The people behind downtown Detroit's latest start-up, Detroit Labs, are Henry Balanon, Paul Glomski, Dan Ward and Nathan Hughes. But the idea behind the tech firm didn't come from them, but
Josh Linkner.
The four young men were pursuing entrepreneurial ventures across the region. Balanon was creating smartphone apps at
Bickbot. Glomski was a CEO of a start-up that was acquired. Ward was a top tech guy at
Quicken Loans and Hughes worked with Linkner at
ePrize. Linkner, now the CEO of downtown Detroit-based venture capital firm
Detroit Venture Partners, brought the four together and told them they should be in business together.
"We're sort of like a boy band brought together by Josh Linkner," says
Balanon, co-founder of
Detroit Labs. "He said, 'You guys should be a band,' and here we are."
A six-figure investment from Detroit Venture Partners made it possible. Detroit Labs makes smartphone and website apps for the likes of
Stryker and
FatHead. It is also looking to spin out other start-ups from the ventures it creates.
Detroit Venture Partners has expanded to 12 people since it started business this spring. It is currently looking for programmers and other application professionals.
Source: Henry Balanon, co-founder of Detroit Labs
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at
SEMichiganStartup.com.
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