Marketing / Media :
Featured Stories
Matthew Naimi / Model D
Friday, May 03, 2013
Recycle Here! is packed every Saturday and there is curbside recycling in Rosedale Park, East English Village and Palmer Woods/University District, servicing nearly 50,000 households. Matthew Naimi says that's only the beginning of the Bee Green movement.
Jason Lorimer / Model D
Friday, May 03, 2013
In the 14 months that the author has lived in Detroit after moving here from Philadelphia, he has assembled a spirited team of innovators, specialists and changemakers. Jason Lorimer sent us this opinion piece. We're happy to run it.
Jon Zemke / Model D
Friday, March 29, 2013
In the last few years, there has been a visible influx of creatively based, high growth businesses opening in, moving to or setting up an office in the greater downtown Detroit area. Jon Zemke tracks the exciting progress in this special report.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, March 29, 2013
Paul Jacobs, CEO of Southfield-based mobile apps firm jacApps, thinks that talent rather than experience is critical to building success in today's ever-evolving mobile technology industry. Jon Zemke chats with Jacobs about the challenges of and strategies for attracting the best and brightest to his growing company.
Patrick Dunn / Concentrate
Friday, March 01, 2013
Ann Arbor's entrepreneurial ecosystem is experiencing a "brain gain," as startups relocate here. Concentrate's Patrick Dunn chats with a trio of companies about why they decided to make the move.
Patrick Dunn / Metromode
Friday, February 01, 2013
Ryan Santangelo is what folks in the biz call a serial entrepreneur. First he launched the firm Dynamic Media. Then Secure Media Systems. His latest effort is SafeToSleep, which is bringing infant monitoring into the new millennium. And all three businesses are thriving in Sterling Heights, a place he calls the Silicon Valley of Michigan.
Matthew Lewis / Model D
Friday, February 01, 2013
Detroit social innovators and entrepreneurs were day tripping in Ann Arbor last Friday, preaching what they practice to students at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. Matthew Lewis reports from the first row.
Constance Crump / Concentrate
Friday, December 21, 2012
Rumors of the printed word's demise have been greatly exaggerated. While it's true that digital publishing grows every year, books and those who sell them will be with us for a very long time. Enter Above The Treeline. Offering a wide range of online catalog services the Ann Arbor-based company has found an important and profitable bookselling niche.
DETROIT LIVES! / Model D
Friday, November 16, 2012
This downtown company's century old tradition of investing in people, equipment and new technologies is impressive to say the least. DETROIT LIVES! takes us for a behind the scenes look at what makes Inland Press tick.
Constance Crump / Concentrate
Friday, November 16, 2012
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.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, November 16, 2012
Over the last decade and a half Media Genesis has not only weathered the ups and downs of the softward industry but thrived. Now, the Troy-based firm is lending a hand to start-ups, some that might even be viewed as potential competitors. Why? Reread the title of this story for the answer.
Natalie Burg / Metromode
Friday, October 26, 2012
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.
Tommy Allen / Model D
Friday, October 12, 2012
Detroit artistry was a clear winner at the 2012 version of ArtPrize, held this past weekend in Grand Rapids. Tommy Allen was on the scene taking notes and pictures, and meeting creative neighborhood catalysts, Gina Reichert and Mitch Cope.
Claire Nelson / Model D
Friday, October 12, 2012
Detroit's Village people, envied for their gorgeous homes a stone's skip away from the river, have long wished for their own retail district. Good things are starting to develop this fall, there and in other key neighborhoods, says Claire Nelson.
Kim North Shine / Concentrate
Friday, October 12, 2012
Half a dozen Saturdays a year Ann Arbor's population practically doubles, as U-M football brings in Big Ten gridiron fans. Some see the game day influx as an inconvenience. Others see it as an economic opportunity.
Patrick Dunn / Metromode
Friday, October 12, 2012
Let's face it, pumping gas is a drag. Not just the price, but the physical act of standing around watching the little LCD monitor add more debt to your credit card. Well, one man's boredom is another man's business opportunity. Enter GSTV, a successful Birmingham company that wants to put a TV at every gas pump.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, September 28, 2012
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.
Walter Wasacz / Model D
Friday, September 28, 2012
So what happens to startups and other small enterprises after they're fully baked in an entrepreneurial incubator? That's what we set out to find in this special report from three Michigan cities - Detroit, Lansing and Kalamazoo.
Walter Wasacz / Model D
Friday, September 28, 2012
In only its second year, the Detroit Design Festival has become one of the city's top must-see, must-do happenings. That sounds great, but organizers Matt Clayson and Melinda Anderson tell Walter Wasacz its longterm potential is even greater.
Scott Benson / Model D
Friday, August 10, 2012
Business diversity plus urban density give Midtown an advantage in creating commercial opportunities and jobs. Guest commentator Scott Benson of Midtown Inc. gives us a tour of the ecosystem.
Noelle Lothamer / Model D
Friday, July 27, 2012
We asked for more coffee and, well, we got it. It's brewing in Corktown, downtown, Midtown and Hamtramck. And we know there is room for more. Noelle Lothamer comes up with a tasty list of recent openings (or soon to open).
DETROIT LIVES! / Model D
Friday, July 27, 2012
One of our panelists for Thursday's Model D Speaker Series on the Detroit music scene is Steve Nawara of Beehive Recording Co. We snagged this rockin' video from the Urban Innovation Exchange just in time. Moving pictures by DETROIT LIVES!
Richard Retyi / Concentrate
Friday, July 27, 2012
Since Ann Arbor will be jam-packed with Art Fair goers and coverage this week, it seems only right to check up on the Ypsilanti-based Shadow Art Fair, which opens Saturday. Created five years ago as both a reaction to and comment on A2's venerable happening, it has defiantly resisted the call of "bigger and better." Concentrate's Richard Retyi digs in with the organizers as to why.
Matthew Piper / Model D
Friday, July 13, 2012
Drawn to being part of growing, active communities, and to a life that’s more about giving back than getting ahead? Well, budding entrepreneurs and social innovators, Matthew Piper says D:Hive can take you where you need to be.
Jon Zemke / Model D
Friday, July 13, 2012
Entrepreneurship isn't what it used to be. The scene today is explicitly about social engagement and collaborative leadership. This special report finds examples in three key Michigan places where new models for growth are being created and nurtured.
Dennis Archambault / Metromode
Friday, July 13, 2012
Yousif Ghafari is the living embodiment of the American immigrant success story. He was born in Lebanon, earned multiple college degrees in the U.S., and spent decades building a business from scratch. The result has been wealth, community status, political connections, and a reputation for philanthropy. Needless to say, Ghafari has some strong opinions about the role of immigrants in our region's success. Dennis Archambault gets the story.
Denise McGeen / Model D
Friday, June 22, 2012
Detroit was the first major city to have a publicly owned transit system. If the Detroit Bus Company succeeds, it may also be the first to offer a viable privately owned alternative.
Natalie Burg / Concentrate
Friday, June 22, 2012
The Internet has started to shift the music industry's top-down corporate record label control toward indie artists who can deliver their own music to the masses. But what about t-shirts, posters, and other fan-demanded merchandise? Enter local start-up Whiplash, which provides shipping, fulfillment and logistics for small sellers of every stripe.
Constance Crump / Metromode
Friday, June 08, 2012
Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has been a popular way for folks to buy produce from local farms. But what if that same strategy were applied to local artists and art collectors? Funny you should ask.
Matthew Piper / Concentrate
Friday, May 18, 2012
Working out of the Furniture Factory in the Cass Corridor, Allied Media Projects' small staff is all about innovation, interaction and collaboration. There's a lot happening, reports Matthew Piper.
Natalie Burg / Concentrate
Friday, May 18, 2012
Wesley Taylor says he lives in Ann Arbor but does in Detroit. As an artist-musician-entrepreneur he has found places where the two communities connect ...and others where the barriers need to come down. Given the incredible scope of his work and ambition, Taylor may be just the guy to make that happen.
Natalie Burg / Metromode
Friday, May 18, 2012
Vectorform is Metro Detroit's stealth company, a Royal Oak-based tech firm that does its work on the down low. That work includes phones apps, games, and technological innovations that have a global reach. It has satellite offices in New York, Seattle, Germany and India. But shhhh, that's just between you and us, okay?
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, May 04, 2012
In the conversation about mass transit and whether or not we develop a county-wide service one type of rider often gets overlooked - kids. What do limited transportation options mean for students without easy access to after-school activities and programs? What about the car-less volunteers who can't reach those who need help the most?
Claire Nelson / Model D
Friday, April 20, 2012
Our new headquarters has some great bones -- architecturally and historically. It's also on a great Midtown block that includes neighbors the Green Garage and Bronx Bar. Cheers from us to you.
Tunde Wey & Claire Nelson / Model D
Friday, April 06, 2012
For the past few months we've been working with Detroit media partners and the Knight Foundation to create a new collaborative resource for innovation called UIX. People get ready, it's time to roll out some evidence.
Amy Kuras / Metromode
Friday, March 23, 2012
From jingles to mash-ups, family-owned Yessian Music in Farmington Hills has been creating soundtracks for commercials, theme parks, movies, and high profile events for 40 years. This year's Super Bowl, which boasted five different ads with their work, demonstrates the ever-growing global reach of this homegrown firm.
Walter Wasacz / Model D
Friday, March 09, 2012
We started talking about "gazelles" and ended up meeting a panel filled with them at last week's Model D Speaker Series. Seven young entrepreneurs talked about why they started up their businesses in Detroit -- and why you could be next. Walter Wasacz took digital notes.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, February 24, 2012
Mike Burns is a born entrepreneur, and at 58, he could easily run rings around guys half his age. Or fly rings around them, as the case may be (he pilots WWII era P-51 Mustangs). More importantly, Burns is an entrepreneur who believes in doing business in Michigan. It's why he sources nearly all the components to his iPad accessory, the HandeHolder, locally. And it's not just a recession thing. It's part of his overall business philosophy.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, February 10, 2012
It's been said that the candle that burns at both ends shines twice as brightly. There's little doubt that entrepreneur Vince Chmielewski embodies the spirit of that saying. Working a full time job at U-M and running a successful web design firm on the side (not to mention growing family duties), you can't help but wonder when he sleeps.
Walter Wasacz / Model D
Friday, January 27, 2012
The two-hour program was filled with lively, quotable conversation by a diverse group of presenters willing to step outside the box to talk about entrepreneurship in Detroit. It was a "wow" kind of afternoon at U-M's Ross School of Business. Walter Wasacz reports from the student section.
Tom Hendrickson / Model D
Friday, January 27, 2012
Our cameras were rolling as the ideas continued flowing at last Friday's Idealab in Ann Arbor. Tom Hendrickson captured the presenters on stage and tracked them down backstage for this episode of Model D TV.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, January 27, 2012
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.
Natalie Burg / Concentrate
Friday, January 13, 2012
The student-run MPowered is U-M's startup for startups. Living up to its name, it has not only prodded the university into offering more classes in entrepreneurship, it has also attracted a community of business-minded students through its 1000 Pitches Summit and annual Career Fair. This year they debut "Startup Weekend," a 54-hour event which seeks to create a web or mobile applications business in a weekend.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, January 13, 2012
Ann Arbor-based ForeSee Results has seen growth every quarter of its existence. That's a pretty impressive track record for this U-M spin out. CEO and co-founder Larry Freed talks about his home grown approach to hiring, our area's startup climate, and what we need to keep and attract more young talent.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, December 16, 2011
Rifino Valentine chucked his Wall Street trader job to follow his dream: to open a distillery in Detroit. Today, Valentine Vodka may not call Motown its home but it is a successful top shelf brand that's starting to expand beyond Michigan's borders. Metromode chats with Valentine about why Ferndale was the right fit for his company and how the city could become ground zero for high quality spirits.
Bill Carroll
Monday, December 12, 2011
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 staff
Friday, December 02, 2011
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.
Natalie Burg / Metromode
Friday, December 02, 2011
Apply Groupon-like marketing strategies to fine art and, voila, you get the highly successful 1xRun. The brainchild of 323 East Gallery and Ohm Creative Group owners Dan Armand and Jesse Cory, this Royal Oak-based company is bringing art (much of it local) to the masses (much of it international).
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, December 02, 2011
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.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, November 11, 2011
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.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, November 11, 2011
The mantra for many an entrepreneur is: Where there's a need, there's a dollar to be made. So, what do you get when twenty five thousand cars are looking for a parking space at the same time? A business opportunity. Concentrate's Jon Zemke chats with Taylor Bond, co-founder of the game day parking finder ParknParty.
Jon Zemke / Model D
Friday, October 28, 2011
Jerry Paffendorf is an idea man. Not the typical idea man with grand ambitions and little execution who thinks his ideas would be great for other people. Paffendorf actually turns his dreams into reality. Jon Zemke asks all the right questions.
Jackie Headapohl
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Jake Sigal has always been impassioned about music, since he was a kid banging on pots and pans growing up in Columbus, Ohio.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, October 14, 2011
Vaughan Taylor wants to establish Motown 2.0, an interface of music and social media that changes the business landscape for musicians. And he wants to do it in Ann Arbor. Jon Zemke talks promotion, hip-hop, and Michigan's start-up culture with the rapper/entrepreneur.
Francis Grunow / Model D
Friday, October 14, 2011
Magnificent when it was built nearly 100 years ago, magnificent the David Whitney building remains today, a testament to enduring Detroit modernism. Francis Grunow sets the historic scene for Model D's Next Big Thing event on Oct. 21.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, September 30, 2011
Capturing the news is one thing. Connecting what's going on with how investors can react to it is something else. Jason Raznick's Benzinga has carved out a successful niche in Metro Detroit's start-up culture and, like his business, the CEO isn't afraid to call things as he sees them.
Natalie Burg / Metromode
Friday, September 16, 2011
Maybe it's the vast expanse of Michigan's beachfront property. Or maybe it was just winters of wishful thinking. Either way, fashion designer Magdalena Trever decided to launch a swimwear line in the Mitten. Now, her eye-catching knit bikinis are getting gobs of attention.
Model D staff
Friday, August 26, 2011
Earlier this year Model D and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business presented IdeaLab, part of a two-day conference called "Revitalization & Business: Focus Detroit." Beginning today and continuing over the next few months, we bring you video evidence of what came out of this exciting collaboration.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, August 26, 2011
By some accounts Brian Cook is running the largest independent team-specific sports blog in the U.S. MGoBlog pulls in 200K readers per month, a passionate community of fans, and the kind of demographics that make advertiser's mouths water. So, how does the site's iconoclastic voice and style fit in today's media landscape, and what are its implications for the future?
Jeff Meyers / Metromode
Friday, August 12, 2011
In what has to be the smallest sliver of a Venn diagram that includes the insurance industry, upscale bowling, and movie theater chains, sits Paul Glanz. As the CEO of both Proctor Financial and Emagine Entertainment, this native metro Detroiter is nothing if not entrepreneurial.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, August 12, 2011
Richard Sheridan has seen it all. The burst of the tech bubble, downsizing, basement start-up anxieties, and, finally, success. Today his Menlo Innovations is a company that wins accolades for its work philosophy and clients for its bottom line. Jon Zemke talks to Ann Arbor's go-to guy on entrepreneurship about what it takes to build a successful company. Hint: coffee may play a role.
Jon Zemke / Model D
Friday, July 29, 2011
Startup editor Jon Zemke jumps on what could be the story of the summer: the rapid-fire redevelopment of lower Woodward Corridor skyscrapers and other prime real estate. News is breaking seemingly every day off the desk of point person Dan Mullen, who sits down with Model D to tell us what could be next.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, July 29, 2011
The founders of Ann Arbor logistics firm LLamasoft don't mince words when it comes to attracting professional talent, developing their business, or expressing their disdain for VC culture. Hire smart, be fiercely competitive, create a good product, don't be a jerk (only they didn't say jerk). Concentrate's Jon Zemke puts the partners through the paces and even gets them to talk football.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, July 15, 2011
Moose Scheib is the living embodiment of the American dream. Born in Beirut, raised in Dearborn, the 30-year-old entrepreneur played college football, attended Columbia Law School, and returned to Michigan to start a company and raise a family. Metromode's Jon Zemke sits down with the founder of LoanMod.com to discuss foreclosures, business, and the region's Arab-American community.
Nada Alfaily
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Lamassu Productions is a privately-held film production company in Detroit founded in 2005 by Assyrian American director Andre Anton with the goal of accurately depicting the tribulations of Assyrians in northern Mesopotamia as well as other minority cultures. The company won multiple awards for Best Documentary and will be screening its film "Defying Deletion" in front of the U.S. Congress in July.
Richard Retyi / Concentrate
Friday, June 10, 2011
It's not all about angel investing and venture capital at Concentrate. Some times you've got to focus on the little guy or gal. Which is what Kickstarter does, helping innovative ideas and people to find investment. From food to photography to music and movies, folks in Ann Arbor and Ypsi have used the crowd-sourcing financial service to get their pet projects off the ground.
Jon Zemke / Model D
Friday, May 27, 2011
Movement, Detroit's massive electronic music festival, fires up this weekend at Hart Plaza. Model D's Jon Zemke talks to the man whose promotions and production team has been helping sustain the techno nation since the 1990s.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, May 27, 2011
Gay-friendly community? Check. Locally owned small businesses? Check. An emphasis on walkability? Check. Once a working-class auto industry town, Ferndale is emerging as Metro Detroit's go-to community for new urbanist success. Metromode's Jon Zemke looks into why.
Richard Retyi / Concentrate
Friday, May 20, 2011
Better than a belly flop but not quite a dive, Ann Arbor businesses are starting to leverage social media as a way to connect with customers. Richard Retyi surveys who's doing what on the Internet and how it's helping their bottom line.
Nicole Rupersburg / Metromode
Friday, May 20, 2011
It's not a GLBT-friendly community without the drag queens. Though Ferndale is singled out for its pink and lavender street cred, Royal Oak is home to Five 15, a cafe, gift shop, art gallery, and party venue that unabashedly embraces queer culture. And it's found incredible crossover success with its sold-out-weeks-in-advance Drag Queen Bingo.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, May 13, 2011
There's little doubt about Metro Detroit's place in music history. We are a bottomless cauldron of rock n roll innovation and invention. And Movement is part of that...er, well, movement. Metromode chats with producer Jason Huvaere about electronic music's role in that legacy and the business of making it part of our region's future.
Jeff Meyers / Concentrate
Friday, April 29, 2011
The computer gaming industry rakes in nearly $9 billion each year. Michigan has only a very small sliver of that pie, and part of that sliver is Quantum Signal in Saline. Concentrate chats with Matt Toschlog, who heads up the company's simulation and gaming division. He weighs in on the state of the industry in Michigan, our film and video game incentive program, and the strategic advantage of having dreadlocks.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, April 22, 2011
If ever there was a silver lining, Brad and Kerri Dahlhofer found it. Laid off from their day jobs the couple teamed with their friend Paul Zimmerman to turn their homebrew hobby into a full-time job. It was a good gamble. B. Nektar Meadery can barely produce enough fermented honey alcohol to meet demand.
Walter Wasacz and Marvin Shaouni / Model D
Friday, April 15, 2011
Beginning with a packed opening night reception at MOCAD and continuing the rest of the week in various locations this new festival of locally-produced art was a big, big winner. Walter Wasacz tells us why Art X is a catalyst for growth while photographer Marvin Shaouni captures the vivid scene in living color.
Natalie Burg / Concentrate
Friday, April 08, 2011
Talent: some have to work at it, some are just natural-born. Jewelry designer Audrey Wong Chung, whose baubles line the gift bags of Oscar nominees and Dancing With The Stars performers, is the latter. A computer science grad and former guest actress on The Cosby Show, Audrey is jewel outfitter to the stars, and she runs worldwide operations supplying her pieces to national retail brands.
Walter Wasacz / Model D
Friday, April 08, 2011
While census workers did their job we did ours: produced ideas, converting them into real action. Detroit's creative juices have been flowing over the past decade. Managing editor Walter Wasacz says hang on, this is just the beginning of a long, wild ride into the unknown.
Constance Crump / Concentrate
Friday, April 01, 2011
Rotary Clubs for the new economy. Non-Networking events. Whatever you call them, meet-ups that emphasize the social over the professional are attracting a loyal following in Ann Arbor ...while providing a uniquely casual way for local talent to network. Or not.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, April 01, 2011
Despite his company's huge successes, John Gongos doesn't consider himself an entrepreneur. The veteran market researcher does, however, have strong opinions about leadership, developing talent, and taking a smart approach to business growth. Metromode's Jon Zemke get's the skinny.
Tanya Muzumdar / Concentrate
Friday, March 25, 2011
"Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get."-Mark TwainAnn Arbor is home to the first (and second biggest) weather website in the country – Weather Underground. The brainchild of weather guru Jeff Masters, it's the culmination of a life-long love affair with that most temperamental of subjects.
Dennis Archambault / Metromode
Friday, March 25, 2011
From the smokey cocktail parties of the '60s to the caffeine and Facebook fueled world of the Internet, advertising exec Marcie Brogan has seen it all. More importantly, she has embraced rather than resisted the inevitable changes in her industry. Metromode chats with her about the state of Metro Detroit's advertising firms -- past and present.
Jon Zemke
Friday, March 11, 2011
From an engineering job with Ford to a serial entrepreneur in the process of launching his fourth company, Bhushan Kulkarni epitomizes the immigrant success story. A passionate booster for his community, family, and the state's economic future, Kulkarni chats with Concentrate about the challenges of start-up culture and the need for more mentorship.
Nicole Rupersburg / Metromode
Friday, March 11, 2011
From the assembly line to auto plant walls to the walls of an art gallery, Tony Roko could be a metaphor for Metro Detroit's creative evolution. The industrial begets the artistic as this former assembly line worker transformed his off-the-clock scribbles and sketches into a growing reputation as a painter.
Dave Krieger / Model D
Friday, March 04, 2011
Former Model D managing photographer Dave Krieger has been busy working on one film set after another the past few years. He makes an appeal to the governor and the state legislature to keep the lights, cameras and action rolling.
Kim North Shine / Metromode
Friday, March 04, 2011
Once upon a time cities were built near waterways, roads, and rail.
Today, as markets go global, airports are becoming the main artery for
most businesses. Detroit Region Aerotropolis is our attempt to
capitalize on this new reality. Metromode asks: Can we compete on the international stage?
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, February 25, 2011
Texts From Last Night turned Ben and Philip Bator into accidental entrepreneurs. Now, with millions of followers, books, mobile apps and even a television show in development, these Metro Detroit natives are poised to conquer the world ...from their living room.
Megan Pennefather / Model D
Friday, February 11, 2011
Pro-active Detroit blog has been gaining steam since launching 13 months ago, thanks largely to the hustle of creator Margarita Barry. We ran this story last summer but here it is mid-winter and the project is still hot. Read again and get inspired.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, February 04, 2011
If gung-ho could be bottled, Matt and Rene Greff would probably put it in a microbrew. Owners of ever-popular Ann Arbor Brewing and Corner Brewery in Ypsilanti, the couple are practically poster children for the region's unique personality. Quirky, entrepreneurial, civic-minded, and opinionated, Concentrate talks business, politics, downtown development and, oh yeah, beer with this dynamic duo.
Kelly Quintanilla / Metromode
Friday, February 04, 2011
April Meyers is from here, wanted to stay here, and wanted to make a difference. But that's harder than it sounds when you're a recent college grad in search of work. Luckily, VISTA offered her an opportunity to do good and do it in Metro Detroit. Now, Meyers is helping establish a food pantry and community garden program at Schoolcraft College.
Kim North Shine / Concentrate
Friday, January 28, 2011
If anyone knows that necessity is the mother of invention it's Mike Burns. An inventor and innovator who has found success matching tech innovation to the world of running, he stumbled across his latest greatest idea: the Handeholder, an iPad accessory that's raking in orders by the thousands.
Claire Nelson / Model D
Friday, January 28, 2011
Conference in Ann Arbor had a little bit of everything: Detroit entrepreneurial star power, great ideas and, best of all, a call to action. Model D most valuable player Claire Nelson delivers the news from the academy to the streets.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, January 28, 2011
Just one word: e-commerce. You thought we were going to say plastics, didn't you? The funny thing is, Rochester-based Brand Labs owes as much to plastics as it does to the Internet. Mixing old economy lessons with new economy business, Kevin Harman and Dane Downer's 3-year-old firm has found incredible success.
Concentrate Staff
Friday, January 21, 2011
It used to be, if you wanted to be in the music industry you had to head to the coasts. Sam Valenti IV didn't like those rules so he followed in Berry Gordy's footsteps and made a few rules of his own. Today he runs Ghostly International, Ann Arbor's highly successful and hipper than hip music label. Sam kicks off Concentrate's 2011 Speaker Series with a talk about the evolution of his company here in Ann Arbor. The event is Thursday, January 27th. Sign up today!
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, January 21, 2011
Ben Kazez defines the new economy lifestyle. He's the founder of a successful mobile app start-up, lives near Kerrytown, and walks to his downtown office. With promises that success won't lure him away (Mobiata was acquired by Expedia last fall), Concentrate chatted with Kazez about good food, apps, and launching a start-up.
Model D
Friday, January 14, 2011
Our monthly speaker series kicks off 2011 in impressive fashion with this collaborative effort with U-M's Ross School of Business. It's a one-day conference on the elusive what's next with star power from all over the region. Read all about it and register now.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, January 14, 2011
Here, there, everywhere. It's not a coincidence that Henry Balanon got into the mobile application business. For this young entrepreneur, mobility is a way of life. Metromode chats with the founder of Bickbot about co-working, phone apps, blogging, iPads and what they mean for Metro Detroit.
Jeff Meyers / Metromode
Friday, December 17, 2010
If anyone doubts that Metro Detroit is a hotbed of invention, entrepreneurship and creative thinking they just haven't been paying attention. Metromode once again unearthed a treasure trove of people, companies and communities that are evolving our sense of place, building our new economy, and promoting innovation at every turn. As we ring out the year we look back at a baker's dozen of stories that inspired us!
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, November 19, 2010
With over 100 start-ups, Bill Wagner and Dianne Marsh of SRT Solutions see Ann Arbor as a worthy contender to Silicon Valley for talent and jobs. Concentrate gets the duo's view of employee-friendly work spaces, active learning, and the TED talks.
Nicole Rupersburg / Metromode
Friday, November 19, 2010
Everyone and their granny has a blog. But how many web-based wordsmiths know how to earn a buck for their efforts? From blog-based record labels to Internet journalists to movie deals for embarrassing text messages, some Metro Detroit bloggers are turning their passions into paychecks.
Jon Zemke / Model D
Friday, November 12, 2010
Arty fashionista Sarah Lapinski's motor is always running. We see this Detroit dynamo wherever we go, her amp usually turned up to 11. She rocks, Jon Zemke rolls it out in this month's Q&A feature.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, November 12, 2010
Eric Brown not only discovered his entrepreneurial muscle later in life, he also discovered his new urbanist, social media leanings. As CEO and co-founder of Urbane Apts, Brown has his finger on Metro Detroit's rental pulse, and has found success in a market that traditionally caters to home owners.
Natalie Burg / Concentrate
Friday, November 05, 2010
"I quit!" never sounded so sweet. Even in the state's job-strapped economy, there are Michiganders deciding to leave secure positions to forge businesses of their own. Concentrate profiles four local entrepreneurs who made the leap from employee to self-employed.
Ashley Woods / Model D
Friday, October 29, 2010
Candidate for MIchigan governor Rick Snyder and journalist Roger Martin
sat down for a talk about the state's -- and Detroit's -- future last
Thursday at the Max M. Fisher Music Center. We were there and bring you
highlights from the speaker series event.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Friday, October 22, 2010
Lisa Kurek has the kind of can-do, grab life by the horns attitude that inspires (and fascinates) the people around her. She channels that same energy and outlook toward local entrepreneurs as the director of Biotechnology Business Consultants, helping them to achieve their full start-up potential. Concentrate gets her views on entrepreneurship, scoring seed capital, and government grants.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, October 22, 2010
ePrize is arguably one of the most innovative companies in Metro Detroit, attracting a younger generation of creative professionals and techies. Metromode sits down with founder and CEO Josh Linkner to talk about creativity, entrepreneurship, and realigning the region's approach to its future.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, October 08, 2010
From employee to employer, Paul Bartlett made the jump many dream of but few dare to try. Kittyhawk Studios is an Internet marketing boutique that has attracted A-list clients and a stable of virtual workers. And Bartlett has done it all from the comfort of his vintage Rochester home.
Constance Crump / Concentrate
Friday, October 01, 2010
Even in our high speed digital world there's still a place for old school day planners. Co-founders Sarah Nicoli and Lisa Edwards have turned their design sense and organizational know-how into Dotmine, a highly successful Ann Arbor business.
Jon Zemke / Model D
Friday, October 01, 2010
Greek immigrant Dennis Kefallinos came Detroit as a 15-year-old in the 1960s and made the American Dream come true for himself and his family. He began developing in Greektown and pushed his vision north to the Russell Industrial Center, where Model D's Jon Zemke caught up with him for this live one-on-one chat.
Walter Wasacz / Metromode
Friday, September 24, 2010
To establish a successful creative scene you need a critical mass of topnotch artists and performers, a dedicated local audience and savvy event promoters. Metro Detroit's got plenty of the first but struggles to effectively attract the second because there are only a few of the third. Or so says Walter Wasacz, FilterD's editor and Metromode's cultural connoisseur.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, September 17, 2010
Jon Citrin is not your everyday ordinary financial services guy. The 33-year-old entrepreneur has a distinctly next generation view of business that has grown his Birmingham-based office into a firm to watch. Metromode's Jon Zemke gets Citrin's opinions on building a business, creating successful internships, locating downtown, and evaluating Mick Jagger's economic acumen.
metromode
Friday, September 17, 2010
Detroit's Kyle Hall (pictured), an electronic musician whose career is taking off at home but especially in Europe and Asia, is part of a stellar lineup of talent in the first-ever We Like Music Festival at two venues in Midtown. Check out the details in
FilterD, your essential weekly guide to what's hot and cool in the metro area.
Nicole Rupersburg / Metromode
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Let's spread the love and deliver the good word: Macomb County is no slouch when it comes to embracing new economy initiatives. From trade missions to China to the Education City Initiative to the Anton Art Center, the county that too often lives in Oakland and Wayne's economic shadow is no stranger to innovation.
Jon Zemke/ Model D
Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Real estate agent Austin Black had found success selling the city for other firms, so he decided to strike out on his own with City Living Detroit, his Midtown brokerage. He talks with Model D about the city and opportunities that lay ahead.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Tuesday, September 07, 2010
Offering a Word for the web solution for the
pains of website maintenance are Mike Monan and Stephen Colson, the founders of Switchback, an internet business based on Drupal technology. This week they dish with Concentrate's Jon Zemke on downtown workspaces and the wilds of entrepreneurship.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Friday, September 03, 2010
It's a family affair. Pete Bonner didn't just marry into the family business, he helped create it. An early pioneer in the Internet automotive business, he and his in-laws have become successful serial entrepreneurs, finding new (and profitable) ways to connect the Big Three to the web.
Jon Zemke / Metromode
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Internet marketing or hipster art gallery? It's two great tastes in one. Jesse Cory is the brainchild behind both 323 East and Ohm Creative Group in Royal Oak. But the split identity doesn't end there. He also shuttles between Metro Detroit and Brooklyn, NY - doing business in both. Metromode caught up with him to talk entrepreneurship, street art and Kwame mugs.
Jon Zemke / Concentrate
Wednesday, September 01, 2010
How do you get to the top of Google's first page? Catherine Juon and Linda Girard have a few ideas. It's why they started the successful website optimization firm Pure Visibility. Jon Zemke sits down with these Ann Arbor entrepreneurs to talk about sharing leadership, running a company in downtown A2, and teaching school kids more about business (among other topics).