News

Ask Sean Hickey which way Internet marketing is heading and he will give you two answers: Search and social. Media, that is.

The COO of PWB Marketing Communications has watched those areas go from a driver of his company's growth to a integral part of its product portfolio. So much so that its most recent hire, a SEO/social media worker, has become a vital force in the company.

"We have been really surprised how our clients have needed and embraced that skill set," Hickey says. "We're at the point where we are starting to see the need to add people."

Which is a step in the right direction for an Ann Arbor-based company that was just trying to keep its head above water in the depths of the recession a few years ago. Today the company plans to make a hire or two and add a major client while increasing its product offerings to include ad buying for it customers. All of this is possible because of the company's recent pitfalls in the recession.

"We went through the '09 downturn and used that as opportunity to reinvent the company," Hickey says. "What we did 10 years ago is much different than what we do today."

Source: Sean Hickey, COO of PWB Marketing Communications
Writer: Jon Zemke

The need for small business lending has become a rallying cry for the economic activist set in Metro Detroit ever since the recession set in three years ago. One Farmington Hills-based bank is growing at an exponential rate by meeting that need.

Level One Bank has watched its small business lending shoot up 32 percent over the last year and it made the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch list. That growth has allowed it to hire 50 people since last June, expanding its workforce to 110 employees and a handful of interns.

"There are not many locally owned banks in the market here," says Patrick Fehring, president & CEO of Level One Bank. "It's important to have local banks so they can provide capital to local small businesses."

Level One Bank mainly deals with small businesses for its customer base. It has watched its business deposits increase 18 percent over the last year and it has started a residential loan program, which Fehring says has proved to be "robust." He expects that program and the bank's small business lending to continue to grow, allowing its overall operations to jump 15 percent over the next year.

"We see that trend continuing," Fehring says. "The economy here is doing much better."

Source: Patrick Fehring, president & CEO of Level One Bank
Writer: Jon Zemke

Short's Brewing, the fast-growing microbrewery in northern Michigan, is opening a Metro Detroit location in Wixom that will primarily handle the company's merchandise distribution and charity efforts.

The 12,000-square foot space will house 10 employees when it's filled out later this year. The company will use it for warehousing and offices and share the space with some local companies and non-profits like MI Holiday Spirit, which focuses on helping families during the holidays.

"Basically it's going to be a small incubator there," says Scott Newman-Bale, CFO of Short's Brewing. He adds that "the reason we got such a big building is so we can encourage other companies to stay and expand."

Shorts Brewing is based in Bellaire, which is just northeast of Traverse City. The 10-year-old microbrewery employs 50 people. It will continue to produce all of its beer in northern Michigan. The Wixom location is set to open by June. Newman-Bale choose Wixom because it's his hometown.

"I have always lived in Wixom and wanted to stay in Wixom," Newman-Bale says.

Source: Scott Newman-Bale, CFO of Short's Brewing
Writer: Jon Zemke

It wasn't that long ago that Brian Bandemer graduated from Bizdom and began his own start-up. Today that tech firm, PicketReport, is growing and creating jobs in downtown Detroit.

Think of PicketReport as a CARFAX for your home, a service that provides useful information about nearby things like schools, businesses and safety. It's advertising itself as a tool that real-estate agents and relocation company professionals can use for their customers. PicketReport's info can be accessed via its website or a mobile app.

Bandemer, a former employee of Menlo Innovations, launched the start-up in August. It debuted its redesigned website in March and plans to leverage it to continue to grow its customer base. The five-person firm currently is having its technology leverage by a few dozen customers and plans to grow that number exponentially over the next year.

"We would like to have 7-10 employees a year from now," Bandemer says. "We would like to have our infrastructure on 1,000 real-estate broker sites."

Source: Brian Bandemer, co-founder of PicketReport
Writer: Jon Zemke

DASI Solutions is consolidating some of its operations in downtown Pontiac, taking advantage of the opportunities that present themselves in the wake of the recent recession and the city's fiscal crisis.

The 16-year-old tech firm is consolidating its Lake Orion office and its headquarters into a 20,000-square-foot building in downtown Pontiac. Most of the company's 30 employees will work in the new combined office.

"We were about to take advantage of the down real estate market in Pontiac," says David Darbyshire, partner with DASI Solutions. "We were able to purchase the parking we needed, thanks to the emergency manager Louis Schimmel."

The city's fiscal crisis prompted the appointment of an emergency manager to balance the municipality's books. Part of that effort has consisted of selling some assets the city owns, including downtown parking lots. DASI Solutions needed one of those lots to ensure there was enough quality parking for its customers and patrons.

DASI Solutions has been growing market reach, opening new offices in Cincinatti, Indianapolis and Canton. The Canton office is servicing the company's customers in Ann Arbor, Detroit and Monroe. Darbyshire adds that his company's rapid prototyping business has been "doing very well" and the company has watched its technology sales to defense contractors and military agencies increase.

That growth has allowed the company to hire four people in the last six months. It has three job openings now for mechanical engineers and expects to bring more interns on this year to fill out the extra space in its new headquarters in downtown Pontiac.

Source: David Darbyshire, partner with DASI Solutions
Writer: Jon Zemke

Double-digits has become an important phrase to DataFactZ in recent years. The Northville-based international data warehousing company has enjoyed double-digit revenue gains (35 percent) in the last year while hiring 85 people at the same time.

"Our growth rate has been very consistent and 2012 looks very promising for us," says Krishna Kallakuri, CEO & co-founder of DataFactZ. "2012 looks very promising to us."

DataFactZ specializes in data warehousing and IT consulting work. It counts major corporations like Walt Disney Co and Amway as clients. It has grown from a handful of people when it started a decade ago to 375 around the world today.

"We keep adding people on a consistent basis," Kallakuri says.

Kallakuri expects his company to continue adding people and growing at the same rate. He is projecting his firm's revenue to go up 30-40 percent over the next year.

Source: Krishna Kallakuri, CEO & co-founder of DataFactZ
Writer: Jon Zemke

Salam and Adam Zahr are married. She is a former teacher who is now a freelance photographer. He is a doctor working on his residency at the University of Michigan. They both live in Dearborn and are the co-founders of Public Threads.

"We were looking for something to do together that suited both of our interests," says Salam Zahr, co-founder of Public Threads. "We wanted to have some fun, make some money and give back to the community."

Public Threads is a clothing boutique that specializes in t-shirts. The Zahrs create simple designs from things they enjoy, such as guitar because they both love music, and a soccer-themed shirt because they like that sport, too. The couple recently completed the BUILD program at D:hive in downtown Detroit, which gave them the basic tools to run a lifestyle business.

The couple are also working to make sure their products are as locally sourced as possible. They use American Apparel shirts because they are made in the U.S.A. They plan to expand into long-sleeve shirts and sweaters in the near future, all made domestically.

"That was important to us," Salam says. "We want to make sure it's made in the United States."

Source: Salam Zahr, co-founder of Public Threads
Writer: Jon Zemke

As the marketing world continues to adapt to the Internet age, firms like Ann Arbor-based Enlighten are taking advantage of the changing paradigm.

"More and more marketing and sales are going digital," says Steve Glauberman, CEO of Enlighten. "The needs of companies to connect to their customers is coming increasingly from digital channels."

That has allowed the 30-year-old company to hire five people over the last year. Its staff now stands at 100 employees and 10 more interns and independent contractors. Enlighten has grown its revenue by 20 percent over the last year and expects to grow by another 10-20 percent this year.

Another aspect that is fueling the company's growth is its WhatWasThere.com project, a mobile app that allows user to upload historic photos of everyday places. It now has close to 100,000 photos and has inked deals with some major institutions, such as the Museum of New York City and the Free Library of Philadelphia.

"It's actually going really well," Glauberman says.

Source: Steve Glauberman, CEO of Enlighten
Writer: Jon Zemke

Epsilon Imaging is spinning its way to growth in both products and staff. The Ann Arbor-based bio-tech start-up, spun out of Pixel Velocity in 2008, is commercializing its technology and adding to its staff.

The 3-year-old company has hired three people over the last year, including employees who specialize in sales and marketing. The company now employs 11 staffers and expects to keep growing. Epsilon Imaging is also raising a bridge-capital round between $1.5 million and $2 million of convertible debt with angel investors. The start-up's leadership hopes to close the round this year.

"We already raised a pretty good part of it," says Eric Sieczka, CEO of Epsilon Imaging. "We are just looking to close the round."

Epsilon Imaging is developing an ultrasound for cardiac imaging that quantitatively measures the strength and weakness of the heart's muscles. It recently commercialized its first software application and it's being used at nine health systems, mostly in Metro Detroit. The start-up expects to bring its second system online by the third quarter of this year.

"We're expecting pretty good growth here in the next 12-18 months," Sieczka says.

Source: Eric Sieczka, CEO of Epsilon Imaging
Writer: Jon Zemke

SimuQuest is starting to attract the attention of some bigger corporations, allowing the Ann Arbor-based company to expand.

SimuQuest develops mathematical models for software creation. These software tools enable a shift from manual coding to the automatic generation of software from mathematical algorithms. The company's special sauce lies in providing the final step to enable generation of fully integrated software, making the solution a viable reality for its clients.

These solutions have attracted a major automotive supplier and semi-conduction manufacturer both of which are cutting six-figure checks to help continue the development of SimuQuest's technology.

"That's to the tune of $250,000 per year from both of these companies," says John Mills, president & CEO of SimuQuest. "That's pretty exciting for us."

The money has allowed SimuQuest to add one more person to its team of half a dozen people working out of the company's new office in Kerrytown. SimuQuest is now beta testing its technology for its new customers. The software helps manage all of its customers data, creating the architecture of the system and allowing easy viewing of the system.

Source: John Mills, president & CEO of SimuQuest
Writer: Jon Zemke

What was once ShoreBank is now Urban Partnership Bank and is hosting a grand opening of its new branch office in Midtown.

ShoreBank made a name for itself as a lending institution that focused on providing banking services, such as making loans and mortgages in inner-city neighborhoods across the U.S. The Chicago-based bank went under during the foreclosure crisis and recession. Urban Partnership Bank took over ShoreBank's assets in 2010 and has been rebuilding the bank and its social entrepreneurial mission.

"Our success is measured hand and hand on the success of the communities in the city," says Brian Berg, a spokesperson with Urban Partnership Bank.

The new Midtown office is located in the ground floor of the Union Building on Cass just south of Warren. It will be staffed by 10 people who will operate the branch, which will offer deposit services, mortgage lending and small business loans for stakeholders in Detroit and those who want to pursue that path.

"We're going to continue to service our customers in this area and expand our customer base in Detroit," says Mark Clark, manager of the Midtown branch of Urban Partnership Bank.

Source: Brian Berg, a spokesperson with Urban Partnership Bank and Mark Clark, manager of the Midtown branch of Urban Partnership Bank
Writer: Jon Zemke

Arbormoon Software is already a well-known quantity in the local software and mobile technology scenes. Now the downtown Ann Arbor-based start-up is looking to become a leader in the mobile tech field by taking a comprehensive approach to it.

The 9-year-old firm has partnered with Keith Bourne, a leading local advocate for the app economy. He organizes a slew of events oriented around mobile technology, such as Mobile Mondays in Ann Arbor, Detroit and across the rest of Michigan. Bourne and his peer Dave Koziol will now work to offer comprehensive mobile technology solutions for Arbormon Software's customers.

"There is a lot more to implementing mobile technology than just building an app," says Keith Bourne, mobile strategist for Arbormoon Software. "There is marketing and sales and a whole slew of other activities."

This kind of pro-active approach and the growth of the overall software/mobile technology market has allowed Arbormoon Software to grow significantly. It has hired a handful of people over the last year, expanding it staff to a dozen people and a few interns. Bourne expects those numbers to grow as Arbormoon Software brings more marketing strategy to its mobile technology services and play a bigger role in supporting mobile technology events.

Source: Keith Bourne, mobile strategist for Arbormoon Software
Writer: Jon Zemke

Physician Resource Management has doubled in size since it began in 2009 and its new leadership expects to keep growing and creating jobs for the foreseeable future.

The health-care consulting firm for oncologists has hired three people over the last year, including a new CEO, Gene Eavy. Eavy has more than 30 years experience across the healthcare spectrum and is has experience forging collaborations between various stakeholder groups.

"I would expect the company to continue growing at double digits for the foreseeable future," Eavy says.

Physician Resource Management helps medical professionals working in oncology streamline their business by providing resources, expertise. The Ann Arbor-based company's customized solutions aim to promote quality, value and optimal outcomes for physicians and patients.

"This is an opportunity to work with oncologists and other specialties to steward resources appropriately," Eavy says,

Source: Gene Eavy, CEO of Physician Resource Management
Writer: Jon Zemke

Sometimes knowing your weaknesses is a strength. That's what the founders of STEL Technologies are finding out after winning Ann Arbor SPARK's Entrepreneurial Boot Camp.

Ellen Arruda and Lisa Larkin, professors at the University of Michigan and co-founders of STEL Technologies, are working to commercialize technology that turns tissue grafts into replacements for the ACL, the central ligament in the knee. Ann Arbor SPARK's Entrepreneurial Boot Camp not only showed the budding entrepreneurs that the technology has a bright future but it needs more than just academics to turn it into a reality.

"It was a complete eye opener for me and my team," Arruda says. "We are not business people. We learned most importantly what a CEO would do for this company."

The 1-year-old start-up spinning out of the University of Michigan is now looking for a CEO-type of business person to help shepherd the technology to commercialization. The company and its team of five people believe they can get their research-proven technology to be used in veterinary care within the next year or two as it works toward approval for using the technology in humans.

"The regulatory path is less arduous for pets," Arruda says. "Dogs are tearing their ACLs to the tune of 1.4 million surgeries per year."

Source: Ellen Arruda, co-founder of STEL Technologies
Writer: Jon Zemke

When most people think about the new economy, technology and life sciences immediately come to mind. Mango Languages is staking its claim in Metro Detroit's new economy with something that has been around almost as long as people: language education.

The Farmington Hills-based start-up has been growing to the tune of 20 new hires over the last year, rounding out the firm's staff to 54 employees and 200 independent contractors. It recently made the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch list after its revenue climbed to $5.9 million.

"We have grown exponentially year after year," says Michael Goulas, force multiplier & co-founder of Mango Languages.

The five-year-old company has been taking in more orders from institutional organizations like libraries, and from multi-national companies. Mango Languages has also watched its internatonal orders increase, from the likes of Canada and Australia. It plans to harness more technology, moving more of its products into mobile technology, such as smartphone apps.

"There is a trend toward mobile and we're set up to take advantage of that," Goulas says. He adds "We plan to double our revenues, at least."

Source: Michael Goulas, force multiplier & co-founder of Mango Languages
Writer: Jon Zemke