Startup News

Stacy Goldberg worked as a nutritional consultant before noticing the emergence of the free-from market for food, a niche of consumable products that are free of things like nuts or gluten for people with restrictive diets.

That prompted her to start Savorfull, an Internet start-up that helps connect people with restrictive diets (such as those with peanut allergies or who are gluten intolerant) with a broad range of foods and drinks they can enjoy.

"The market for free-from foods is growing exponentially," says Stacy Goldberg, founder & CEO of Savorfull. "The number of patients I had with restrictive diets was also growing."

Golberg launched Savorfull in February and now oversees a team of five employees and two interns inside the M@dison Building in downtown Detroit. The company is set to launch publicly in August and will provide a web platform for people to purchase healthy fods and trade tips on how live life to the fullest with restrictive diets.
 
"We're not a full-service grocery store," Goldberg says. "We know there are a lot of choices out there so we make it less overwhelming. We're trying to build a community. We want people sharing information and choices. We have a big social media component built it."

Source: Stacy Goldberg, founder & CEO of Savorfull
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Clinical research is often seen as part of the cutting edge of science but one downtown Detroit-based start-up is trying to bring research into the 21st Century.

Studycache is developing software that digitizes the research process, getting rid of paper forms and replacing it with software that executes the bureaucratic end of research faster and more efficiently than traditional methods.

"We were shocked at how much paper is used in research and how many errors are being introduced because so much paper is being used," says Alok Sharma, who co-founded Studycache with Matt Dobson. "We have heard clinical studies throwing out months of research because people weren't filling out the forms properly. The person explaining it to us said it was pretty common. It was a real eye-opener for us."

Studycache, founded in December, is made up of two employees, two independent contractors and one intern. It is testing the software in research studies now. It's aiming to launch the software later this year.

"A year from now we'd like to have a number of full-time people working on this," Sharma says. "We would love to haver a couple hundred studies going on at any given time."

Source: Alok Sharma, co-founder of Studycache
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

A former investigative reporter for the Detroit Free Press has gone off the traditional media reservation and started an independent webzine, Motor City Muckraker.

Steve Neavling worked for the Free Press for six years as a journalist, covering the Detroit City Hall before parting ways with the newspaper earlier this year. He launched Motor City Muckraker this spring from his Midtown home with a team of two people and a handful of volunteers. Neavling wants to tell the stories of regular people in the city and how the decisions of the city leaders impact them.

"Too often the traditional media neglects to the tell the story of everyday Detroiters and how policy impacts them," Neavling says. He adds that his publication has an advantage because he and his team live, breathe and enjoy being in the city while other news outlets and reporters have more of a suburban view.

"The only way to do that is to live in the city of Detroit and tell the stories of the people who live here," Neavling says. "Sort of like giving a voice to the voiceless."

Source: Steve Neavling, reporter, editor and founder of Motor City Muckraker
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

A group of mobile app entrepreneurs, along with the support of some large tech firms in downtown Detroit, are launching a new initiative to help expand the software coding workforce called Develop Detroit.

Mike Vichich (founder of mobile app start-up Glyph) and Dave Koziol (founder of software firm Arbormoon Software) launched Develop Detroit in June. The 12-week course teaches its students the ins and outs of creating mobile apps. They meet in the Chase Building in downtown (space provided by Quicken Loans) where they help the students build their own apps.

"Our goal is to train and develop the talent that will build tech companies in the city of Detroit," Vichich says.

Develop Detroit teaches about 20 people each session and gives them access to investors and tech firms pining to hire new mobile app developers. Some of the venture capitalists participating include Detroit Venture Partners and Resonant Venture Partners. Some of the tech firms looking to hire include Quicken Loans and Compuware.

"The goal is to give people skills and get them connected," Vichich says.

Develop Detroit is modeled after Code Academy, a similar mobile app development program launched in Chicago last year. Participants pay $4,000 to take part in the Develop Detroit. Vichich would like to see 80 graduates in its first year and the first class graduates at the end of August.

Source: Mike Vichich, co-founder of Develop Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The Bottom Line Coffee House, the long-awaited coffee house in the Beethoven Apartments, opened it doors earlier this week, adding one more piece to the quality of life puzzle in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood.

The small coffee shop occupies one of the two basement commercial spaces in the recently renovated apartment building at the corner of Prentis and Third streets. Pat Harris and Al Harris Jr. have been working since 2010 on opening The Bottom Line Coffee House, which it and its team of five people are now managed by their son Kyle Harris.

"We saw this as just sort of the area that didn't have an independent neighborhood place," Pat Harris says, her family wants it to become a Cheers that serves coffee. "There was a void and we wanted to fill it. ... We want it to be something that neighbors and friends would gravitate toward, a place people want to come and relax."

The Bottom Line Coffee House also has a focus on promoting high-quality products that are often local. It brews renowned Intelligentsia Coffee, uses Michigan Green Safe Products and sells cookies made at Traffic Jam & Snug.

"We wanted things that were natural and sustainable," Pat Harris says.

Source: Pat Harris, owner & partner of The Bottom Line Coffee House
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The first two businesses have graduated from the Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center (MI-SBTDC for short) in Detroit's New Venture program.

The New Venture aims to help aspiring and early stage entrepreneurs establish their business through a 10-week, which teaches the basics about opening a business, how to make sure the venture is viable and consulting with the entrepreneurs after they are up and running. "We do it through training and business counseling," says Wendy Thomas, associate regional director for MI-SBTDC.

The first two graduates include Elias Khalil and Ramonte Forte. Khalil is looking to open an authentic Spanish Tapas Wine Bar in the Cass Corridor. Forte is prepping to launch The Security Wallet, an east side-based start-up aimed at helping limit identity theft.

New Venture got its start from the FastTrac program that was funded by the Kauffman Foundation. The MI-SBTDC plans to launch this program at locations throughout Michigan. "Detroit is really where it started to bubble out," Thomas says.

Those interested in applying for New Venture, which is based in TechTown, should click here.

Source: Wendy Thomas, associate regional director for MI-SBTDC
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Downtown Detroit-based Quizzle has entered seven-figure territory, counting 1 million users in its first three years of business. It recently launched a "Quizzle One in a Million" challenge to celebrate the milestone.

The Internet start-up helps users get a complete understanding of their credit score, making the process entertaining and informative. It is also a member of the Quicken Loans family of businesses and has called the Compuware Building home since moving to Detroit's Central Business District almost two years ago.

Todd Albery, CEO of Quizzle, says his company has consistently grown by steadily evolving his business' website and the services it offers to meet customer demand. "This year we have really focused on putting out a better credit report and adding some good information around it," Albery says.

That steady growth has allowed Quizzle to create three jobs over the last year, hiring two and in the process of bring on the third. The company is now made up of 10 employees and two interns.  It reached profitability a year ago and has been growing its bottom line ever since.

"It's been a really steady increase year over year," Albery says.

Source: Todd Albery, CEO of Quizzle
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Hubbard, Snitchler, & Parzianello likes what it sees in downtown Detroit, so the business-services law firm decided to pull up stakes and move its operations to the Motor City's center.

The 1-year-old practice expects to finish its move from Farmington Hills to the Chrysler House by the end of this month. It will take a 5,650-square-foot space that will house the law firm's nine existing employees. A 10th employee will be hired when the move is executed.

"We were looking for a permanent location and Detroit was one of the first places we considered," says Eric Parzianello, a partner with Hubbard, Snitchler, & Parzianello.

Hubbard, Snitchler, & Parzianello specializes in business law and litigation, corporate law, employment law, securities litigation, estate planning, family law, immigration and international law, construction law, insurance law and real estate. The practice's partners are excited about the rebirth of downtown Detroit and prospects for growing their business there.

"We think there is a void in terms of firms of our size that can take care of small-to-medium-sized firms in the city," Parzianello says.

Source: Eric Parzianello and Mark Snitchler, partners with Hubbard, Snitchler, & Parzianello
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

GreenLancer Energy helps businesses integrate clean technologies into their facilities, handling the engineering and design aspects. But the downtown Detroit-based start-up doesn't see itself as an engineering firm as much as a business platform.

The nearly 1-year-old company provides an Internet platform for professionals who specializes in the design and implementation of green technologies, such as solar panels and wind turbines, that connect them with potential customers. Need a engineer to design a solar array on your business' flat roof? How an architect to find the best way to integrate a windturbine into your building? GreenLancer Energy can provide those experts.

"There is a lack of firms to fill the demand for clean-energy services," says Michael Sharber, COO of GreenLancer Energy.

The M@dison Building-based start-up and its staff of three employees and 10 independent contractors, recently won the Advanced Energy category at the most recent Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest business plan competition. The company, which came out of Bizdom last year, currently is in the process of securing an initial round of seed capital so it can scale its business model.

"We're doing projects mostly in the Midwest," Sharber says. "We just did a proposal for 29 housing units in Indianapolis." He adds that his company would like "to expand into all different sorts of energy. Right now we're mostly solar."

Source: Michael Sharber, COO of GreenLancer Energy
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Allied Printing Co. has long been a small business staple in Ferndale, but now the 60-year-old firm is expanding its footprint to include downtown Detroit.

The printing firm plans to open an 1,800-square-foot office in the Chrysler House. The move is expected to bring at least four permanent jobs and as many as 10 people working out of the sales office when it's up and running. "We will get it outfitted quickly and be in there by mid-to-late August," says David Bader, president of Allied Printing Co.

Allied Printing Co. specializes in marketing support services which include offset and digital print production, bindery and finishing, data and direct mail services, warehousing, fulfillment and distribution services. It currently employs 85 people. The company does a lot of business with other downtown-based firms, including Quicken Loans and its family of companies.

"We have a lot of clients in Detroit, particularly downtown Detroit," Bader says. "It seems like a good base of operations to service those firms."

Source: David Bader, president of Allied Printing Co.
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The people behind the Green Garage business incubator like to consider their growth process as the slow-food movement of entrepreneurship. De-tread, one of Midtown-based incubator's newest tenants, is keen to taking that approach to entrepreneurship.

"We're germinating now and letting this process naturally grow," says Audra Carson, CEO of De-tread.

The Detroit resident started De-tread four years ago as solution for her neighborhood's challenge's with blight. The initial idea was to find a way to find new, sustainable uses for old tires, a staple of just about every blighted area in the city. De-tread is now working to recycle these old tired into an array of new useful things, such as new floor mats for automobiles.

"I want to find a solution for that problem," Carson says.

She is currently working with her start-up team at the Green Garage and hopes to have prototypes for a private launch of her new products late this year.

Source: Audra Carson, CEO of De-tread
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

The U.S. Dept of Commerce has opened its first regional patent office in Detroit, a move that helps make the Motor City a leader in intellectual property and brings 120 new jobs to the city's riverfront area.

"It will enable our inventors to innovate faster, smarter and more effectively," David Kappos, director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Detroit, during the ribbon-cutting ceremony last week.

Detroit's U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, formally known as the Elijah J. McCoy Office, is the first of four satellite offices. These offices will function as hubs of innovation and creativity, helping protect and foster American innovation by helping businesses cut through red tape. The hope is that these new offices will enable the creation of hundreds of highly-skilled jobs in each of their local communities.

The Detroit U.S. Patent and Trademark Office will employ 120 people in its first year of operations. The intellectual property experts in the office will work closely with entrepreneurs and help further reduce the backlog of patent applications and appeals. Reducing the backlog of patents and simultaneously speeding up the process will allow businesses to move their innovation to market more quickly, saving critical time and resources.

"These new employees are excited about the job of helping these new innovators," says Rebecca Blank, acting secretary of the U.S. Dept. Commerce.

Source: Rebecca Blank, acting secretary of the U.S. Dept. Commerce and David Kappos, director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Detroit
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

CityFARM is a business that specializes in designing and building urban gardens so it's no wonder the Ann Arbor-based social entrepreneurial venture has spread to Detroit in its first few months of doing business.

Beal Inc. launched CityFARM last spring with the idea of helping bring more urban gardens into southeast Michigan by creating places for urban agriculture that are both well-designed and sustainable. The company has gotten off to a fast start taking in 35 clients in the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area primarily through social media promotion and handing out fliers. Those fliers have now added two more projects this summer in Detroit's Indian Village neighborhood.

"We got a flood of calls from people asking what we do and the services we offer," says Stewart Beal, owner of CityFARM. "Now we have two jobs in Detroit."

CityFARM currently employs three full-time employees and an intern but can have as many as 20 construction workers at a site depending on the project size. Most of its urban garden projects range in price from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Beal sees a growing demand for this work as the business become more well known.

"It's really unlimited," Beal says. "In Ann Arbor we have 35 clients. We could have as many as 100 in Detroit in the next two years."

Source: Stewart Beal, owner of CityFARM
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Detroit Labs capped its first year of business by hiring its 21st employee and laying the groundwork for more extensive mobile application work in the near future.

Detroit Labs got its start when Detroit Venture Partners CEO Josh Linkner put together a small group of local tech entrepreneurs to create a mobile app start-up. The company immediately moved into the M@dison Building when it opened last fall and has played a key role in filling out the tech hub in downtown Detroit.

Detroit Labs has gone from four founders to 21 employees and a handful of interns. Most of those new jobs are for tech professionals, such as software developers and designers. It has openings for more software developers and designers and expects to hire another 5-10 people by the end of this year.

"We've had great support from Detroit businesses and Detroit Venture Partners and (Quicken Loans Chairman) Dan Gilbert's family of companies," says Paul Glomski, CEO of Detroit Labs. "A lot of this growth is built on the support of our tech community here."

The core of Detroit Labs' work has come from Michigan-based companies, such as Quicken Loans and Stryker. It recently won awards for its work on developing mobile apps for Chevrolet's Super Bowl advertising campaign.

Glomski expects his company to continue its focus on mobile technology in the near term. It is working on mobile app games, other direct-to-consumer apps and mobile development tools. He and his co-founders envision Detroit Labs becoming a Edison labs factory farm for innovative ideas in mobile technology.

Source: Paul Glomski, CEO of Detroit Labs
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Not all of Detroit's mobile app expertise calls downtown Detroit home. Grit Design has quietly made a home for its growing staff in the Elevator Building on Detroit's Riverfront.

The 3-year-old mobile app company has hired nine people over the last year, expanding its staff to 15 people. The growth has come from the firm creating custom mobile apps and websites for businesses.

Even though Grit Design remains committed to its existing customer base for custom-built apps, it is now turning down more similar work so it can concentrate on building its own software and mobile apps. For instance, the company is working on creating it's own pre-packaged software that will allow users to build their own mobile apps.

"We want to really focus on our product line," says Andrea Livingston, co-founder of Grit Design. "We think we can create something revolutionary with this."

The end game is for the company to create its own global offering of mobile software technology created in Detroit. Livingston expects her firm to hit that point within the next year.

"We think we have finally hit that breakthrough point," Livingston says.

Source: Andrea Livingston, co-founder of Grit Design
Writer: Jon Zemke

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