News

North American Bancard enjoyed quadruple-digit growth in the last year and the Troy-based electronic payment processing firm attributes much of the expansion to PayAnywhere, its mobile payment arm.

"It's a huge initiative for our company," sys Marc Gardner, president & CEO of North American Bancard. "It's growing in a very accelerated fashion."

Fast enough that North American Bancard has hired 130 people over the last year, many of them in the PayAnywhere division. Gardner says his firm is hiring mobile software engineers and professionals as fast as they can find them, adding if 20 of those sorts of techies were laid-off tomorrow from another employer his company would hire all of them.

"We are constantly looking for mobile platform engineers," Gardner says.

PayAnywhere offers mobile point of sale solutions. It recently launch its nationwide retail channel for some of the country's biggest corporations such as Wal-Mart, OfficeMax, Sam’s Club and The Home Depot. Gardner sees a tremendous room for growth in mobile payments as smaller businesses look to harness the technology, even service-based businesses like landscaping and car-repair firms, make the switch from checks to mobile payments to accelerate their cash flow.

"They don't want to wait for the check in the mail," Gardner says. "They want to be paid now."

Source: Marc Gardner, president & CEO of North American Bancard
Writer: Jon Zemke

Protean Payment wants to replace your credit cards, library cards and any card in your wallet with a swipe strip with one glass-card that does everything from the user's smartphone.

"We came up with technology that mimics credit cards and it communicates through Blue Tooth," Thiago Olson, CEO of Protean Payment.

The glass card is a unique substance that is more rigid than plastic but more bendable than glass. When it's dropped it clangs like glass but doesn't shatter. Olson says it's the world's first glass card. The technology and the mobile app that comes with it is being developed in Ann Arbor's Tech Brewery.

The nearly 1-year-old start-up and its team of eight people recently won the Products and Services category at the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition last month. The $25,000 cash prize will go into product development so Protean Payment can launch early next year.

"We're going for a nationwide launch in quarter 2 of next year," Olson says.

Source: Thiago Olson, CEO of Protean Payment
Writer: Jon Zemke

Spider9 sees the growth potential in green technologies, such as alternative energy and electric automobiles, and it's capitalizing on them with new battery technology spun out of the University of Michigan.

"It's a battery-based technology where you could control the voltage and wattage that comes off the cell," says Glynne Townsend, CEO of Spider9. "It saves money and improves reliability."

Spider9's technology is known as OS Energy. It improves the energy output, life and reliability of renewable energy systems by optimizing the performance and efficiency of all components of the system ultimately increasing system life, and reliability while reducing cost.

The 1-year-old start-up is working with the University of Michigan Office of Technology Transfer and is based in Northville. It now employs 12 people and is in the process of commercializing the technology. It is now testing it with what Townsend described as a "large Edison utility."

Source: Glynne Townsend, CEO of Spider9
Writer: Jon Zemke

Patient Provider Communications is filling out its executive team, nailing down bridge funding, and winning a lucrative award along the way.

The Ann Arbor-based software firm has grown its executive ranks to six people as it gears up to launch the pilot phase of its principal product next year. The company is also looking to land seven figures' worth of federal grant and investment capital this year and has already nailed down some of it by taking second place in the Emerging Company category of the most recent Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest business plan competition.

"It was great," says Dr. Lance Patak, CEO of Patient Provider Communications. "It was perfect timing. We're seeking bridge funding so every dollar helps, even that $25,000."

The prize money will allow the three-year-old start-up to buy lab equipment to further the development of its product. Dr. Patak, together with Dr. Bryan J Traughber and Thomas Morphopoulus, started the firm to create a better way for patients and medical professionals to communicate than the antiquated call-light system.

The company is currently working to land a Phase 2 federal Small Business Technology Transfer grant later this year worth $1.225 million. It also expects to land matching funds from the state of Michigan while raising another $500,000 in private investment.

"Hopefully, by July 2013, we will have our first product installed in our first customer hospital," Patak says.

Source: Lance Patak, CEO of Patient Provider Communications
Writer: Jon Zemke

Auburn Hills-based ePS has enjoyed some large spikes in revenue growth over its first few years, allowing the tech firm to add five people to its current staff of 36 employees and the occasional intern.

"We're trying to grow our revenue by 100 percent again over the next year," says David Saroli, CEO of ePS, short for e-Procurement Services. "We have been fortunate enough to close some major accounts in the last year."

Two-year-old ePS provides custom software for things like e-commerce and supply chain management. The technology creates a streamlined purchasing synergy between buyers and suppliers. It also offers a Tier One Diversity Program that helps businesses do more work with local minority-owned firms.

The Tier One Diversity Program has led ePS's growth in the last year, expanding by 400 percent. Its retail growth went up by 80 percent in the last 12 months, helping boost the company's overall bottom line by 60 percent. That has allowed the company to hire more people in sales and business relationship management, among other sectors.

The company has also landed some large clients recently, including the second largest retailer in Canada and one of the largest gas and oil corporations in the world.

Source: David Saroli, CEO of ePS
Writer: Jon Zemke

FEV has hired about 100 people over the last year, expanding its Auburn Hills staff to almost 400 people.

FEV specializes in powertrain and vehicle engineering in the global transportation industry.  The engineering services it offers a range of services, from design to prototyping to development to integration for internal combustion gasoline-, diesel-, and alternative-fueled powertrains. Most of its new hires have been in engineering, design and testing. The company has anywhere from 50-70 job postings this month.

"I expect to grow between 15-30 percent over the next 2-3 years," says Tim Meyer, senior technical recruiter with FEV.

He adds the marketplace has become more favorable toward propulsion systems, increasing the demand for the services provided FEV. It is why FEV recently expanded its current building, which will allow it to accommodate its expected future growth.

"There is a lot of space put aside for this growth," Meyer says.

Source: Tim Meyer, senior technical recruiter with FEV
Writer: Jon Zemke

Evans Distribution Systems can now call itself a former small business, thanks to a large growth spurt over the last year that has allowed it to hire 250 people.

The Melvindale-based logistics company now employs 575, up from 325 last year, and expects to continue growing. It now has a presence in seven states and has watched its revenue increase by 15 percent over the last year. The circa-1929 company expects its revenue to go up another 15 percent this year as it continues to hit on all cylinders.

"We have actually enjoyed growth in all of our divisions, which is kind of unusual," says Leslie Ajlouny, vice president of business development for Evans Distribution Systems. "Usually we're growing in one division and flat in another."

Those divisions range from warehousing to staffing. Its new employment staffing division, launched last year, has also helped bolster the company's sales. Much of that is due to the automotive industry, which has allowed Evans Distribution Systems to hire everyone from drivers to warehouse employees to staffing recruiters.

"Not only do we support many of the automakers, but the automotive suppliers as well," Ajlouny says. "The growth in the automotive industry has driven a lot of our growth."

Source: Leslie Ajlouny, vice president of business development for Evans Distribution Systems
Writer: Jon Zemke

Slow food firm The Brinery is growing fast in Ann Arbor via sales of its fermented vegetables and an expansion of its small staff.

The Brinery specializes in making sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles and tempeh. The company's founder has been making them from his home for years and is now looking for a commercial space to begin producing his wares en masse.

"I was looking for something to do that was artisan-related and entrepreneurial," says David Klingenberger, owner of The Brinery. "It's a niche. I use all Michigan-made ingredients and I have been able to make a go of it."

The Brinery is now the official sauerkraut provider for Zingerman's and has lined up a customer base of 45 grocery stores and restaurants in Michigan. That has allowed Klingenberger to hire three people over the last year and begin looking for a permanent place to do business.

"We have grown by leaps and bounds," Klingenberger says. "We have doubled our sales in every year of our existence."

Source: David Klingenberger, owner of The Brinery
Writer: Jon Zemke

DataFactZ has enjoyed a growth trend since it opened its doors for business nine years ago. The data-warehousing-and-IT firm has seen double-digit revenue increases in each of those years, including nearly 30 percent growth over the last year.

Propelling that growth is expanded business with some big local corporate names, such as Meijer and Domino's Pizza. It's IT work has helped those companies tweak their business models to become more efficient and profitable.

"The reason we are able to grow is because of the total quality of the projects we deliver," says Krishna Kallakuri, vice president of DataFactZ.

DataFactZ recently hired 12 people in Michigan, most of which are at its Northville headquarters. The company is looking to acquire a similar firm of similar size in Michigan in 2013 to complement its organic growth.

"We are projecting steady growing and more project growth in the next six months," Kallakuri says.

Source: Krishna Kallakuri, vice president of DataFactZ
Writer: Jon Zemke

Educational and entrepreneurial options are moving around and into Detroit this fall.

Eastern Michigan University is opening a new off-campus center on the city's northwest side at 7800 W. Outer Drive across the street from Wayne County Community College District's northwest campus. The 10,983-square-foot facility consists of space for faculty offices, classrooms, a computer lab and a student lounge.

EMU offers a wide range of courses and degrees in the new space, including nursing, social work and education sectors. The new office replaces a smaller location in the Northwest Activities Center.

The Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center, commonly known as MI-SBTDC, is also moving its offices from TechTown to the former Barden Communications building in downtown Detroit. Grand Valley State University purchased the building earlier this year and MI-SBTDC, which helps grow tech entrepreneurs and start-ups, moving into the space to be closer to Grand Valley State, which also is the home to MI-SBTDC headquarters.

"It's really about creating some synergies between Grand Valley State University and the Detroit office of MI-SBTDC," says Wendy Thomas, associate regional director of MI-SBTDC.

MI-SBTDC will move six employees into 1,500 square feet of space in the former Barden building, which overlooks Comerica Park.

Source: Eastern Michigan University and Wendy Thomas, associate regional director of Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center
Writer: Jon Zemke

The Hamtramck Recycling & Transfer Center is getting close to opening and expects to create a few dozen jobs when it begins operations in 2013.

The green business is refurbishing an old waste-transfer building at the corner of Hamtramck Drive and Denton Street. The 32,000-square-foot building will pick out a number of recyclable materials from industrial waste, such as metal, cardboard, paper and plastics. The idea is to profit off of the wasted commodities that too often end up in the garbage.

"There is not really anybody who specializes in industrial waste," says Seth Kruger, president of Hamtramck Recycling & Transfer Center. "A lot of manufacturers are looking for ways to find less of their material end up in a landfill."

The Hamtramck Recycling & Transfer Center is a family owned business that has been in the works for the last year. It currently employs 11 people and expects to employ as many as 42 when its going full steam. The company hopes to begin operations in early 2013 and is looking to hire primarily local residents. So far about 50 percent of the firm's current workforce calls Hamtramck home.

"We're ramping up our employment to operate our system," Kruger says. "We will be hiring as the intake of material increases."

The project received $470,000 in brownfield tax credits last year from the state of Michigan. When the project began, the building had been vacant for several years and had fallen into significant disrepair.

Source: Seth Kruger, president Hamtramck Recycling & Transfer Center
Writer: Jon Zemke

RegainGo is switching its business plan from being a Groupon-like deal provider for craftsman and home improvement workers to being more of a virtual lawn sign for those workers.

The TechTown-based startup got its start earlier this year connecting contractors like carpenters and electricians with consumers looking for a deal. That market has since proven to be not robust enough to sustain itself (see Groupon's recent challenges) so RegainGo is now working to become a cloud-based platform that provides business solutions.

"They don't have to do the marketing," says Clark Covert, founder & CEO of RegainGo. "They want to go home and go to bed."

RegainGo and its two co-founders are working to relaunch its platform early next year. In the mean time its participating in the first MITX Up Detroit at TechTown today. The Boston-born event pairs local startups and businesses with small teams of local marketing/public relations veterans for a free two-hour mentoring session.

"We feel they can help us think outside of the box regarding marketing." Covert says.

Source: Clark Covert, founder & CEO of RegainGo
Writer: Jon Zemke

Ubi Video, the Detroit-based Internet start-up, is launching its Internet video platform with help from Silicon Valley this month.

Ubi Video is creating a software that aggregates online videos into one place. Think of it as a search engine for video surfers in search of their favorite TV show episode or other piece of media. The start-up is working toward adding athletic games and events, too.

"We have a number of movies as well," says James Norman, founder & CEO of Ubi Video. "We will be launching apps soon where you can watch your Netflix."

Norman and his team of four people have been working on Ubi Video from their Rivertown space. Norman was accepted to the NewME Accelerator program in February, which led to him and his team going back and forth between San Francisco and Detroit to work on their start-up to leverage Silicon Valley expertise.

"People here are early adopters," Norman says. "It's across the board, whether you are 40 years old or 15 years old."

Source: James Norman, founder & CEO of Ubi Video
Writer: Jon Zemke

LevelEleven has secured $1 million in venture capital from Detroit Venture Partners and it is moving from the headquarters of the company that spun it out of (ePrize) and into the M@dison Building in downtown Detroit.

LevelEleven got its start as a side project in ePrize, which designed the technology to motivate its sales team. That turned into a sales gamification app called Contest Builder, which launched a year ago. The app allows a sales manager to create a contest and real-time leaderboard in minutes to reward making more calls, booking client meetings, finding new sales opportunities or closing more business.

"You can turn any of that into a contest," says Bob Marsh, CEO of LevelEleven, who was also one of ePrize's first employees.

Contest Builder is now ranked as the most popular gamification app on the Salesforce AppExchange. LevelEleven's client list of 30 customers includes Contest Builder now includes Comcast, the Detroit Pistons and Concur Technologies. LevelEleven plans to use its new seed capital to expand the Contest Builder platform and expand its market reach over the next year.

"We're fine tuning the machine if you will," Marsh says. "We're finding what works."

LevelEleven now employs six people and is looking to hire a handful of new people in sales and engineering. The company is now making a home for itself in the M@dison Building after its investment by both Detroit Venture Partners and ePrize.

"We will be hiring," Marsh says. "We have to invest so we can stay ahead of the curve."

Source: Bob Marsh, CEO of LevelEleven
Writer: Jon Zemke