Marketing / Media : News

Shane Doyle wanted an easier way to access Instagram photos outside of his mobile device, so he created a startup to do just that, Hashgram.

The Elevator Building-based startup has created a platform that allows users to access photos on Instagram through non-mobile devices, such as laptop and desktop computers. At first photos on Instagram were only visible on mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablet computers.

Hashgram was started by Shane Doyle who was director of sales for 140 Proof, a Silicon Valley-based startup that was one of the first development partners with Twitter. Hashgram capitalizes on its technology by hosting instagram photos for businesses and brands and then selling keywords for them in searches.

"It's about evolving what we call sponsor tags," Doyle says. "It allows users and brands to go in and leverage the real-time activity."

The 1-year-old business and its team of two people (it's currently looking for an intern) shares space at 140 Proof's office in the Elevator Building. The company chose the recently renovated warehouse turned office building overlooking the Detroit Riverwalk and the Dequindre Cut because of its unique space and community atmosphere.

"We just really liked the space," Doyle says.

Source: Shane Doyle, founder of Hashgram
Writer: Jon Zemke

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

Tack on another half-million dollars to LevelEleven's bottom line. The downtown Detroit-based startup has now raised $1.5 million in its first seed capital round, garnering new investments from the likes of private-equity investor Rick Inatome, Chicago-based Hyde Park Venture Partners, and Invest Detroit's First Step Fund.

LevelEleven spun out of Pleasant Ridge-based ePrize last fall with its Contest Builder mobile app. The app allows a sales manager to create a contest and real-time leaderboard in minutes to reward making more calls, booking client meetings, finding new sales opportunities or closing more business. LevelEleven, which calls the M@dison Building home, landed $1 million in venture capital funding right away. That funding round was led by Detroit Venture Partners.

The 6-month old business now employs nine people. It will use its latest infusion of capital to help build up its team with new hires of engineers, sales and marketing professionals. It currently has two job openings for positions in sales and software design.

"This investment allows us to grow in an orderly fashion," says Bob Marsh, CEO of LevelEleven. "We're not going to need to go on a hiring binge."

Source: Bob Marsh, CEO of LevelEleven
Writer: Jon Zemke

Locavorious has enjoyed some solid growth in the last year and is preparing to staff up for the 2013 growing season with half a dozen new hires.

The Ann Arbor-based business preserves the produce created at local farms by freezing it in a community freezer. That food is then sold on a subscription basis so customers can capture local food at its peak freshness. More money stays in the local economy and less food is trucked in from the other side of the continent.

Locavorious' subscriptions were up 12 percent to 265 over the last year, and the 6-year-old firm's goal is to cross the 300 threshold by next spring. Last year it faciliated the sale of 14,000 pounds of food and it's looking to do even more this year by widening more channels to supply fresh local food to the Ann Arbor area.

"We are doing a lot more retail on top of our subscriptions," says Rena Basch, owner of Locavorious. The company became a Whole Foods-certified seller last year and the store near the Ann Arbor-Saline Road is carrying six of its products.

"I am talking to two other stores," Basch says. "We will hopefully put more products into our retail channel."

Basch also wants to expand Locavorious' coverage area beyond the Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti area. The Plymouth area appears to be a likely candidate for expansion.

Source: Rena Basch, owner of Locavorious
Writer: Jon Zemke

VC Web Design has grown to the point it's having a hard time finding space for its new hires, leading the downtown Ypsilanti-based business to start looking for a bigger home.

"We can't fit any more people in here," says Vince Chmielewski, president of VC Web Design. "We would like to stay in downtown if possible."

The 3-year-old business was the first to spin out of Ann Arbor SPARK's downtown Ypsilanti incubator. It specializes in website construction and video work. Its revenue has doubled in the last year, allowing it to hire three people. Those new hires include a videographer and website developer.

The company now has a team of seven employees and is planning to add more interns this summer. That staff has been doing work with the Barwis Methods and Ann Arbor SPARK. Chmielewski expects the current rate of growth to continue for the rest of this year.

"So far we're on track to double again," Chmielewski says. "It's why we might not be able to be where we are for much longer."

Also helping accelerate VC Web Design is its recent switch to agile software development methodology. This new system emphasizes website developers showing updated versions of sites in the progress of development so changes can be made quickly and efficiently.

"You can change direction very easily without waiting until the end," Chmielewski says. "It changes our output because we have to do less rework."

Source: Vince Chmielewski, president of VC Web Design
Writer: Jon Zemke

Detroit Derby Girls isn't just a roller derby league that is becoming both bigger and more popular. It's also a business that is providing entrepreneurial opportunities for young women across Metro Detroit.

"Not only do we skate but we are all our own employees," says Rene "Renegade" Cizio, a player on the Grand Prix Madonnas. "Every skater is required to be on a committee to be part of the league."

Those committees are what make the league's bouts at the Masonic Temple happen. The participants put in the work to prepare the space, sell concessions, do promotion and balance the books. In return, each player gets a share of ownership in the league. Right now that's five teams that have between 14-20 players each.

"It's a pretty big endeavor to rent the space, train the skaters, hold the event, sell the merchandise, do crowd control," says Cizio, who is a member of the Detroit Derby Girls marketing committee and a digital communications coordinator for a law firm for her day job. "It takes a big staff to make that happen."

Cizio adds that an average of 1,200 people attend each derby bout, and each bout this year has been a sell out. Detroit Derby Girls is a for-profit business which netted $25,000 last year. Profits are reinvested back into building the league.

Women who aspire to become part of the league go through a 30-day probationary period before earning an ownership share. Players have an option of becoming alumni members if they can't skate, such as for a pregnancy, where they can maintain their ownership status by attending public events or continuing their committee work.

"We put a lot of time and energy into it besides our committee assignments," Cizio says. "We also have to attend public events, like parades and the auto show. Each skater is required to attend one public event per quarter."

Source: Rene "Renegade" Cizio, marketing committee member for the Detroit Derby Girls
Writer: Jon Zemke

Online fantasy sports (think fantasy baseball or football leagues) is a relatively new yet proven industry in the few years it has been around. A downtown Mt. Clemens-based start-up hopes to take that industry to the next level by focusing on improving the user experience.

StatClash is developing an online gaming system that provides new ways for millions of fantasy sports fans to play. For instance, they can elect to join on a daily basis mid-season instead of making a season-long commitment that includes tens of hours of work in drafts, trades, etc.

"The industry is huge but there are only a handful of players that are doing the fantasy games well," says Dan Wimpari, marketing director for StatClash. "We want to wed ourselves into them by distinguishing ourselves through user interface and a better user experience."

The daily fantasy sports site was launched a year ago by Anoop Patel and John Pelak. It now employs a team of eight people and offers fantasy league options from traditional favorites like Major League Baseball and the National Football League. It also offers some new options, such as U.S. Major League Soccer and the English Premier League.

"We see room to bring other in other sports, like NASCAR and tennis," Patel says. "We want to bring in more sports pretty soon."

Source: Anoop Patel and John Pelak, co-founders of StatClash, and Dan Wimpari, marketing director for StatClash
Writer: Jon Zemke

Savorfull, the healthy-eating start-up, recently wrapped up the Beta test of its software platform and is ramping up for its public launch later this year.

The New Center-based company is creating a platform where people can access information about making the best healthy choices for their diet. For instance, it will provide people sensitive to peanut allergies with information on recipes and a place to interact and trade ideas with other people. The same services are offered to people who are sensitive to gluten intolerance and other food-based problems.

Stacy Goldberg, a Bizdom graduate, launched Savorfull out of the M@dison Building last year before. She and her team of five employees and a handful of interns (found through Intern In Michigan) ran a Beta test on it in the latter half of 2012.

"We learned a lot about our customers," says Goldberg, founder & CEO of Savorfull. "We learned about how to serve them and our revenue model. We also learned about building the backend of our platform."

Savorfull is currently working with Quicken Loans to provide glutten-free and peanut-free eating options at events. That work is helping introduce more potential clients to Savorfull's platform. Goldberg is looking to line up a large strategic partner for the public launch of her business in the next six months.

"We have had some really great success in the business-to-business side," Goldberg says.

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

Opening a Detroit office in the Elevator Building overlooking the Motor City's riverfront is a bit of a homecoming for the founder of 140 Proof.

John Manoogian III (no, he's not related the mayoral mansion Manoogian) grew up in Metro Detroit and earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Michigan. He moved out to California and now is the CTO of 140 Proof, a social media advertising startup that calls Silicon Valley home. The 3-year-old company's claim to fame is being one of the first development partners with Twitter.

140 Proof employs 20 people and the occasional intern and has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit. The Motor City office, the company's first satellite office, was virtually based for its first 18 months. It shared space with other companies until it landed in the Elevator Building six weeks ago. The two-person office also shares space with fellow startup Hashgram.

"We have very high hopes for how much we can grow the Detroit office," Manoogian says.

The Elevator Building is a former warehouse turned loft-style office building after an extensive renovation in 2010. The building overlooks the Detroit RiverWalk and the Dequindre Cut and is home to a number of different design and tech startups, including M1/DTW and Grit Design. That sort of eclectic environment made the building at 1938 Franklin St. highly desirable.

"There are a bunch of cool people there," says Manoogian III. "We are a business based on technology and design so we wanted to be around other cool people."

Source: John Manoogian III, founder & CTO of 140 Proof
Writer: Jon Zemke

Michael Evans is not only the type of entrepreneur Detroit wants to stake a claim here, he's the type of person who won't leave the Motor City.

He was a top employee at a New York City-based start-up that was recently acquired, splitting time between the Big Apple and Detroit. He is now here full-time building his own startup, PishPosh, in a Boston-Edison mansion he has turned into the latest version of new economy office space.

"It's a tremendous amount of space," Evans says. "We feel safe and people love to come here. Why move to Midtown or downtown when I can stay up here and have a great space?"

Evans ran community projects for Forrst, an Internet start-up that bills itself as "a community where (software) developers and designers improve their craft through design feedback." Evans became employee No. 1 in late 2010 and oversaw project and community management for the company. Forrst was acquired by COLOURlovers a year ago and Evans left the company in late February, ending a little more than two years of living in Detroit and flying to New York to work.

"I refused to move. It was too much traveling," Evans says, explaining why he chooses to stay in the Motor City.

During his time at Forrst, Evans was also working on his own startup in his spare time. PishPosh is a podcasting startup that focuses on making its own content (think podcasts and videos) and content for others. Its team of four people have worked with the likes of Moosejaw and Model D. It is now getting ready to launch its own software platform that will enable everyday people to make their own podcasts. It's currently in its private Beta and plans to launch it within a few weeks.

That launch will happen from the mansion in Boston-Edison that Evans currently calls home. His parents recently decided to move downtown into a high-rise apartment so they didn't have to deal with as much upkeep. Evans stayed in his childhood home, where he currently lives on the second floor. He is turned the third floor into the home base for PishPosh.

"We have multi-media setups, multi-lighting and isolation booths," Evans says. "We have the whole deal."

Source: Michael Evans, founder of PishPosh
Writer: Jon Zemke

Michigan First Credit Union is looking for a few good employees, 14 right now to be exact.

The Lathrup Village-based financial institution is looking for everything from tellers to human resources professionals to add to its staff of 225 people. However, technology pros are in especially high demand for the credit union. About a third of its new positions have some sort of tech angle, such as software developer or IT professional.

The 87-year-old credit union tries quite hard not to act its nearly century-old age, employing the latest and greatest technology into its systems. A large part of its business plan is to stay ahead of tech trends to attract younger clientele who value the ease and access to their finances that such technology can provide.

"We're in the process of testing mobile debit cards," says Linda Douglas, vice president of marketing for Michigan First Credit Union. "We are always looking to stay ahead of the curve in our mobile and online banking options."

Michigan First Credit Union has 90,000 members and $640 million in assets. It adds more than 1,000 new members each month. It has also hired 70 people so far this year.

Source: Linda Douglas, vice president of marketing for Michigan First Credit Union
Writer: Jon Zemke

First came Great Wall Custom Coverings. Next came the Detroit Wallpaper Co, which has accelerated the growth of the Ferndale-based company.

Josh Young and Andi Kubacki started Great Wall Custom Coverings nearly a decade ago, providing custom wall paper projects that were as eclectic as their imaginations and those of their customers. They began scaling that sort of creativity last fall with the Detroit Wallpaper Co, which sells the pair's popular avant-garde wallpaper designs utilizing non-toxic and environmentally friendly supplies.

Some of those designs include patterns they are labeling as "Botanicals" (think flowers and plant patterns), "Wallgazer" (self-described as a "marriage between high concept and functional design") and "Wander Walls" (images that bring far-away locales to mind). All 63 different designs are colorful, contemporary and probably like nothing you have seen on a wall before.

"It's really a commentary on our society," Young says. "What we're really interested in is technology, music. We have a lot of pop-culture references in our designs."

The two companies employ eight people between them after hiring one person over the last year. The rising demand for Detroit Wallpaper Co's products are driving the growth in the company right now.

"It's quickly growing," Young says. "It's beginning to eclipse Great Wall already."

Source: Josh Young, co-owner of Detroit Wallpaper Co
Writer: Jon Zemke

The Automation Alley Seed Fund has struck again, investing $150,000 into TerraYebo.

This is the Troy-based business accelerator's second six-figure investment in the micro-funding website start-up. It invested $100,000 in the Madison Heights-based firm earlier this year.

"Our investment committee liked their entrepreneurial team," says Thomas Anderson, senior director for Automation Alley. "We thought they were smart and focused."

TerraYebo is the company behind MyInchofTheEarth.com, a micro-funding platform for nonprofits. The website enables users to claim any virtual inch of the earth or ocean, share why that place is important, and choose a nonprofit that either supports the preservation of that place or a nonprofit that does good in the world. The idea is to let people's life experiences at different institutions (such as their alma mater) or places (a national park) prompt them to give small amounts to non-profits that fund them.

The 3-year-old company has signed up a number of name-brand institutions for MyInchofTheEarth.com, including The National Park Foundation, CURE International, VH1 Save the Music, Veterans of Foreign War Foundation and The Pink Fund. TerraYebo's team of four people, it has hired two people so far this year, plans to use the new seed capital to continue the build out of its website and developing its market.

"We want to continue to focus on the user experience of our website," says Dan Glisky, president of TerraYebo. "That is first and foremost."

The Automation Alley Seed Fund invests in early-stage start-ups with high growth ceilings. Investments range from $50,000 to $300,000. The fund is similar to the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, which is managed by Ann Arbor SPARK.

The Automation Alley Seed Fund got its start in 2004 and has received $6 million in funding, primarily from the state of Michigan. It has invested $8 million over that time, including a couple of start-ups that have either repaid the loans, cashed out the equity in the investment or have been acquired. One start-up, University of Michigan spin-out CieloMed Solutions, was acquired last year and provided a healthy return to the Automation Alley Seed Fund.

Source: Thomas Anderson, senior director for Automation Alley; Dan Glisky, president of TerraYebo and Michele Favoretto, CEO of TerraYebo
Writer: Jon Zemke

GSTV is fleshing out both its presence in major advertising markets across North America and its staff in downtown Birmingham.

The nearly 7-year-old company has added 12 positions to its workforce, expanding its staff to 60 employees and a couple of summer interns. It has more than a dozen open jobs now for positions in sales, marketing, business development, human resources and software development.

"We have gotten very busy in terms of hiring," says David Leider, CEO of GSTV. "We needed to hire a recruiter to handle it. We have 15 positions open now."

GSTV, formerly Gas Station TV, is the company that puts the TVs on top of gas station pumps. The screens flash news, weather forecasts and commercials during a couple of minutes when motorists are paused in their commute and looking for something to focus on.

The concept has taken off. GSTV is now in 1,900 gas stations across the nation, collecting 39 million monthly viewers. That's up from 1,300 stations. GSTV is in 36 states and every major media market in North America, doubling its presence in cities like Detroit, Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago. It expects to continue fleshing out its presence in 2013.

"We continue to grow quickly," Leider says. "By April we will have 2,000 stations and 40 million monthly viewers all over the country."

Source: David Leider, CEO of GSTV
Writer: Jon Zemke

Chalkfly, the downtown Detroit-based school supplies startup, has raised $750,000 in a Series AA round.

The venture capital round of funding, Chalkfly's second, was led by Detroit Venture Partners with Ludlow Ventures, Griffon Ventures, Start Garden and Bizdom also contributing.

Chalkfly, which calls the M@dison Building home, focuses on selling office and school supplies online. It includes a philanthropic component that helps bring five percent of each purchase to local teachers and schools. The 8-month-old business offers more than 50,000 products, 24-7 live customer service, 365-day no-hassle returns and free overnight shipping.

"We have seen double-digit growth every month since we have started," says Andrew Landau, co-founder of Chalkfly.

Andrew Landau started Chalkfly with his brother, Ryan Landau. Both have worked tech jobs at the likes of Google and IBM before returning to Detroit last year to launch their start-up. The company currently employs five people and is looking to add an intern this summer. Andrew Landau expects to double the staff of his company over the next 12 months and wants to create a business culture that would rival any other tech startup in the U.S.

"We want to be the best e-commerce place to work in Detroit," Landau says.

Source: Andrew Landau, co-founder of Chalkfly
Writer: Jon Zemke

Marketing Associates is spinning off its data analytics units into its own brand, Magnify Analytic Solutions. The move is expected to help the marketing firm continue expanding its staff at a rapid clip.

"We thought this would be a good time to spin off Magnify Analytic Solutions as its own business unit," says Mark Petroff, CEO of Marketing Associates.

The downtown Detroit-based company has watched data analytics drive a lot of its growth in the last year. The company overall has grown its revenue by 5 percent while the data analytics side of the business has experienced healthy double-digit return.

"We are projecting another 25 percent growth for the (data analytics) business," Petroff says. He adds the company is projecting 8.5 percent overall revenue growth this year.

Marketing Associates moved from West Bloomfield to downtown Detroit in 2007, taking several floors of the One Kennedy Square building overlooking Campus Martius. It now employs 45 people in the space after hiring 20 people in the last year, including seven for its Magnify Analytic Solutions unit. Petroff expects his company will keep that rate of growth going for the foreseeable future.

"I think Magnify Analytics Solutions is going to add another 7-10 people and Marketing Associates is going to add another 7-10 people," Petroff says.

Source: Mark Petroff, CEO of Marketing Associates
Writer: Jon Zemke