Gotta love a story that starts "...from the Journal of Duh…". Apparently, research shows that if you provide people with good biking infrastructure they'll -gasp!- use it. Crazy, I know. Excerpt: "In short, folks who live near the off-road trails switched to cycling to work at a higher rate than people who don’t. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of U.S. bike commuters has increased 60 percent over the last 10 years. The shift to pedal power in Minneapolis has been even more pronounced: Bicycling among workers who live within three miles of the Greenway shot up 89 percent during the decade of data." Read the rest here.

Flexfoil, a company that's no stranger to Concentrate, is having their flexible flap design flight tested by none other than NASA. How cool is that? Excerpt: "The flap design is a variable geometry airfoil system called FlexFoil, which was designed and built by Ann Arbor, Michigan-based FlexSys Inc. The FlexFoil has already been installed and the first flight-test has been completed on a Gulfstream III test airplane." Read the rest here. 

When most people think about Habitat for Humanity, they think about volunteers building houses and renovating them for those in need. For Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley, that's only part of the story, and their commitment to revitalizing more than just houses has landed them a $70,000 grant from Lowe's. "About three years ago we took a more concentrated approach to investing in the communities in a bigger way than just renovating houses," says Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley Community Development Director Sarah Teare.  ?That expanded approach includes community planning meetings, visioning, surveys and more to determine how Habitat can help the entire neighborhood become a better place to live. "Long term, we will work with the residents to help make those things that are most important come to life in their community." The local Habitat affiliate was one of 11 national affiliates and the only in Michigan to receive the grant award from Lowe's. The funds have already been put to use for community planning meetings, home exterior improvements, improvements to a pedestrian and bike path, door-to-door surveys and a clean-up day, all in Ypsilanti Twp.'s West Willow neighborhood. The funds, which came in a combination of cash and Lowe's gift cards, will also help with the construction of a pavilion in the future. "We hope to give people more of a sense of pride and comfort in their community," Teare says. "We've really seen a lot of connections made and friendships made."  Source: Sarah Teare, Habitat for Humanity of Huron Valley Writer: Natalie Burg

The Ann Arbor branch of Saginaw-based accounting, audit, tax and business consulting firm Yeo & Yeo is now the company's second largest with about 25 employees and a brand new office that is 2.5 times the size of their original location.  "We are outgrowing our previous location," says Kimberlee Kelley, director of marketing for Yeo & Yeo. "Last year we merged with a firm in Southgate, Hungerford & Co. We wanted to bring some staff from that office into one office so we could make a stronger foundation of resources for our clients."  Between the merger with the Southgate company and their own growth, the Ann Arbor staff has more than doubled in size over the past year, even as some Southgate employees remained in a satellite office in the metro Detroit office. Such growth attracted the firm to a 10,000 square foot space less than a mile from their former location on E. Eisenhower.  "It's not too far from our current office, so it's convenient for our clients," Kelley says. "We're happy to be able to grow and expand in the Ann Arbor area. It's been an ideal location for us." Construction began on the new space in July and included a complete remodel of the office. The firm moved in on Oct. 31.  Source: Kimberlee Kelley, Yeo & Yeo Writer: Natalie Burg

Ann Arbor-based startups all but swept the awards at the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition last week, taking home a combined $740,000 in seed capital. Startups from Tree Town took the top two spots, and won six out of the nine sub categories. A startup led by University of Michigan students also took second place in Accelerate Michigan's student portion of the competition. The big winner was SkySpecs, a startup developing drone technology, taking home the $500,000 first place prize. Getting here has been a long road for Ann Arbor-based company, originally placing in the student portion of the competition in 2012. "This was our third year doing it," says Danny Ellis, CEO of SkySpecs. "It was a really, really good competition. I was impressed with so many of the competitors." Cribspot, which calls Kerrytown home and has an office in downtown Detroit, took second place in the overall competition. That showing earned it $100,000 in seed capital, which company plans to use to adds staff to help further develop and expand its online-student-housing platform. The following Ann Arbor-based companies took home category awards: - Ornicept won the IT prize (worth $25,000) for its software platform that helps field workers collect and manage data. - Solartonic won the Alternative Energy prize ($25,000) for its flexible solar panel technology, solarap, that attaches to non-traditional surfaces, such as wrapping around the pole of a street lamp. - Akervall Technologies won the Advanced Materials prize ($25,000) for its thin-yet-tough mouthguard made of non-compressible, perforated materials. - Freestride Therapeutics won the Life Science prize ($25,000) for its drug that relieves and even prevents shin pain for racing horses. - AlertWatch won the Advanced Transportation prize ($25,000) for its patient-monitoring technology. - TurtleCell won the People's Choice award ($10,000) for the second year in a row for its Phone case that comes with retractable earbuds. HeelSecret took second place in Accelerate Michigan's student competition ($5,000) for its shoe attachment that helps better connect high heels to the people wearing them. The startup is led by University of Michigan students. Source: Danny Ellis, CEO of SkySpecs Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Cribspot announced raising a $660,000 seed round a little more than a month ago. Add another six figures to that number after its win at the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. The Ann Arbor-based startup, it also has an office in downtown Detroit, took second place at Michigan's pre-eminent business plan competition. That showing comes with $100,000 in seed capital the startup can use in the best way it sees fit. "We want to add more features that cater more toward landlords," says Jason Okrasinski, co-founder & CEO of Cribspot. "We also want to have a larger footprint across the country." The 1-year-old startup and recent Bizdom graduate is creating an online portal that creates one central website for off-campus housing in higher education. The co-founders, mostly University of Michigan students, recognized that finding off-campus houses is an exercise of searching craigslist ads and signs on the sides of buildings. Cribspot offers a central location where students and landlords can come together to find/offer/manage student housing. Cribspot landed $660,000 in seed capital early this fall with the round led by Huron River Ventures. It plans to put most of the $100,000 it won at the Accelerate Michigan competition to hiring another software engineer, expanding its staff to six full-time employees and four interns. It is also looking to expand into an other few university markets (it’s currently in 15) including Wayne State University and the University of Detroit Mercy. Source: Jason Okrasinski, co-founder & CEO of Cribspot Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Mercury Fund, a Houston-based venture capital firm, is opening its Midwestern office in Ann Arbor and is taking aim at making investments in Michigan-based startups. To solidify its plans it has brought on Adrian Fortino as a partner to run the Ann Arbor office. Fortino had been running the Invest Detroit fund (he will remain an advisor) and will utilize his local expertise to make more investments in local startups. "We are deeply interested in exploring the research and industrial background here," says Adrian Fortino, partner with Mercury Fund. "I see an immense opportunity in the industrial and research corridors." Mercury Fund is in the midst of raising a $100-million investment vehicle, which Fortino expects to close before the end of the year. Mercury Fund has made investments in two local startups, DeepField and Swift Biosciences, and is currently looking at other potential investments. The Ann Arbor office of Mercury Fund is located in the Headwaters space in Kerrytown. Headwaters is a small community of startups and early stage investors led by Ann Arbor-based Huron River Ventures. "There is an incredible value to being around other investors in town," Fortino says. Source: Adrian Fortino, partner with Mercury Fund Writer: Jon Zemke

Look at all the giant cranes around town and it should be little surprise that Ann Arbor is a destination for construction employment. In this case we're seventh on the list. Excerpt: "In addition to being the home of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor is also number 7 on our list of top cities for job growth in construction. From August 2013 to August 2014, the Tree Town had a total construction job growth of 18.4 percent. Though job growth in construction is strong, the University of Michigan remains the city’s largest employer. The city is also a regional hub for technology, biotechnology, health services, research and manufacturing." Read the rest of the list here.