Founders : Immigrant Owned Business

IDashboards grew an average of nearly 20 percent over each of the last four years. It now has a marketing budget of more than $2 million today, which isn't bad for a boot-strapped firm that built itself up to make a significant-yet-strategic gamble.

"That's the difference between a boot-strapped firm and venture-funded firm," says Shadan Malik, president & CEO of iDashboards. "Venture-funded firms have millions to spend right away."

Questions with Marketing investment moves growth needle for iDashboards

The fifth-year anniversary is a big one for InfoReady. It's the year the Ann Arbor-based software startup crossed 1,000 percent growth on the strength of word-of-mouth marketing from its customers. That win is why InfoReady is one of the Gazelle 100, a year-long exploration of the fastest-growing startups in Metro Detroit as part of SEMichiganStartup's Year of the Gazelle series.

Questions with Word of mouth sends InfoReady to 1,000 percent growth over five years

DeNovo Sciences has come a long way in its first five years, but the Plymouth-based startup can point to one critical juncture in its rapid growth: winning the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition in 2011. That win is why DeNovo Sciences is one of the Gazelle 100, a year-long exploration of the fastest-growing startups in Metro Detroit as part of SEMichiganStartup's Year of the Gazelle series.

Questions with Accelerate Michigan win sets stage for DeNovo Sciences future success

Bhushan Kulkarni is a serial entrepreneur building his fourth tech startup, InfoReady. He knows what to do and where to turn when launching a startup from scratch.

Questions with Bhushan Kulkarni on what it takes to build a succesful startup