KALAMAZOO - GlobeFunder is a secure, online lending marketplace where Borrowers are in control. By eliminating the traditional middleman, this unique lending platform offers lower costs to Borrowers for fast, efficient loans. Co Founder and President Ben Decio talks about the company and its business plan to build a billion dollar loan portfolio in this Elevator Pitch.
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ANN ARBOR - GeneVivo creates transgenic – or genetically modified – animals for biomedical research. The transgenics market is $750 million and growing at 12percent - 13 percent per year. GeneVivo’s proprietary method enables the company to expand the market by genetically modifying strains of mice (analogous to breeds of dogs) that were not amenable to transgenesis by previous methods, opening up a much-needed new chest of tools to the research community. Sean Ainsworth, CEO, discusses the company in this Elevator Pitch.
GRAND RAPIDS - Carol Lopucki, the state director the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center, talks about what her SBA-backed organization can offer entrepreneurs and small business in terms of training and support. If you’re in need of better business knowledge, you don’t want to miss this News Maker interview.
PITTSBURGH - GSP Consulting provides this Congressional legislation update: The US House has passed legislation that would let Angel-funded companies apply for Small Business Innovation Research Grants from the federal government. Rich Overmoyer from GSP provides this news and more in this News Maker interview.
DETROIT - Jim Epolito, the president of the Michigan Economic Development Association, said Michigan’s biggest problem these days is its bad attitude. With a ground breaking UAW-GM autoworker contract in hand, and a new Michigan state budget for the current fiscal year, the dark days are behind the state. Epolito made his remarks at the E2Detroit Conference at Wayne State University. To hear what he had to say in full, listen to this News Maker interview.
DETROIT - Randal Charlton, the director of Wayne State University’s technology and life sciences incubator, TechTown, talks about the great strides made at this downtown Detroit facility and what’s in store for the future. Charlton, the former chairman of Asterand, and of MichBio, made his remarks during the E2Detroit conference Oct. 1 at WSU in this News Maker Interview.
DETROIT – Wayne State University is working with Rain Source Capital of Minneapolis to create an angel fund to pump money into the fledgling technology and life sciences the university is nurturing at its TechTown incubator. Steve Mercil, CEO of Rain Source Capital, talks about next steps in this News Maker Interview.
PLEASANT RIDGE - Josh Linkner, just 37 years old, already has founded his fourth company, ePrize, an online promotions company that develops interactive marketing for the likes Proctor & Gamble and other Fortune 500 companies. Linkner talks about his Michigan entrepreneurial experiences and the Michigan technology and entrepreneur talent pool in this News Maker interview recorded Oct. 1 during the first day of the E2Detroit conference at Wayne State University.
PITTSBURGH - Joe Kuklis, a founding partner of GSP Consulting in Pittsburgh, talks about Small Business Innovation Research federal grants and how Michigan companies can get them. SBIR grants help take promising technology from inception to commercialization and don’t dilute the positions of other investors. Learn about this innovative government program in this Newsmaker Interview.
ANN ARBOR – Did Dick Beedon, CEO of Mac Beedon Group, use a performance enhancer to win the New Enterprise Forum’s May Battle of the Elevator Pitches. Some participants contend the serial entrepreneur did. MITechNews.Com Editor Mike Brennan interviews all the players in this spoof of the popular Newsmaker Interview podcast.
GRAND RAPIDS - Jody Vanderwel, president of Grand Angels, talks about what her private equity finance group in West Michigan has invested in so far, and what they’re looking at investing in now. Grand Angels is one of five angel groups in Michigan that fund promising Michigan entrepreneurs, particularly in life sciences and high technology. If you’re a Michigan entrepreneur searching for funding, you need to listen to this special BL Government Affairs edition of Newsmaker Interview.
TROY - Blaze Biomedical Devices, which develops diagnostic devices for blood transfusions, won the 2007 spring New Business Idea category at the Great Lakes Entrepreneurs’ Quest contest. Founder Michael Tarasev talks about his new company in this special GLEQ podcast.
TROY - RealKidz, a company that makes plus sizes for children and a social network for parents, was the runner up in the 2007 spring Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest competition. RealKidz founder Merrill Guerra talks about her company in this special GLEQ podcast.
WARREN - Robert Skandalaris, chairman and founder of Noble International, a $1.5 billion laser welding company, said in a keynote address at the awards ceremony for the 2007 Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest that Innovation will be the key to rebuilding Michigan’s battered economy. He summarizes his address in this Newsmaker Interview.
TROY - BA Maze, a Michigan startup company that makes products to help the Aging Baby Boomer set better cope with their lives, was the grand prize winner in the 2007 Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest contest, winning $25,000. Founder Robert Mazor talks about what he’ll do with the money in this podcast interview produced for GLEQ.
ANN ARBOR - PromoVUZ, an online music promotional service for up and coming musicians, won second place in the Emerging Company category of the Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest 2007 contest. Run Suarez, an Ann Arbor Councilman and Michigan entrepreneur pocketed a check for $5,000. He talks next steps in this podcast interview produced for GLEQ.
LANSING - A fifth Angel Investing group may be forming in Lansing, says David Weaver, president of Great Lakes Angels, in this Newsmaker Interview. Investors representing Capital Angels have approached Weaver and others seeking their help and guidance. Angel Investors typically pump several hundred thousand dollars into promising companies.
KALAMAZOO - First Angels, a private equity finance group set up by Southwest Michigan First, has made its first investment, a mid to high six figure deal in an undisclosed life sciences company in the Kalamazoo area. First Angels Managing Director Paul Neeb provides more details in this Newsmaker Interview.
Media G was seriously thinking about leaving Michigan because the web development company in Madison Heights was having trouble recruiting programmers and other IT professionals. Now armed with a $3.7 Million Mega Tax Credit from the state of Michigan, Media G President Antoine Dubeauclard said he’s moving his company to trendy Royal Oak, a cool city that future employees will want to flock to. Listen to the rest of the story on this Newsmaker Interview podcast.
LANSING - State Rep, Steve Bieda from Warren was one of the chief negotiators for the development of recently announced plan to replace the single business tax. Bieda, chair of the House Tax Policy Committee, provides the inside story on the negotiations for the new Michigan Business Tax plan that almost never was. This interview was arranged by the BL Government Affairs group in Lansing and is part of the BL Government Affairs Tax and Legislative Update series.
ANN ARBOR - Dick Beedon, of MacBeedon Partners in Ann Arbor, thinks Michigan-based pension funds should put their money where their mouths are. Beedon, who is developing a $50- to $100 million venture fund to invest in Michigan technology start ups, thinks the $40 plus billion state of Michigan pension fund, and the multi-billion dollar pension funds run by state universities and colleges, should invest in Michigan, and not other states as has been past practice.
Dick Beedon - State Pension Funds Should Invest In Michigan: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (328)MANISTEE - Manistee County has been named one of the 2007 winners of our America’s Crown Communities Awards this year for its work on the Michigan Energy Fair. Manistee is among an elite group of communities whose projects represent some of the finest examples of local leadership at work. County Commissioner Alan O’Shea will represent the county at the event. The interview is with Associate Publisher Bill Wolpin.
Interview with Brandan Ringlever of Butzel Long’s Government Affairs Group in Lansing. Ringlever kicks off a new podcast news series at MITechNews.Com that will update Michigan citizens about what tax and budget issues are afoot in Lansing. This week’s episode examines the budget compromise that has been proposed to close the state’s nearly $1 billion budget deficit.
An interview with Fred Killeen, CTO, for the information Systems Group at General Motors Corp., talks about globalization and the Impact on Business Process and IT at General Motors. Killeen was a speaker at the Midwest Technology Leaders 2007.
Interview with Teri Takai, chief information officer for the state of Michigan. Takai talks about the state winning the State Advocacy Award from the Health Information Systems Society for getting named the state that has done the most to promote IT in the healthcare industry.
Larry Freed, CEO of ForeSeeResults, talks about the recent move by his company to buy out Compuware Corp. and bring in two Venture Capital firms that will help the web site customer measurement company fuel growth. ForeSeeResults, based in Ann Arbor, will be looking for about 30 professionals this year to join its staff of 70 - good news for Michigan’s hard pressed economy.
Art DeMonte, executive director of the Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quest, said the new FastTrac TechBusiness seminar series attracted so much attention in April that the business plan writing contest plans to triple it starting next fall. Seminars will be offered in West Michigan, Central Michigan and Southeast Michigan for entrepreneurs seeking to kick start their businesses.
Paul Neeb, a vice president at Southwest Michigan First and head of the economic development group’s First Angels investment group, offers entrepreneurs some tips on how they can attract investors. Neeb was part of Great Lake Entrepreneur’s Quest’s seminar series in April. His remarks were recorded in Grand Rapids.
Interview with Mike Rogers, spokesman for the Small Business Association of Michigan, which just published its annual Entrepreneurial Scorecard ranking Entrepreneurial Dynamism in all 50 states. Michigan just avoided failing with a grade of D Minus.
Interview with Clara Mager, Immigration Group practice lead for Butzel Long. The law firm will host a day-long conference on April 27 at the Troy Marriott to talk about the latest news in Immigration Law, including the fact that all 85,000 H-1B temporary worker visas for fiscal 2007-2008 - used heavily by the high tech industry to recruit skilled foreign professionals - were all spoken for just a day after applications were accepted.
David Van Andel, chairman of the Van Andel Research Institute, talks about what the Phase II expansion of the center funded by his parents, Jay and Betty Van Andel, means to him personally. He also discusses how the VAI has become the catalyst for a nearly $1 billion construction boom on “Pill Hill” in Grand Rapids. He also urges Michigan’s legislative officials to stop the partisan politics and becomes the leaders the people of the state hoped they would be when they were elected.
Interview with George VandeWoude, director of the Van Andel Research Institute, talks about the Phase II expansion of the cancer R&D facility in downtown Grand Rapids, and how it will create 550 new jobs, pour $170 million into the local economy, and lead to the labs bright future which could one day help eradicate diseases that effect an aging population, including cancer.
Interview with Art DeMonte, executive director of the Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest, discussing GLEQ’s new FastTrac TechVenture program, an intensive five session, 15 hour program to help tech entrepreneurs create business plans that win them money from investors. The first session starts in Ann Arbor on April 18.
Interview with Skip Simms, Executive Director of the Business Accelerator for Ann Arbor SPARK, who says its time for the state of Michigan to develop incentives for Angel Investors to pour their cash into promising Michigan technology and life sciences startups. Simms outlines what he says some of those incentives should be.
Interview with Tom Anderson - Director of Automation Alley’s Technology Center and Senior AA Vice President, who talks about the $6 million that the technology networking group has to invest in promising Michigan technologies that can be commercialized - read create high tech jobs for the state.
Interview with Doug Rothwell, president of Detroit Renaissance on the proposed $50 million fund that would help Southeast Michigan accelerators, like Automation Alley, Ann Arbor SPARK, and Wayne State University’s TechTown, provide seed capital to promising Michigan technology and life sciences companies.
Michael Nowlan, an attorney with Clark Hill’s Detroit office, talks about the next round of H1B temporary worker visas, typically used by high tech companies to recruit very skilled foreign workers. The US government will begin accepting applications for the fiscal year on April 2. It’s a first come, first served rush to grab the 65,000 visas that will be available for US businesses.
Michael Spink, an attorney for Brinks, Hofer, Gilson and Lione in Ann Arbor, provides the basics of trademark law. Spink, an intellectual property specialist, provides a comprehensive overview of how to trademark your company’s property.
Interview with Teri Takai, Michigan’s Chief Information Officer, talks about her keynote address at the March 30 Michigan Women’s Conference in which she will discuss the lack of women in technology. Takai also discusses the consolidation of Michigan’s data centers and the impact it will have on cutting the state’s computing costs - saving taxpayers money. Plus she outlines some new online services that will be offered in 2007.
Interview with Hugo Braun, a partner in North Coast Technology Investors in Ann Arbor. Braun co hosted a recent talk at the New Enterprise Forum on Venture Capital. His spin is not only do investors need to question entrepreneurs, but entrepreneurs should also question potential investors to make sure there is a good fit.
Interview with Mary Campbell, chairman of the Michigan Venture Capital Association, on the 21st Century Jobs Fund, a $2 billion effort by the state to fund promising technology and life sciences startups. Campbell also talks about what the state needs to do to not only create a more friendly environment for investors, but also entrepreneurs.
Interview with Randal Charlton, Wayne State University’s new Entrepreneur in Residence. Charlton, the outgoing CEO of Asterand, the human tissue bank company he founded at WSU’s TechTown in downtown Detroit, discusses his new role of helping Wayne State create dozens of companies like his. He also discusses the search process for his successor at Asterand.
Newsmaker Interview launches its inaugeral Elevator Pitch, a 3-minute audio presentation by a top executive at a Michigan-based technology or life sciences start up that is seeking investment. The prime criteria for inclusion in this series is the Elevator Pitch has the blessing of one of Michigan’s private equity finance or business-plan development networks. The first Elevator Pitch comes from Creative Byline, a West Michigan start up that hopes to become the Travelocity.Com of the book publishing world, matching authors to publishers.
Interview with David Fry of Ann Arbor’s Fry Inc., an e-commerce design, development and managed services provider, which purchased San Francisco-based Pinnacle Rock Associates, a consulting firm providing business and technology consulting services to multi-channel retailers, catalogers and consumer goods manufacturers.
Interview with Jeff Mason from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. on the status of the first 85 projects named by the state to receive start up funding. Some want it, some have said no, most already have received their checks. But some $34 million from the first round has yet to be allocated by the Michigan Strategic Fund.
Interview with University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman about how U-M will provide $1 million a year for the next three years to recruit as many former Pfizer research scientists as possible. Coleman also said more than 170 Pfizer scientists have contacted the U-M Education School about joining its Fast Track program, which could give them the credentials within a year to teach.
Interview with Michael Finney, president of Ann Arbor SPARK, who said scores of scientists who soon will be terminated from Pfizer’s Ann Arbor campus have contacted SPARK about getting help starting new life sciences and drug development-related companies based on the work they’ve been doing at Pfizer.
Interview with Michigan House Speaker Andy Dillon who said changes are coming to the 21st Century Jobs Fund to get more money into the hands of entrepreneurs who can commercialize technology rather than perform basic research that may have little chance of creating jobs - what Michigan desperately needs.
Andy Dillon - Reforms Needed For Jobs Fund: