Follow Us:

Jewish Community

Metro Detroit is the 21st largest Jewish community in the United States, with an estimated 72,000 in the region. The community is primarily concentrated in Oakland County, particularly in Oak Park, West Bloomfield, and Farmington Hills, and accounts for 2 percent of the overall metro Detroit population. The Jewish community has strong local ties, 88% having lived in the region for more than 20 years, and the metro area is home to multiple kosher restaurants, bakeries, caterers, supermarkets, Jewish bookstores and numerous synagogues, schools and community centers.
The Jewish News is the largest publication serving the Jewish community.

Jewish Community Features

Online Tech's co-CEOs always have a backup

In the world of computer data hosting redundancy is a way of life. Ann Arbor's Online Tech has taken that philosophy to a new level, putting in place two CEOs. But far from duplicating each other's efforts, the dual company leaders have found that they complement and strengthen each other's talents.

A Decade of FOUND

There is little doubt that Davy Rothbart is an Ann Arbor original. As the founder of FOUND magazine, he has turned the written remnants of others into a springboard of creative opportunity. Books, movies, road tours, radio, and even an Off-Broadway musical are all part of the mix that is the FOUND empire. And now Rothbart is celebrating the magazine's 10th anniversary here in Ann Arbor.

Metro Detroit Bloggers Mind The Gap

With daily newspapers and national magazines taking to the web just what qualifies as a blog anymore? While the labels may be fuzzy, there's little doubt that citizen journalists and local bloggers have stepped in to fill whatever gaps the traditional media has missed.

The Apps Metro Detroit CEOs Can't Do Without

It's an app app app world. Metromode's Jon Zemke quizzes some of Metro Detroit's CEOs on which business apps they can't live without, which apps others should use, and which locally produced apps are worth checking out.

Building Another International Bridge... to Israel's Entrepreneurs

Thousands of miles separate, but Israel and Michigan operate in a parallel universe. What happens when you cross Michigan's established manufacturing base and high-tech mindset over to Israel's 3,000-plus tech start-ups? The Michigan Israel Business Bridge yields an array of academic and entrepreneurial matches.

Being A Mompreneur: A Conversation with Lynne Golodner

Working from home is one thing. Running a successful business with employees out of your house is another. Lynne Golodner not only found a way to stay at home and grow her PR firm, Your People, she attracted a like-minded staff. Metromode asks her how she does it.

Social Media Pioneer: Founder of Shazaaam began Internet outreach back in 1989

Billy Batson would have been proud of Adrienne Lenhoff.  He was the newsboy in an old-time comic book who, when trouble arose, would shout the name of the wizard “Shazam!” — and he would turn into superhero Captain Marvel, an invincible Superman-type character.  Lenhoff, a public relations, marketing and social media wizard, was so impressed with Captain Marvel that she named her company Shazaaam when she founded it 10 years ago.

Model D Speaker Series: Gentrification

Join us for a frank and honest discussion about gentrification and what it means for Detroit. We plan to engage this topic head-on at our Dec. 14 speaker series event at the Virgil H. Carr Cultural Arts Center. 

MI vs SF: The Art Of The Business Plan Competition

One excels at style. The other, substance. But when it comes to nurturing an entrepreneurial ecosystem, both matter. Jon Zemke attends Silicon Valley's quarterly Founder Showcase and our own annual business plan competition, Accelerate Michigan, and finds a clash of both cultures and community.

From Passion To Profession: A Q&A with Itai Ben-Gal

Itai Ben-Gal is in it for the long run. An anomaly in start-up culture, the co-founder of iRule isn't actively pursuing acquisition but is instead looking to build a company that lasts. That's meant a focus on local investment. And not just friends and family. Ben-Gal's start-up counts Compuware as one of its angels.

Music Lover Builds Business Connecting Listeners to Internet Radio

Jake Sigal has always been impassioned about music, since he was a kid banging on pots and pans growing up in Columbus, Ohio.

Nurse turns shaping personalized health care into successful business

Pam Feinberg helps patients access medical, social and practical care necessary to live as healthy and independently as possible.  The Jewish News highlights Feinberg and her successful health consulting business, Feinberg Consulting.

Brothers find success with Detroit Institute of Bagels

There are a few food items that are as identifiably "made in Detroit" as the horseless carriage, seven-layer cake, Coney Island hotdogs and a certain extra-fizzy ginger ale among them. Then there are bagels.

Auburn Pharmaceuticals has made a name for itself in the non-name-brand medical world

Jeffrey Farber has been in the "pill" business since he was a teenager, spending many of his summer vacation days counting pills at his father's pharmaceutical warehouse.  The Detroit Jewish News talks to President and CEO of Auburn Pharmaceuticals about getting into the business, daily operations, and what it means to manufacture generic drugs.

What they don't want you to know: Helping people get themselves out of debt

Benn Perry of Commerce Township wears many hats: waiter, Web designer, trainer, consultant, screenwriter, conference organizer and writer. But perhaps his biggest passion is helping people get out of debt. 

Organization

Michigan Israel Business Bridge

The Michigan Israel Business Bridge is a non-profit established to facilitate business and investment opportunities between Michigan and Israel for their mutual economic benefit.
Print Page | Email Page |
Signup for Email Alerts

Jewish Community Founders

Greg Schwartz

Greg Schwartz

City: Detroit

Greg Schwartz is the co-founder of UpTo, a social media start-up based in downtown Detroit.

Ben Chutz

Ben Chutz

City: West Bloomfield

Ben Chutz is the co-founder of Birdhouse, a software firm dedicated to helping parents of autistic children better track their kid's disorder.

Ari Doglin

Ari Doglin

Ari Doglin is the chief marketing officer of Gamer Saloon, a online gaming startup based in downtown Royal Oak.

Ben Newman

Ben Newman

City: Detroit

Ben Newman is the co-founder of the Detroit Institute of Bagels, a craft food business based in Detroit's Corktown neighborhood.

Matt Wise

Matt Wise

City: Pleasant Ridge

Matt Wise is the CEO of ePrize, an Internet marketing firm based in Pleasant Ridge.

Cara Rosaen

Cara Rosaen

City: Ann Arbor

Cara Rosaen is the co-founder of Real Time Farms, an Ann Arbor-based startup that specializes in food chain transparency.

Harvey Ovshinsky

Harvey Ovshinsky

City: Ann Arbor

Harvey Ovshinsky is the founder of HKO Media, a screen writing company based in Ann Arbor.

Mike Plesz

Mike Plesz

City: Rochester

Mike Plesz is the owner of Rochester Mills Beer Company microbrewery and one of the first craft brewers in Michigan.

Daniel Milstein

Daniel Milstein

City: Ann Arbor

A motivated, successful and savvy businessman, the 35-year-old CEO of the Ann Arbor-based Gold Star Mortgage Financial Group decided to pass on the secrets of his success to others in the sales business with a new book, The ABC of Sales, Lessons From A Superstar.

Josh Charlip

Josh Charlip

City: Southfield

Cupcakes and popcorn are so “last year,” according to Josh Charlip, longtime owner of the Bagel Factory in Southfield. The newest trend? Custom ice cream sandwiches. Charlip launched Eskimo Jacks this summer to serve up the tasty treats inside the Bagel Factory and at events throughout Metro Detroit.

Ben Kazez

Ben Kazez

City: Ann Arbor

Ben Kazez is the founder of Mobiata, a mobile-app start-up based in downtown Ann Arbor.

Paul Glomski

Paul Glomski

City: Detroit

Paul Glomski is the CEO of Detroit Labs, a mobile app firm based in downtown Detroit.

Bradley Foltyn

Bradley Foltyn

City: Warren

Bradley Foltyn is co-owner with his father, Paul, of The Fabric Warehouse, and is the third generation to work in the family’s wholesale textile business selling yards of gingham, damask and other fabrics to designers and retailers.

Marcy Forta

Marcy Forta

City: Berkley

Marcy Forta, owner of The Room Downstairs, caters to a relatively small market of Orthodox Jewish women.

Jeremy and Aubrey Lopatin

Jeremy and Aubrey Lopatin

City: Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor natives Jeremy and Aubrey Lopatin own the Ann Arbor Tea Room.

Adam Kaplan

Adam Kaplan

City: Southfield

Companies seeking techies call on IT recruiters. Top brass-seekers look to executive headhunters. And now, firms casting their nets for disabled candidates call Big Tent Jobs, LLC, a Southfield-based placement firm for what founder Adam Kaplan dubs “specially abled” employees.

David Leider

David Leider

City: Birmingham

David Leider is the CEO of Gas Station TV, a venture-backed start-up based in downtown Birmingham.

Josh Linkner

Josh Linkner

City: Detroit

Josh Linkner is the CEO of Detroit Venture Partners, a venture capital firm based in downtown Detroit.

Dale Royal

Dale Royal

City: Bloomfield Hills

Dale Royal is the CEO of Unitask Software, a software firm based in Bloomfield Hills.

Mark Shalinsky

Mark Shalinsky

City: Ann Arbor

Mark Shalinsky is the founder of Kick Start Sales, a start-up sales firm based in Ann Arbor's Tech Brewery.

David Bloom

David Bloom

City: Ann Arbor

David Bloom is the vice president of products with Hygieia, a medical device start-up based in Ann Arbor.

Jerry and Becky Eizen

Jerry and Becky Eizen

City: Southfield

Eizen, 45, raised in New Orleans but long-since settled in Metro Detroit with husband Jerry and their three boys, endured a frantic three-day search, post-storm, to locate her mother, Yetta. When Eizen and her mom finally connected, Eizen also learned the family home had been destroyed; she cajoled Yetta to move north and live with her and her family.

Eran Bashan

Eran Bashan

City: Ann Arbor

Where do great ideas come from? For Eran Bashan, a casual conversation over Shabbat dinner four years ago evolved into both a new invention and a company to market it.

Because the Ann Arbor resident is known for his love of riddles and problems, that evening his friend, endocrinologist Israel Hodish, gave him a doozey to solve: Seek out a better way for diabetic patients to self-test their blood sugar and adjust their insulin levels.

Richard and Gary Astrein

Richard and Gary Astrein

City: Birmingham

Two brothers with complementary strengths and common goals are celebrating their 35th year in business together — all at the same location.

Gary and Richard Astrein are partners in Astrein Creative Jewelry on Maple in downtown Birmingham. "We've been here for so long that we're now serving a second generation," says Richard. "We're selling engagement and wedding rings to our customers' kids."

David Friedman

David Friedman

City: Farmington Hills

Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions is one of the Midwest's largest locally owned and operated commercial real estate organizations. Friedman represents banks, special services, institutions, property owners, national and regional retailers, and commercial tenants in every size range. 

Michael Zwick

Michael Zwick

City: Southfield

Michael Zwick is the president of Assets International, an asset recovery company based in Southfield.

Janak Mehta

Janak Mehta

City: Livonia

Janak Mehta is the founder of PR Easy, a public relations and marketing firm based in Livonia.

Charlie Rothstein

Charlie Rothstein

City: Farmington Hills

Charlie Rothstein is the senior managing director and co-founder of Beringea, Michigan's largest venture capital firm.

Lynne Schrieber

Lynne Schrieber

City: Southfield

Lynne Schreiber is the founder of Your People, a public relations firm based in Southfield.

Marla Shapiro and Carra Stoller

Marla Shapiro and Carra Stoller

City: Birmingham

Marla Shapiro and Carra Stoller opened Ecology in downtown Birmingham to provide a natural and sustainable option in the cosmetic, skin-care world.

Jewish Community Companies

1.
FOUND Magazine

FOUND Magazine

City: Ann Arbor
Industry: Creative Sector,Diversity,Jewish Community,Marketing / Media
2.
MarkMaynard.com

MarkMaynard.com

City: Ypsilanti
Industry: Creative Sector,Diversity,Jewish Community,Marketing / Media
3.
Hold-Up Suspender Co

Hold-Up Suspender Co

City: Southfield
Industry: Boomers,Creative Sector,Diversity,Jewish Community
4.
Fischman Insurance Group

Fischman Insurance Group

City: Southfield
Industry: Diversity,Jewish Community
5.
Savorfull

Savorfull

City: Detroit
Industry: Creative Sector,Diversity,Jewish Community,Marketing / Media,Woman Owned
6.
CrowdJuice

CrowdJuice

City: Ann Arbor
Industry: Creative Sector,Diversity,Emerging Technology,Jewish Community,Marketing / Media
7.
Carcode

Carcode

City: Ann Arbor
Industry: Diversity,Emerging Technology,Jewish Community,Marketing / Media
8.
Alfa Jango

Alfa Jango

City: Ann Arbor
Industry: Diversity,Emerging Technology,Jewish Community,Marketing / Media
9.
Vineyard Capital Group

Vineyard Capital Group

City: Bloomfield Hills
Industry: Angel Funding,Diversity,Jewish Community,Venture Capital
10.
Birdhouse

Birdhouse

City: West Bloomfield
Industry: Diversity,Emerging Technology,Jewish Community,Marketing / Media,Woman Owned