Innovation + Job News

Business opportunities big and small will be the topic of discussions this week, ranging from macro visions of urbanism to micro loans for small companies.

Downtown-based Hamilton Anderson Associates will host the first of a series of lectures this Tuesday evening called lecturesHAA. Hamtramck-based Design 99 designers Gina Reichert and Mitch Cope will talk about contemporary architecture, its impact and audience. Design 99 has worked on projects such as the Power House and MOCAD’s Shrinking Cities Exhibit.

The lecture series is focused on establishing a dialogue about issues that impact big cities, such as urbanism, sustainability and innovation. The idea is to create strategies around these issues that spur reinvestment and redevelopment.

“It’s a tool to open up some dialogue,” says Christina Hansen, designer with Hamilton Anderson.

The first lecture will be held at 6 p.m., Tuesday, June 23, in the Johanson Charles Gallery, 1345 Division St. in Eastern Market.

Later this week the Center for Empowerment and Economic Development will host an Entrepreneur’s Roundtable for Contractors on Thursday. The roundtable will feature information on financing, resources and business opportunities. It will be held between 8:30 a.m. and noon at the Odd Fellows Hall, 8701 W. Vernor St. in Mexicantown. For information, call (313) 255-1020.

Source: Christina Hansen, designer with Hamilton Anderson and Center for Empowerment and Economic Development
Writer: Jon Zemke
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The gray hairs weren't the only people talking economics at the National Summit in Detroit last week.

Excerpt:

Detroit -- It wasn't Alex Zelinski's idea to attend the National Summit, a gathering of leaders from across the country to set an agenda for America's future.

The senior at Brother Rice High School said his parents thought it would be a good for him to go. But after a day of speeches, the 16-year-old Rochester resident said he was impressed and glad he went.

"It's a privilege to listen to all these successful business people and what they think about the economic times," Zelinski said. "It's inspiring."

Read the rest of The Detroit News story here.read on…

Sustainability has become a cornerstone for TechTown's Nextek Power Systems, allowing the company to hire six people at the business incubator this year.

Nextek Power Systems specializes in developing DC (direct current) power systems for commercial buildings. The New York-based company opened up its TechTown-based office so it could be closer to the region's automotive supplier base and its voracious appetite for energy.

"There has been an increased interest in higher energy efficiency and renewable energy," says Paul Savage, CEO of Nextek Power Systems.

That increased interest in turning sustainability into profitability has allowed the firm to expand its presence in Detroit. Of the company's 15 employees, 10 of them are in TechTown. It hopes to add a few more to its Detroit presence within the next year as the company consolidates and continues its growth.

Source: Paul Savage, CEO of Nextek Power Systems
Writer: Jon Zemkeread on…

The University of Detroit Mercy Robotics Team's win at the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition could have bigger potential implications than bragging rights over the likes of Princeton, Georgia Tech and Cornell.

The types of robots competing at the event in Rochester earlier this month are used in developing a variety of technologies in everything from military to prosthetics. This is the fourth time U-D Mercy's team has placed, and the second time it took the top prize. This year 50 teams from 43 schools from across North America competed.

"It's nice to show what kind of talent we have in Detroit," says Mark Paulik, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Detroit-Mercy.

The competition consists of autonomous robots that the students design, create and operate. The idea is to get these "intelligent vehicles" to do simple tasks. Think the Mars Rover.

Today the military is developing these sorts of autonomous vehicles for a number of tasks, including detection and removal of IEDs in war zones like Iraq. They are also used in search-and-rescue situations. Companies that develop prosthetics take advantage of the technology, too, to improve mobility of their products.

Source: Mark Paulik, a professor of electrical engineering at the University of Detroit-Mercy
Writer: Jon Zemkeread on…

Detroit-Pittsburgh connections go beyond hockey. For Michael Beauregard, a partner of Huron Capital Partners, the connections are personal and professional.

He has degrees from the universities of Michigan and Pittsburgh. And the 44-year-old's downtown Detroit-based firm also has an office in Pittsburgh.

Huron Capital Partners employs 14 people and two interns who oversee 20 businesses with combined revenues of $500 million that employ more than 2,200 people. Huron Capital Partners has invested in 42 businesses since it opened in 1999.

Describe your business in two sentences or less?
Huron Capital is a leading private equity firm investing in control equity positions in manufacturing and service businesses in the U.S. and Canada. The firm invests equity to lead management buyouts, corporate spin-offs, recapitalizations, family successions and buy-and-build strategies of well-positioned companies having revenues between $20 million and $200 million.

Why did you decide to set up shop in Detroit?
Michigan, in general, has a large density of middle-market service and manufacturing businesses. At the time of our founding in 1999, there were very few equity capital resources that entrepreneurs could turn to for investment capital to grow organically or through add-on acquisitions to their businesses. We continue to be a unique capital resource for these business owners.

What are some of the advantages to doing business here?
With $600 million in equity capital under management, Huron is the largest private equity firm based in Detroit. We are able to be more responsive to the needs of local business owners seeking growth capital than other capital sources on the coasts.

What do you see in Detroit that other people who live outside the city don't?
In the 10 years that we have had our headquarters in Detroit (in 3 different buildings), we have seen the city invest significantly in the Woodward and Washington street corridors in tandem with the new stadiums, theaters and corporate headquarters. The profile of the city and the amenities it offers to businesses today are significantly improved in their scope and appeal than in the prior decade. Whether you are hosting a board meeting or dinner at The Whitney or hosting a small group at the Detroit Breakfast House & Grill, there are several venues that will have your guests leaving with a freshened view of Detroit's unique style.

What advice would you give to someone who was thinking about opening a business in the Motor City?
Be sure to research and focus on the demand drivers for products and services that are scalable and which can leverage the necessary investment in fixed assets to serve regions inside and outside of Michigan from a central location here in Detroit.

If you could change one thing about Detroit, what would it be?
Detroit, and Southeast Michigan in general, needs to recover from the contraction in the demand for light vehicles in the U.S. and hedge the impact from any recurrence of such a profound economic issue. This balance can occur by advancing the strengths of our region's educational and health care research foundations, much like Pittsburgh did as it recovered from the contraction in the U.S. steel industry.

Source: Michael Beauregard, partner of Huron Capital Partners
Writer: Jon Zemkeread on…

Tech Town chief and entrepreneur Randal Charlton urges journalists to dig deeper and find the good things going on in Detroit.

Excerpt:

Journalists have been visiting Detroit on a regular basis to report on its demise and the British Broadcasting Corporation is the latest to dispatch a correspondent to chronicle our death.

The past Sunday the BBC website described Detroit as “Car Crash City” and ran a story headlining "Motor City in Mourning for GM."

On one level the story is accurate. he reporter describes looking out of his hotel room on the 45th floor of the Renaissance Center, the headquarters of GM. He is as confused as anyone has the right to be that Canada is to the south, and even more bewildered by the poor design of the lower business floors of the building. The reporter, Greg Wood, chronicles the urban decay, the deserted office blocks, a closed church, the odd car and the lack of pedestrians. All true. What he may have missed is the spirit of Detroit.

I would like to invite the BBC’s Greg Wood to come back to Detroit on June 24th when we are kicking off a historic new effort to create 400 – yes 400 – new companies in the next three years. That means helping to give birth to about one new company every two to three days. The multi-million dollar effort is backed by the New Economy Initiative and is supported by the Kauffman Foundation, who are the world’s experts on entrepreneurship.

Read the rest of the Detroit Free Press story here.read on…

Compuware knows its success doesn't just come from its employees but its partners, too.

Excerpt:

Detroit-based Compuware Corp. (Nasdaq: CPWR) this week continued to strengthen its position as the global leader in end-to-end application performance by announcing enhancements to the worldwide Compuware partner program.

Included in this announcement are new programs, solution service offerings and go-to-market resources that enable partners to effectively address the significant application performance and IT management challenges confronting organizations worldwide.

"Partners are a key component of the Compuware Business Service Delivery strategy and our focus on providing comprehensive application performance solutions for our customers," said Kimberly King, vice president of channels and alliances at Compuware. "The objective of our partner program is two-fold: to help our partners grow their businesses and to effectively address our customers' business and IT challenges."

Read the rest of the Great Lakes IT Report story here.read on…

Some of the elite of the business world are converging in downtown this week to talk economics. Of course that means there is a gaggle of reporters downtown covering the National Summit.

According to Crain's Detroit Business, more than 250 media credentials have been give out to follow meetings, to be attended by Citigroup Inc. CEO Vikram Pandit, Microsoft Corp. CEO Steve Ballmer, Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke.

Here are some links to help follow the coverage:

• Crain's Detroit Business here.
• Detroit Free Press has a live blog here.
• The Detroit News here and here.
• Great Lakes IT Report here.

read on…

A Wayne State researcher is working on a way to turn energy consumption into a two-way street.

Caisheng Wang, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and engineering technology, is using a $300,000 National Science Foundation grant to figure out a way to make traditional energy from power plants play nicely with alternative energy generated from homes and businesses.

"The idea is simple," Wang says. "If we have more (energy produced from say solar panels on homes) we just sell it back to the company. Unfortunately, it's more complicated than that."

The energy infrastructure is designed to take energy from power plants through the grid to your home, like a river going down stream or traffic driving down a one-way street. Reversing that flow can create a number of problems dealing with things like protection, safety and power quality. "It would be a fundamental, revolutionary change," Wang says.

Source: Caisheng Wang, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and engineering technology at Wayne State University
Writer: Jon Zemke
read on…

TechTown plans to get its FastTrac program off on the right foot with its kickoff conference at the end of the month.

The all-day event is geared toward finding people who want to become entrepreneurs. TechTown plans to create 400-500 businesses with the FastTrac program.

"The day is designed to give them a sense of what being an entrepreneur is all about," says Randal Charlton, executive director of TechTown.

Financing this effort is a $5 million grant from the New Economy Initiative, along with the expertise and resources of the Kauffman Foundation. The idea is to create hundreds of start-ups at TechTown within three years in a program that could be replicated across the country.

"Nothing like this has been done on this scale before," Charlton says.

The kick-off conference is set to take place on June 24 at TechTown’s campus. For information, call (313) 879-4478 or click here.

Source: Randal Charlton, executive director of TechTown
Writer: Jon Zemkeread on…

An Indian business forum this morning at TechTown is part of a larger program to introduce local businesses to markets in India and China this year.

"I see an increasing ability to export to India as being a big positive to our state," says Jaison Raju, support leader for TechTown who is helping organize the program.

The program teaches businesses the subtle differences between doing business in America and India; for instance, time can be a little more lax in India at times than in the uptempo culture of North America.

The forum will be held at 9 a.m. today, Tuesday, June 9, at TechTown, 440 Burroughs St. in New Center. For information, click here.

Source: Jaison Raju, support leader for TechTown
Writer: Jon Zemke
read on…

The Kresge Foundation has given a $600,000 grant to the Center for Excellence and Equity in Mathematics.

"This (grant) will allow us to have funding for the next three years as we work on the endowment," says Monica McLeod, associate director for the Center for Excellence and Equity in Mathematics.

Math Corps is the signature program of the Wayne State University-based center. It, along with its other programs, touches about 1,500 middle school and high school students each year.

About 90 percent of students who take part in Math Corps graduate from high school and 80 percent go onto college. The idea is to improve the quality of introductory mathematics at the secondary education level for students in inner cities who are minorities.

Source: Monica McLeod, associate director for the Center for Excellence and Equity in Mathematics
Writer: Jon Zemkeread on…

Ara Howrani didn’t exactly plan to end up as the owner of Howrani Studios even though he took over the family business. His dad set up the commercial photography studio in the New Center area in the 1960s and Ara took over a few years ago after his dad fell ill.

Today the 27-year-old with a bachelor's degree in communications from Michigan State University runs the business that employs one person and three independent contractors. He also manages the lofts above the studio on East Grand Boulevard, and a few others in the city.

Why did you decide to set up shop in Detroit?
I'm continuing the studio and management of eight lofts at my father's (Ameen Howrani) two buildings -- this one on Grand Boulevard and an Eastern Market building

What are some of the advantages to doing business here?
Not oversaturated with talent ... yet. For me, I have the legacy behind me ... so I was all set up.

What do you see in Detroit that other people who live outside the city don't?
Beauty in diversity; and exploration of cultures, history, and neighborhoods.

What advice would you give to someone who was thinking about opening a business in the Motor City?
Understand your customers very well; and have parties to get exposure.

If you could change one thing about Detroit, what would it be?
More street lights and cops everywhere, so I could walk from Greektown to MGM, the Ren Cen to Cobo, or New Center to Wayne State in the shortest route -- in light and cop's presence like in "Boringham" or "Royal Yoke." Safety first, we need to make visitors and new dwellers feel more comfortable in these hot spots ... we got them IN the city ... now just make them feel comfortable. Oh wait.... is my answer supposed to be regarding business? If so, nothing! We have great working relationships here in Detroit, as loyal and cut-throat as we should be. Matt Cullen might walk over to say hello to me when I'm on a job, or I might have to beg a producer of the National Summit for a reply. Perfect mix here in our small-pond -- Detroit!

Source: Ara Howrani, owner of Howrani Studios
Writer: Jon Zemkeread on…

Detroit finds many more ways than one to make lots of money on getting from Point A to Point B.

Excerpt:

Forget New York City. Don Fitzsimmons calls Detroit his kind of town.

That is why the owner of Royal Transportation drops everything from his schedule when the Red Hat Society comes calling or when Motor City legends like Roger Penske ask for a hand organizing the Detroit Grand Prix.

It is Fitzsimmon's commitment to boosting Detroit's reputation that has earned him these and other significant transportation contracts, such as the NCAA Final Four Basketball Tournament in April and the United Way Detroit Convention in May.

As a result of these and other events, Royal Transportation is the third largest company of its kind in Michigan, with $3.2 million in sales for 2008. Fitzsimmons said the company is on track to do fairly well this year despite the region's tough economic times.

Read the rest of The Detroit News story here.read on…