Founders : Boomers

Dwight Carlson knows what it's like to be on top of the world one day and have the weight of the world crushing you the next. Now he and his startup, Coherix, are back on top as they make the most of a crisis.

Questions with Coherix goes from surviving to thriving after Great Recession

"We discovered what the customers wanted was different," says Rosemary Bayer, chief inspiration officer for ardentCause. "We had to change who we thought our customer was and adapt our products to it."

Questions with Flower child capitalists turn low profit company into gazelle startup, ardentCause

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

VernDale Products is a family business employing its third generation of descendants, and executing a big growth plan. The Detroit-based firm's CEO Dale Johnson explains how building trust over time provided the basis to get everyone on board with the plan.

Questions with Dale Johnson on getting everyone in a family business on board with a growth plan

Mark Rieth likes to talk about Stroh's when he is speaking about turning Atwater Brewery into Detroit's next great brewery. He explains why Detroit's most fabled brewery serves as an inspiration.

Questions with Mark Rieth on why Stroh's inspires Atwater Brewery's growth

Bob Kraemer has seen the ups and downs of redeveloping downtown Detroit since he opened Kraemer Design Group in Harmonie Park in 1997. He also has an idea or two where development will be heading in the next few years.

Questions with Bob Kraemer on where downtown Detroit development is headed

Helen Dennis already started, built and sold one successful business. Now she is doing it again with 300 Decisions, a relocation management firm based in Ann Arbor. Check out her reasons for encore entrepreneurship.

Questions with Helen Dennis on encore entrepreneurship and starting the same business a second time

Larry Schmitt knows opportunity when he sees it. He often sells those opportunities through his innovation consulting company, The Inovo Group. Schmitt also knows that successful companies pursue those opportunities, and he knows how to get them to do it.

Questions with Larry Schmitt, success equals pursuing opportunities

Ted Green is the CEO of Greenview Data, a software firm based in Ann Arbor that specializes in email security and encryption services.

Questions with Ted Green

Dave Hile is the president & founder of Hile Creative, a branding agency based out of Ann Arbor.

Questions with Dave Hile

David Darbyshire is the engineer & co-owner of DASI Solutions, a software firm based in downtown Pontiac.

Questions with David Darbyshire

James Koziarz is the president & CEO of Rubicon Genomics, a genetic testing startup based in Ann Arbor.

Questions with James Koziarz

Rich Sheridan is the CEO of Menlo Innovations, a software firm based in downtown Ann Arbor.

Questions with Rich Sheridan

Doug Neal is one of the four co-founders of Michigan eLab. The Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm focuses on early stage tech startups.

Questions with Doug Neal

Steve Jacobs is the founder of Velocity Data Center, a data center company based in Ann Arbor.

Questions with Steve Jacobs