Julie Hill and her sisters Hannah Butler and Whitney Keeler have three distinct talents, and yet they've found a way to combine them into one business. Imagine Three Beauty Studio opened in November on E. Liberty in downtown Ann Arbor, offering what each sister does best: event hair styling, photography and makeup services.  "We are just taking three of our talents and going with it," says Hill, who is the hairstylist of the trio. "If I'm working with clients, my sister can meet with her photography clients here, and they can see the work and flow of what we do on a daily basis." Weddings are a natural fit for Imagine Three Beauty Studio, which offers a trio of needed services to brides and their wedding parties. Prior to opening their studio together late last year, Hill, Butler and Keeler met with wedding clients in a rented room, but the full studio allows them to expand their services and expose clients to each others' work. Though they specialize in weddings, they cater to an array of events.  "We did a New Year's special," says Hill. "And through that, we ended up meeting two people who are getting married in the next year. Word spreads that way." In addition to offering hair, makeup and photography services, Imagine Three Beauty Studio specializes in natural, organic, vegan and gluten-free products for clients with an interest or need in specialty hair products or makeup. They also plan to offer makeup and hair classes. In addition to the three sisters, the studio employs a client services coordinator, and Hill hopes to add another stylist and makeup artist in the near future.  Source: Julie Hill, Imagine Three Writer: Natalie Burg

Armune Bioscience recently landed $700,000 in seed capital and is looking to bring that number up to $2.5 million to complete its Series A round. That money is going to go toward the commercialization of the 7-year-old company's cancer blood test, Apifiny, and the addition of more staff member. The company currently employs six people, two of which (both executive positions) were hired over the last year. "We anticipate having several job openings in the second and third quarter of the year," says David Esposito, CEO of Armune Bioscience. "Four or so will be in our laboratory." Armune Bioscience is developing an innovative, non-PSA blood test to aid in the early detection of prostate cancer. The startup plans to launch that blood test commercially later this year. The Kalamazoo-based company developed the product at its Ann Arbor lab where half of its staff works. "We hope to have that on the market in the second quarter of this year," Esposito says. Source: David Esposito, CEO of Armune Bioscience Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Image Data Conversion has been growing a lot since the economic recovery commenced a couple of years ago through both organic growth and acquisitions. The Saline-based company specializes in digitizing documents. Think turning paperwork and microfilm into more readily accessible digital documents. That could be everything from newspapers to building permits. "The business has been growing in the double digits since 2010," says Bob Palmerton, director of finance administration for Image Data Conversion. "There is a lot of paper out there." The 4-year-old company has also been acquiring or launching new divisions in the last few years. It acquired Beam Film in 2012 and launched Reveal Digital in 2013. It has steadily consolidated it sales efforts since then. That has allowed Image Data Conversion to hire seven new people over the last 18 months, expanding its staff to 65 employees. Of those, 55 are based in Saline. That number could jump again in the near future as the company considers acquiring more firms in the not-too-distant future. "We keep a short list of potential candidates that would fit in well with the company," Palmerton says. Source: Bob Palmerton, director of finance administration for Image Data Conversion Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

For any who reads this publication, statements like these should come as no surprise. We've been saying this since we started more than five years ago. But it's nice to see local editorialists catch up. Excerpt: Of the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the country, only Cleveland has a smaller percentage of millennials than Detroit, said Kurt Metzger, a demographics expert who retired last year as head of Data Driven Detroit. Meanwhile metro Detroit has the third-highest percentage of baby boomers to total population among the largest metro areas, he said. Read the rest here.

Though it meant a pay cut, entrepreneur Bill Mayer has settled in as the vice president of entrepreneur services at Ann Arbor SPARK. The Freep chatted with him about his job. Excerpt: Q: OK. Let's say, I'm just a guy who just got laid off from the line, and I decide I have the next best product, next great idea — and I want to start my own business. How do I build my network and surround myself with smart people? A: Well, so that's why places like SPARK, TechTown and Automation Alley exist. They tend to be hubs for entrepreneurial activity. If you are an entrepreneur, like entrepreneurship, you are kind-of a tech junkie, you work for a start-up, you just want to see what this entrepreneurship is all about, come to a SPARK event. There are like-minded people here. If we have have 100 people at an event, and you don't walk away with 15 business cards, it's bad on you. We try to make it easy. And in the Midwest, we tend to be a pretty friendly bunch. One person will introduce you to three, each of those people will introduce you to three more. Read the rest here.

After Manchester residents and mother-daughter duo Carrie Neff and Brianna Bulley had been working in the hair industry for a number of years, they decided it was time to branch out. This fall, just the right spot opened up for them in downtown Manchester.  "It was the perfect opportunity and we went for it," says Bulley. "It's been great. We've been really busy." Trés Beau Salon opened on Nov. 1 after about a month of renovation to the space. According to Bulley, the women modernized the space, exposing the building's brick walls and removing an old ceiling. Their stylish space reflects their philosophy on hairstyles.  "We keep up on the trends and try to go to hair shows and classes to stay up-to-date with the newest techniques," Bulley says. "Education is really important to us." With a busy clientele already, the women are already looking toward growth. In the short term, Bulley would like to hire another stylist in the next few months. Eventually, she hopes to add spa services to the growing salon.  Source: Brianna Bulley, Trés Beau Salon Writer: Natalie Burg

Social media startup Selocial helped bolster its brand earlier this year at the Extreme Tech Challenge in Las Vegas. The Ann Arbor-based company made the semi-finals of the business plan competition, earning an invite to do a live demo on the Monster Product stage of this year's Consumer Electronics Show. It beat out 2,000 other entries to score a Top 25 spot. "This is really big," says David Baird, co-founder & CEO of Selocial. "I didn't expect it." Baird likes to describe Selocial as an Instagram meets Spotify or Pandora. The company’s software allows users to make a "Selomix," which is a 15-minute visual playlist that combines the users preferred music with a photo. The company launched midway through 2014 and is still in Beta. "We would love to come out of Beta in the next six months," Baird says. "We're looking at a couple of partners right now." The 1-year-old startup has expanded its staff to six people. That team is currently working on enhancing the software platform by adding more features and plugins. "Someone could listen to someone else's mix on Facebook without having to go to our site," Baird says. Source: David Baird, co-founder & CEO of Selocial Writer: Jon Zemke

3D Biomatrix recently received a key patent for its research technology, a milestone that is setting the company up for more growth in 2015. The patent is for the company's hangar system, which scientists use for life sciences research. The patent helps the company validate the uniqueness of its products and prevents knock offs from competitors. "It's an important patent for us because it covers our core technology," says Laura Schrader, president & CEO of 3D Biomatrix. The University of Michigan spin-out, it calls the Venture Accelerator home, makes 3D cell culture hanging drop plates for lab research in cancer treatments or stem cells. The plates allow cells to grow in 3 dimensions like they do in the body. Most current methods offer only flat surfaces. The 96-well plates sell well for users using manual lab methods. The 384-well plates are growing in use as they work well with automated lab equipment. The company also makes transfer tools and assay kits. Schrader says sales for 3D Biomatrix were up in 2014 but declined to say how much. It currently has 30 distributors and is looking to expand into new markets this year. Source: Laura Schrader, president & CEO of 3D Biomatrix Writer: Jon Zemke