Hohokum is game and music album wrapped up in one. Excerpt: "It's somewhere between drawing and flying a kite," artist Richard Hogg tells me. It's hard to explain what  Hohokum  is, but Hogg's description might just be the most apt. Launching today for the PlayStation 4 and Vita,  Hohokum  is a weird and wonderful world developed by British studio Honeyslug with Hogg providing whimsical, colorful art.... The music also plays a surprisingly large part in the experience. Your actions help bring each level to life, filling them with color and movement. But they also add more layers to the sound, with the soundtrack growing in depth the more you explore. And the Ghostly-provided tunes — some of which were composed specifically for the game — are a perfect fit..." More here. 

Interestingly, both retirees and professionals agree on what makes a city attractive to live in. Excerpt: "Intellectual engagement is one big draw... The three-week Ann Arbor Summer Festival showcases more than 100 events, including dance, local bands, comedy and outdoor movies. Ann Arbor is home to dozens of restaurants, from Caribbean to vegetarian to Tex-Mex. Transplanted New Yorkers will feel right at home sampling the bagels and pastrami at Zingerman’s Deli, an Ann Arbor institution since 1982." More here.

When UM grads Michael and Sarah Tayter were looking for a way to return to Ann Arbor from Austin, Tex., their favorite burger restaurant ended up being the key to their return.  "There were a couple of Elevation Burgers in the area, and that became our family's favorite restaurant," Michael Tayter says. "I always had an entrepreneurial itch, and it kind of felt like a perfect fit." That led to the opening of their first Elevation Burger restaurant on Washtenaw Ave. in July of 2013. Now, the husband and wife team will be expanding by adding another branch of the environmentally friendly burger franchise downtown on Liberty. "We definitely have always wanted to open one up on campus somewhere," Tayter says. "Having no restaurant experience for the first one, it was very difficult to convince anyone to lease us space on campus. But now the concept has proven itself." The 1,800-square-foot space will be under renovation for several months, with January 2015 as Tayter's projected opening date. The downtown location will receive an updated design treatment for the Elevation Burger franchise with a more modern look than previous stores. Updates on the construction will be posted on the Elevation Burger Ann Arbor Facebook page. Elevation Burger specializes in organic, grass-fed beef that is ground in the restaurant, as well as other healthy and sustainable foods and ingredients. Tayter expects to employ a staff of between 10 and 12 workers at the new restaurant. With a three-store franchise agreement, the couple plans to open a third location in the future, and hopes to keep all three in Ann Arbor. Source: Michael Tayter, Elevation Burger Writer: Natalie Burg

Zingerman's Mail Order has been growing between five and ten percent each year. As that growth is expected to continue, that means the catalog and online sales member of the Zingerman's Community of Businesses is eventually going to need more space - and that physical expansion is set to begin this fall.  "We're taking a slow approach to moving into the space," says Zingerman's Mail Order Managing Partner Toni Morell. "We're taking a little bit more strategic approach, expanding every time a tenant is moving." With neighboring tenants ending their leases between now and 2017, Zingerman's Mail Order plans to eventually take over the entire building. The first expansion will take place in November, when the business will take over an additional 6,000 square feet. Sure, Morell could have gone out and found a larger warehouse elsewhere immediately, but she didn't want to lose the benefits of their Phoenix Dr. space.  "We like that we're on the bus route on this side of town and there aren't a lot of warehouse spaces on bus routes," says Morell. Along with growing in space, Zingerman's Mail Order has also been growing its staff. Fifteen new employees have been added since August of 2014, bringing their total staff to 83. The business also hires 450-500 seasonal workers during each holiday season. Morell anticipates adding more products and growing the business in other ways as they grow in size, though no specific decisions have been made yet. Source: Toni Morell, Zingerman's Mail Order Writer: Natalie Burg

Rubicon Genomics was hiring people left and right until it literally ran out of space to put the new employees earlier this year. That’s changing now that the life sciences firm moved last June. "At that point we were in a hiring freeze because we didn't have the room," says Christine Haakenson, COO of Rubicon Genomics. "Now that we have a new facility we can hire again." Rubicon Genomics moved to a 19,000-square-foot space on Venture Dr, which is nearly double the size of its previous home. That is more than enough space for its 26 employees and two interns. The company has hired six people over the last year and is in the process of hiring two more right now. Two more job openings are set to come up within the next few weeks. Haakenson expects the company to make 15 more hires by the end of the next year. The 14-year-old company makes genomic library preparation kits for research and clinical applications. Its patented technology specializes in sample-specific nucleic acid library preparation products used in research and clinical testing. The firm got its start when a pair of University of Michigan professors found a way to bring human genetics laboratory knowledge to everyday medical applications. These molecular biology tools help facilitate gene-based research, drug development and diagnostics. Sales of Rubicon Genomics's products are up 40 percent over the last year. The firm's sales have spiked in China and Europe, prompting it to make plans to expand into India, Mexico and Brazil. "The whole market is growing and sales of our technology are growing," Haakenson says. "We are launching new products in the field." Source: Christine Haakenson, COO of Rubicon Genomics Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Accio Energy has gone about as far as it can go in the lab, prompting the alternative energy startup to begin making plans to build out a demonstration project and raise a multi-million-dollar seed round to make it happen. Accio Energy's name was inspired by a spell in the Harry Potter books. The 6-year-old firm's aerovoltaic technology harnesses the electrokinetic energy of the wind. No turbine blades. No moving parts. Think of it as harvesting static electricity from the atmosphere. "We've taken the concept and proven it in a lab," says Jen Baird, CEO of Accio Energy. "We're now at a level where the lab results show we have a very cost-effective product." She says Accio Energy's technology is cost-competitive with off-shore wind turbines. The competitive advantage is that its technology can be floated out beyond the sight of people on the shore. Because it can be used like a buoy it doesn't need to be built into the ocean floor and can generate electricity without disturbing people. Accio Energy is making plans to build a demonstration project for its technology early next year, possibly on the Gulf of Mexico. In the meantime it's getting ready to raise a $5 million seed round to fund that work. That can be a bit of a challenge for a startup that is both pre-revenue and pushing disruptive technology. "We're wind energy with no turbines," Baird says. "That is hard for people to wrap their heads around." Accio Energy is in the midst of hiring two people (a modeler and engineer) right now. The company currently has nine employees and the occasional intern. Baird expects that number to spike after Accio Energy closes on its latest seed round later this year. "That will cause us to expand the team substantially," Baird says. Accio Energy has raised $6 million since its launch. Baird points out that it has developed a new technology that has been issued six patents. She adds bringing new alternative energy technology to market can often cost nine figures. "When you think how much we have done on $10 million to $11 million, it's amazing," Baird says. Source: Jen Baird, CEO of Accio Energy Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

When the team developing startup Branch decided it wanted to work in software, it didn't just try to create the next best thing in social media. The six young people from Ann Arbor are trying to reinvent the entire sector. "We started from the ground up," says Ryan Wolande, co-founder & CEO of Branch. "We scrapped what we had been conditioned to from other social media outlets." Branch is a mobile app that is meant to turn people's digital presence into a real-world interaction. The software finds individuals who share the same interests and are in close proximity to each other and connects them. "It's about fostering real-world relationships," Wolande says. "It's about social media in the physical world." The Ann Arbor-based startup and its team of six people is in the homestretch of developing the software platform. Branch plans to start Beta testing soon and make the technology public later this fall. Source: Ryan Wolande, co-founder & CEO of Branch Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.