Martin Bluth
What educational, entrepreneurial or business development programs, if any, have you taken advantage of?
I have participated in
Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quest,
TechTown and its THRIVE program,
Biotechnology Business Consultants (in Ann Arbor) and National Institute of Health Small Business Technology Transfer
Who was your first customer and where did you find them?
Astellas Pharma U.S. through networking, via my partner and co-founder Dr Wellman Cheung.
Where did you find your first employee?
It is equity based at the moment with all contributors.
Where have you turned to find capital to grow your company and which institutions have provided it?
Astellas Pharma US,
GlaxoSmithKline and philanthropic sources have provided funding.
It's often said that Metro Detroit and Michigan need to reinvent their economies to be competitive. Are we making those changes, and if so are we making enough of them or doing it fast enough?
There is considerable effort in this regard via
Michigan Economic Development Corp, TechTown and the like. Additional support would be valuable in the venues of legal consultation for intellectual property processing at reduced costs (consortium, or equity based) as this is a great expense for start up companies. Also, the venture capital monies in Michigan may not be sufficient to mature healthcare/biotech as this often incurs higher costs and increase risk. Venture capital and angel investors which support the healthcare/biotech sector often reside outside Michigan. To this end appropriate networking on a state based scale may prove advantageous to procure the appropriate funding necessary for Michigan-based healthcare/biotech companies to mature.
What are some of the advantages to doing business here?
There are great support structures, such as transparency, clarity of vendor limitations and referrals where needed, and streamlined growth algorithms for start up and small sized companies.
If you could change one thing about this region, what would it be?
Increased national and global networking for healthcare/biotech sector funding procurement.