fund, according to Simms. …

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