Features

Saline studio dances into new, 4,000-square-foot space closer to downtown

It's been nine years since Robert Kubis took over Come Dancing, and since that time, the studio has fostered a great number of competitive and hobbyist ballroom dancers. Now the business is making a new kind of move, with a relocation to a 4,000 square foot studio on E. Michigan Ave. in Saline.  "It's closer to downtown Saline, and we thought that might be more beneficial for us," says Kubis. "We will lower our monthly expenses. It is a good deal for us."  That's an exceptional deal, considering the new home of Come Dancing will be 500 square feet larger than the last, giving teachers and students a full 2,300 square feet of dance floor. The expanded space will allow Kubis and his instructors to continue their commitment to serving both casual and competitive dancers.  "We are a studio that has produced a lot of competitive dancers," he says. "Ballroom has lots of competition across around the country and we are probably one of the best competitive studios in the area, and even of Michigan. That is about the quality of our teachers." Kubis is now in the process of transitioning from his former location to the new. He plans to open for classes and the beginning of October, and complete his renovations by the end of that month.  Source: Robert Kubis, Come Dancing Writer: Natalie Burg

Longtime barista breaks into entrepreneurship with Carrigan Cafe

When it opens this Friday, Carrigan Cafe will be Saline's newest coffee spot, but it will come with lots of coffee know-how. Karen Carrigan, who will open the cafe with her husband Jason Carrigan brings her experience as a barista at the former Drowsy Parrot Coffee Shop and Brewed Awakenings Cafe, as well as a degree in hospitality.  "I've always wanted to do my own business, I just didn't know what," says Carrigan. "Over the years, aging and experiences I've worked in so many different restaurants and kitchens, and coffee is just where I was the happiest. I think it's the interaction with the people." Though Carrigan Cafe isn't yet open in the space formerly occupied by My Favorite Cafe, Carrigan has already had the opportunity to interact with some of the people who could become her future customers. "I was out the past two Saturdays passing out coffee, meeting new faces and seeing some of the faces from my previous work," she says. "It's nice to say 'hey' to them again."  Though some of her vendors and offerings will be the same as My Favorite Cafe, Carrigan will serve Coffee Express beans from Plymouth and will use other local vendors such as Ed's Bread, Benny's Bakery. Carrigan Cafe will open with a staff of five. The cafe website will go live soon.  Source: Karen Carrigan, Carrigan Cafe Writer: Natalie Burg

Avicenna Medical Systems signs first deal with VA health system

Avicenna Medical Systems recently signed a contract with the VA Health System Region 11, a move that will help deploy the startup's software platform in a number of medical institutions. "That includes 11 hospitals and 20 site clinics," says Khaled El-Safty, co-founder & CTO of Avicenna Medical Systems. "We are working day and night to deploy it." Avicenna Medical Systems' software platform is called AviTracks, which enables users to better manage treatment of their chronic diseases from home. It's aimed at people who utilize blood thinners or monitor cardiac rhythms. The idea is to lessen the information burden on healthcare IT systems, freeing medical staff to maximize time with patients and employ best practices for treatment. The 7-year-old company's contract with the VA is set to last three years starting this summer. Avicenna Medical Systems is now looking to get into more regions of the VA health system now that it has signed one contract. "Getting into the VA is one of the harder things we accomplished," El-Safty says. Avicenna Medical Systems currently employs a staff of four people. It is looking to hire three more before the end of the year, including an account manager and software developer. Source: Khaled El-Safty, co-founder & CTO of Avicenna Medical Systems Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

HealPay expands focus to billing activities for businesses

HealPay originally made its name by creating software that helped debtors pay their bills. Today the Ann Arbor-based startup is taking aim at a bigger market. "We have submerged ourselves into billing," says Erick Bzovi, co-founder of HealPay. HealPay is now offering its clients a more comprehensive option where it handles all of their billing and payments. Those services can now be done online or over the phone. It is also offering this with its original settlement app. "We're deploying an IVR so that debtors can check their balance at any time," Bzovi says. "That's huge." HealPay currently employs a staff of four employees and two interns. It recently turned one of those employees (a software developer) into a full-time position. It could do that because it has grown its client list to a number of medium-sized law firms and other businesses across the U.S., and that clientele is growing. "We want to be in a place where we double our client size," Bzovi says. "We'd like to have 60 or 70 clients and in more states. We're in seven different states now. We would like to be in 20 states." Source: Erick Bzovi, co-founder of HealPay Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Homeward Healthcare delivers better hospital discharges

The inspiration for Joe Gough's current startup hit a little too close to home. He was working at the University of Michigan when his son had to go to the hospital. A bad discharge complicated his son’s recovery (he's fine now) and inspired Gough to launch Homeward Healthcare. Homeward Healthcare creates a mobile app that helps medical staff better communicate with their patients and make more informed decisions about treatment and discharge. The Ann Arbor-based company's software platform enables a patient to help direct their care letting them fill out questionnaires on a mobile device where they can be free of social pressure to say certain things. "You're trying to get honesty from a patient," says Joe Gough, president & CEO of Homeward Healthcare. The idea is to help give medical staff the best information possible so they know when best to discharge the patient and what medical treatment would be most appropriate at which time. Today hospital readmissions are a leading cause of longer hospital stays and higher bills. "It's a severe problem in the healthcare space," Gough says. Homeward Healthcare and its team of eight people have built out the mobile app and are getting ready to launch it at Hurley Medical Center in Flint this fall. "We are in one hospital right now," Gough says. "We will be going in front of patients next week." Source: Joe Gough, president & CEO of Homeward Healthcare Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The Upswing Report helps young guys climb the social ladder

Ever look at a young man, notice what they're wearing and think, 'Ooohhhh... Not a good look'? A new startup founded by a University of Michigan graduate is looking to prevent that from ever happening. The Upswing Report is an online lifestyle publication that reps itself as "a young gentleman's guide to fashion, business, and lifestyle." It's a place where young men can go to figure out what works best for them when it comes to improving their game, whether it being climbing ladders socially or in the workplace. "It helps young guys go to the next level," says Austin Waldo, founder of The Upswing Report. Waldo graduated from the U-M in May with a dual bachelors degree in business administration and screen arts & cultures. He enjoyed sharing his thoughts on fashion and business and decided to turn it into The Upswing Report in February. The publication now has two editors and four writers. He has built his bi-weekly newsletter list to 2,000 people, but has bigger aspirations for it. "I want to use it as a platform to launch a clothing line," Waldo says. "It has taught me a lot about Internet marketing." Source: Austin Waldo, founder of The Upswing Report Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Cribspot raises $660K seed round, plans to add 3 positions

Cribspot has made a name for itself as a startup that helps connect college students to off-campus rental housing. Now the Ann Arbor-based company is aiming to become a national name in student housing. The 1-year-old startup has raised $660,000 in seed capital from Bizdom (Cribspot also has a location in downtown Detroit) and the First Step Fund. Local venture capital firm Huron River Ventures led the round. "We're going to see some real exciting growth from them in the next few years," says Tim Streit, partner with Huron River Ventures. Cribspot got its start as A2cribs when Tim Jones, Evan Dancer, Jason Okrasinski and Alex Gross (all University of Michigan students) created one central website for off-campus housing. Finding off-campus housing is usually an archaic mess made up of ads on Craigslist, newspapers, and on the sides of the buildings. Cribspot looks to solve that by giving landlords and students a central location to advertise and find off-campus housing. Cribspot is currently on 15 campuses across the U.S., adding 10 more to its list this fall with Michigan State University, University of Iowa, and the University of Texas. More universities are set to come online soon. "We're trying to grow as fast as we can," says Okrasinski, co-founder & CEO of Cribspot. "We plan to open in Detroit at Wayne State University in the next few months." Which will mean more campus reps. Cribspot currently employs a staff of six people and is looking to hire three more. Even more hires in the form of campus reps are set to happen soon thanks to the seed round. "We're using that money for the marketing and user growth," Okrasinski says. "We're also using it for new hires." Source: Tim Streit, partner with Huron River Ventures; and Jason Okrasinski, co-founder & CEO of Cribspot Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Duo Security raises $12M Series B from Silicon Valley VC

Duo Security announced this week that it has raised a $12 million Series B round with a big-name Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm (Benchmark Capital) leading the way. What’s interesting is that Dug Song, the startup's CEO & co-founder, never had any intention of raising the 8-figures worth of new funding. "Benchmark approached us," Song says. More specifically Matt Cohler approached Song. He approached Song multiple times. Song didn't respond. He didn't even pick up the phone when Cohler called because Duo Security wasn’t raising seed capital. Song finally did pickup the phone when several of his friends told him he was crazy for ignoring one of the most successful entrepreneurs in tech today. Benchmark Capital has been in the middle of a number of high-profile deals in the Bay Area since its launch in the mid 1990s, including investments in Zillow, Zipcar, Yelp, and Twitter. It's probably most famous for investing early in eBay. "They are probably one of the top three venture capital investors in the world," Song says. Cohler made a name for himself by getting in on the ground floor at number of high-profile startups over the last decade. He was a founding member of Linkedin. Then he went on to become an early hire at Facebook. Kohler joined Benchmark Capital as a general partner in 2008 and led investments in Dropbox and Instagram. He is now the point person for Benchmark Capital's investment in Duo Security. Duo Security makes online security software, specifically a two-step verification process that confirms the right person is accessing protected information. Duo Push seamlessly integrates with the user's online password system, so when a user logs in on a computer Duo Push sends a push alert to that user's smartphone asking whether to approve or deny the login request. Check out a short video of it here. Song (a big proponent of A2 New Tech Meetup and the Ann Arbor Skatepark) and Jon Oberheide launched the startup in 2009 at Tech Brewery. They raised a seven-figure seed round off the bat, attracting local venture capital firms (Reasonant Ventures) and coastal VCs (True Ventures). They have since grown the company to several dozen employees. Song declined to say how many but did say Duo Security is looking to hire 10 people right now. "There are more (open positions) being added," Song says. Which is why Duo Security is moving. It's nearly tripling its office space to 14,000 square feet at 123 N Ashley in downtown Ann Arbor. "We're about to move," Song says. "Our anticipated move date is in November. It's a big build out." Which might help explain why Song is too busy to take extra investor calls, and why they’re calling in the first place. Source: Dug Song, co-founder & CEO of Duo Security Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Feature Story Chef Takashi at Slurping Turtle

A delicious homecoming: Takashi Yagihashi returns to Michigan with Slurping Turtle

With successful restaurants in Las Vegas, New York, and Chicago, former Iron Chef Takashi Yagihashi could have settled anywhere. But what he wanted most was to bring his family back to Michigan. Which is why Ann Arbor is now home to his latest eatery, the Slurping Turtle. Concentrate's Nicole Rupersberg learns why.

Feature Story Vincent Smith

#EATING: U-M football stars plant new seeds

The news is filled with examples of sports figures behaving badly. Well, here's something a little different: a trio of U-M football players have started the #EATING Project, which seeks to establish community food gardens in underserved communities.

Another day, another best of list for Ann Arbor

So, the danger here is to point to the listicle and call it a day. But even if we are the 13th best place to live according to Livability.com (moving up a few spots from last year) that doesn't mean there isn't room for improvement, right? Or do we sound too much like a mom? Excerpt: "This quintessential Big Ten college town lays claim to the University of Michigan, which includes Michigan Stadium – the largest stadium in North America. Residents have easy access to the more than 300 restaurants located in a 20-mile radius of Ann Arbor, as well as the city's growing metropolitan area that features great schools, medical facilities, culture and more." Check out who else made the list here.

The humans (and lizard people) of Ann Arbor

First there was the popular Facebook page "Humans Of New York," which supposedly sets out to capture the rich pageant of living in America's largest city. Then Ann Arbor created its rather more homogeneous counterpart. Then the inevitable happened. Grad student Jeremy Kaplowitz sought to unmask the lizard people of New York who actually control our world. Now that mission has spread to Ann Arbor as well… though no hidden reptilians have yet to be revealed. Yet. Further proof of a conspiracy? Humans Of New York: https://www.facebook.com/humansofnewyork Lizard People Of New York: https://www.facebook.com/lizardpeopleofny Humans of Ann Arbor: https://www.facebook.com/HumansOfAnnArbor Lizard People of Ann Arbor: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Lizard-People-of-Ann-Arbor

Auto industry showdown: driverless cars vs wireless cars

With Detroit's auto industry developing cars that can talk to one another in order to avoid traffic jams and keep drivers safe, and Google's plan to develop driver-less cars, there's a battle a brew in' for which technology will set the course of our auto future. Excerpt: "Among the advancements automakers announced at last week’s conference in Detroit was GM’s “Super Cruise” system for 2017 Cadillacs, which will let drivers take their hands off the steering wheel and feet from the pedals for periods of highway driving. Like technology being developed by Toyota, Honda Motor Co. and other companies, GM’s system hands control back and forth between driver and vehicle. The approach that Mountain View, California-based Google is taking is, literally, much more hands-off. In May it unveiled plans to deploy at least 100 fully autonomous, two-seat, egg-shaped test cars with a top speed of 25 miles (40 kilometers) per hour and no steering wheel. Google has since said it will include one, as well as brake and gas pedals, as California requires." Read the rest here.

Aut Bar voted Ann Arbor's best neighborhood bar

The outdoor courtyard seating alone made this a slum dunk. But there's so much more! Excerpt: "For the outdoor courtyard seating alone this one"Since we are talking about neighborhood bars, it certainly is not uncommon that neighborhoods have a particular political affiliation," said Orr. "You go to a Chicago neighborhood bar and there will be a certain political affiliation to it. Not that the LGBT community is completely monolithic in its beliefs, but we do believe in supporting the folks who are willing to step out and fight for our rights. So certainly in terms of political work for individual politicians, we have worked a lot in that way and we believe, for the most part, our clientele – our neighborhood, as it were – stands by us on it and understands why we do what we do." was a slum dunk." Read the rest here.

Taste Kitchen to bring locally sourced yet global cuisine to Liberty

Though the owners of the new restaurant coming into the W. Liberty location vacated by sushi place Tamaki will be the same, that's about the only thing Taste Kitchen will have in common with its predecessor. The new, multi-faceted eatery will offer light breakfast, light lunch, afternoon tea service and fine dining in the evenings, all under the theme of thinking globally and acting locally.  "We aren't pigeonholing ourselves into a certain kind of food," says Michelle Hinze, pastry chef and general manager for Taste Kitchen. "Our menu is going to be fresh and vegetarian and vegan friendly. If we feel like cooking Thai one day, we'll do that. If we want to cook  African the next week, we'll do that."  The ever-changing menu will be sourced as locally as possible. According to Hinze, their priority is to use ingredients first from Michigan, and then within a 200 mile radius when possible. The ambiance of the restaurant will move from casual dining early in the day and during afternoon tea service, and then move into a more formal experience at night.  "We want to hit as many target markets as we can," Hinz says. "Our location provides us great access to the college students, and we want to step things up for dinner service to draw in other clientele from the Ann Arbor area."  The goal is to open Taste Kitchen in about two weeks. Hinze expects to hire 10-15 staff members to operate the restaurant. Future plans include getting involved with the community and partnering with local artists and musicians.  Source: Michelle Hinze, Taste Kitchen Writer: Natalie Burg

New Braun Ct. cafe to be whatever patrons make of it

The owners of the Bar at 327 Braun Court are about to launch a new offering at the same address. The Ground Floor Cafe, which will open this week in the location indicated by its name, will offer espresso drinks, wine and beer and light foods such as panini sandwiches and house-made pastries.  "This will be much more like a cafe than the Espresso Bar," says owner Eric Farrell, referring to the pop-up business that recently relocated from the space. "We'll have people eating, having some drinks and hanging out - a place to linger and meet people. Hopefully people kind of make it their own and figure out what they want the space to be."  In the two weeks since the Espresso Bar left, Farrell has been working on light cosmetic upgrades to the space to prepare it for its new purpose.  "The room before was pretty spartan," he says. "It was always intended to be a pop up. We're just upping the aesthetics a little bit. I think it's going to be a welcoming space. I've added some color and texture to the room." Farrell expects the Ground Floor Cafe to open this week. He's hired a staff of three, including the talents of former Zingerman's Next Door and Mighty Good barista Dana Blaisdell. He also anticipates the offerings of the cafe to evolve and grow with the business, just as the Bar at 327 Braun Court has evolved over the years.  Source: Eric Farrell, Ground Floor Cafe Writer: Natalie Burg

Mentor2Youth grows into Ypsilanti office space, looks to add staff

While in graduate school at Michigan State University, Emmanuel Jones conducted a study to determine the impact of mentorship on the grades and behavior of middle school aged children. His findings led him to a new career. The positive results inspired him to create Mentor2Youth, a non-profit organization serving kids primarily in the Ypsilanti area. Three years later, the growing organization has found a new home in the newly renovated Ypsilanti Town Center on Ecorse. Rd.  "I felt this location would be prefect because there's not really a lot of support services on that side of town," says Jones. "Being on a bus line allows families who might not have transportation to come learn more about our programs."  And Mentor2Youth needs the space. What began as one program serving 15 student has grown into multiple programs during the school year and summer offered in multiple locations, having 350 kids so far. Programs include everything from life skills and career planning to fun field trips the students wouldn't otherwise have the opportunity to experience.  "We want them to get thinking long term about what they wan to do with their lives," Jones says. "We try to expose students to their potential and what they're capable of doing." The new office will help support six to 10 part-time staff Jones hopes to soon hire to help manage the growing program. Through the help of grants, he plans to eventually expand his staff to include permanent employees. As the organization is always in need of volunteers, in-kind and financial contributions and other means of support, those interested in helping out can find more information on Mentor2Youth.com  Source: Emmanuel Jones, Mentor2Youth Writer: Natalie Burg

Coval Fitness expands into 4,500 sq ft Phoenix Dr. space

Coval Fitness and Sports Performance has been on a growth path for some time. After growing its staff last year, the semi-private fitness and sports performance facility has relocated to a new, 4,500 square foot location on Phoenix Dr.  "We expanded due to a growing client base and because we wanted to have a space that fit with our vision," say owner Mike Coval. "In a nutshell, our vision is to have a high-end facility that clients can come to for their fitness and performance needs, massage therapy, physical therapy, and nutrition coaching." Prior to opening in May, Coval renovated the new space to include a bathroom with a shower and two changing rooms, in addition to cosmetic renovations. His next step will to be to get rid of the drop ceiling. The new location he says, will allow Coval Fitness and Sports Performance to mode their vision.  "Its also ideal because once this building is full, there will be so many other companies that we share the space with," he says. "This allows for more exposure and opportunities to connect with people." Though his staff remains at four employees, the continued growth of the business has expanded their hours. Coval's three-year vision includes becoming go-to fitness and sports performance center in the Ann Arbor area.  Source: Mike Coval, Coval Fitness & Sports Performance Writer: Natalie Burg

Covaron Advanced Materials raises seven-figure Series A

Big changes have taken place at Covaron Advanced Materials over the last year. The Ann Arbor-based startup has brought in a new CEO, raised a seven-figure Series A, and consolidated its investor circle to one person. Covaron Advanced Materials, formerly Kymeira Advanced Materials, is developing a new chemistry for ceramics. The new technology was developed by company founder Vince Alessi and co-founders Cam Smith and Reed Shick. The advanced ceramics formula makes ceramics a more affordable and streamlined option for a number of molds and durable goods, such as those used in the automotive sector. "We are a game-changing technology for a lot of industries," says Michael Kraft, CEO of Covaron Advanced Materials. Which explains why it won the student portion of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition in 2012. And then the main competition at Accelerate Michigan in 2013. It also raised a $300,000 seed round from a number of local venture capital organizations, like Ann Arbor-based Huron River Ventures and Invest Detroit's First Step Fund. "We had a lot of help from the Ann Arbor SPARK Business Accelerator Fund," Kraft says. Those investors are gone now. Kraft says a single investor he declined to name but described as a person who owns "a Michigan-based consortium of companies" bought out everyone else and provided the money for a Series A. Kraft declined to name the individual or the exact amount of the Series A besides saying it was in the "seven figures" and provide enough funding to grow the company for 24 months. Kraft, a Michigan State University graduate, was recruited from California to serve as Covaron Advanced Materials' new CEO. He explains the plan is to focus on growing the company through targeted application development of its ceramics technology. The idea is to aim for a long-term growth cycle (similar to what life sciences startups go through) so it can maximize the use of its technology in several markets. Covaron Advanced Materials and its team of 10 people (all recently moved from independent contractors to full-time employees) plans to leverage the sole investor’s portfolio of firms to grow. "We're in a consortium of companies that employs more than 1,000 people and has more than $150 million in capacity," Kraft says. "That gives you an idea of the support we have." Kraft acknowledges this is a unique situation for a startup. There are no exit requirements or need to pump up artificial value or need to exit because a subset of the startup's investors needs to cash out. There is only the goal of growing a big business that could one day have its fingers in a lot of pies. "We have choices," Kraft says. "We don't need to paint ourselves into a corner." Source: Michael Kraft, CEO of Covaron Advanced Materials Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Coyote Logistics' Ann Arbor office spikes to 45 people

Last year Coyote Logistics made headlines with its plans to open up an office in Ann Arbor and create dozens of new jobs. This year the Chicago-based company is well on its way to meeting that goal. Coyote Logistics has hired 45 people at its new office after opening it late last year. That puts it roughly a third of the way toward it goal of hiring 125 people in Ann Arbor over its first three years. The company is still moving toward that goal aggressively. "We're going to hire 35 more people there over the rest of the year," says Jodi Navta, vice president of marketing & communications for Coyote Logistics. "It's a variety of positions." Coyote Logistics provides third-party logistics and transportation services for North American shippers. While it's based out of state, many of the firm's employees have roots in Michigan. Navta and Coyote Logistics’ CEO, Jeff Silver, are University of Michigan graduates. Those connections, along with a $1 million Michigan Business Development Program incentive from the state of Michigan, sealed the deal to open the office. The company's leadership team hasn’t been disappointed so far. "We're happy with the talent and we're happy with the number of people we have there," Navta says. Source: Jodi Navta, vice president of marketing & communications for Coyote Logistics Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Hasini and Harshini Anand are members of Corner Health Center's Youth Leadership Council and mental health advocates.

 


   Voices of Youth
Concentrate's Voices of Youth series features content created by Washtenaw County youth in partnership with Concentrate mentors, as well as feature stories by adult writers that examine issues of importance to local youth. Click here for a full list of the latest content from this series.