Startup News

Meijer has begun the process of hiring 400 people for its new store in Detroit at the southeast corner of Woodward Avenue and 8 Mile Road.

The Grand Rapids-based big-box retailer is anchoring the Gateway Marketplace development on 36 acres near the State Fairgrounds. The Meijer Supercenter will offer the company's normal retail and grocery options, making it one of the first big, brand-name supermarkets to open a full-size store in the Motor City in years.

"This is basically our standard, full-size supercenter," says Frank Guglielmi, director of public relations for Meijer. He adds the 190,000-square-foot store will also offer a gas station, drive-thru pharmacy and a garden center. It will be open between 6 a.m. and 11 p.m., which is the normal hours for its urban locations.

Meijer will employ about 400 people at the store with about 30-40 percent of them working on a full-time basis. The hiring of those employees will begin this spring and continue through the summer. It is set to open late this summer. Meijer is working with Detroit Employment Solutions Corp through Michigan Works!, the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (commonly known as ACCESS), Second Ebenezer Church in partnership with Perfecting Church and the Arab American and Chaldean Council.

"We're talking about everything from cashiers to cake decorators to meat cutters," Guglielmi says. "The level of pay depends on their level of experience."

For information on applying for those job, click here.

Source: Frank Guglielmi, director of public relations for Meijer
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

TubeMgual is opening an office in the M@dison Building, bringing three more jobs to downtown Detroit.

The Silicon Valley-based business specializes in programmatic branding. It runs video advertising campaigns for all of Michigan’s top automotive brands. The company's first Metro Detroit hires met in coffee shops and worked virtually before taking the advice of representatives of Twitter, which also has an office in the M@dison Building, and considering Detroit's Central Business District.

"We wanted to find a place where we could work with more people in the tech community," says Jennifer Dawson, director of sales Midwest for TubeMogul. She adds that "the minute we walked in and looked around we decided this is where we wanted to be."

The M@dison Building opened two years ago as a center for tech startups and early stage investors. Detroit Venture Partners, the most aggressive venture capital firm in the state, is one of the building's anchor tenants. It invests in young tech startups, many of which are based in the M@dison Building. That sort of atmosphere is what attracted TubeMogul.

"We didn't think being in one of those confined spaces would help us interact with people," Dawson says.

TubeMogal will have a staff of three people in the M@dison Building. It currently has two open positions.

Source: Jennifer Dawson, director of sales Midwest for TubeMogul
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

A couple of Wayne State University students are inventing a better light bulb and turning that idea into a new startup, Signal Techtronics.

Tom Kim and Christopher Attar are developing a next-generation LED light bulb that last longer. The 6-month-old startup's design simplifies the bulb's circuity so it runs cooler and last longer. It also utilizes a vegetable glycerine that replaces an aluminum, making the manufacture of the bulb cheaper.

"It's more effective in cooling and is much cheaper to manufacture," Kim says.

Signal Techtronics launched out of the Blackstone LaunchPad incubator in Wayne State University last fall. The startup and its team of five people have received $2,000 in seed capital earlier this year. It it currently participating in TechTown's Venture Accelerator program where it is developing its first production-ready prototype.

"We should have the prototype done by the end of the summer," Kim says.

Source: Tom Kim, co-founder & inventor of Signal Techtronics
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Jack and Pamela McGrath see an achievement gap in the educational system so they decided to do something about it. That something is Zerebral.

"We're trying to increase student engagement by using technology to drive academic success," says Jack McGrath, CEO of Zerebral.

The husband-and-wife team are from Oxford and have been incubating the company in the Flint area for the last year. It is now participating in TechTown's Venture Accelerator to develop its tech platform that incorporates new technology like cloud computing and mobile apps.

Part of the Zerebral's platform also reorganizes how teachers tackle the education process. For instance, it breaks down the grading process from a quarterly exercise to weekly basis because the reward takes too long to achieve. It also places a premium on attendance and participation.

"We want to reward all of those efforts that go into the learning process," McGrath says.

Zerebral is developing its technology platform this summer and hopes to launch its Beta version by this fall.

Source: Jack McGrath, CEO of Zerebral
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The Canadians are coming. Well, make that their tech firms have. Red Piston, a Windsor-based mobile app firm, has opened an office in downtown Detroit.

"The tunnel is still a hassle to cross," says Jakub Koter, co-founder of Red Piston. "It's a big hassle for our clients to come here for a meeting."

The 2.5-year-old tech firm's name is a combination of Red Wings and Pistons. It services a number of different clients in Metro Detroit, doing work with the likes of Organic and Digitas. The company had a desk at the M@dison Building but has since opened up is own office in the Michigan Theater building.

The small office houses one of the company's 18 employees (it also has an intern). Koter plans to expand its Metro Detroit presence to a couple of full-time people over the next year. It also hopes the office will help it tap into downtown Detroit's growing tech and IT scene.

"There is a vibe over in downtown Detroit that we want to be a part of," Koter says.

Source: Jakub Koter, co-founder of Red Piston
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Hudson Editorial is making a splash with its move to downtown Detroit, taking space in one of the Central Business District's iconic structures, the Wright Kay Building.

The creative agency, which specializes in everything from graphics to audio finishing for films, is bringing seven people from its temporary office in Troy this spring. It plans to expand its staff to 16 shortly after the move. The firm will take up 6,400 square feet of post-production studio space on the 5th and 6th floors of the Wright Kay Building.

"We feel that once we're downtown then that is the time to grow," says Kristin Redman, executive producer at Hudson Editorial. "We have had to turn down work because we are in such a small space. We feel being downtown will attract more work."

Hudson Editorial was launched in January and is a sister company of Royal Oak-based Avalon Films, which will also open an office in the Wright Kay Building. Hudson Editorial handles post-production work for a number of advertising agencies, including Campbell-Ewald, Team Detroit, and Leo Burnett. The young company jumped at the chance to take up space in one of downtown Detroit's most striking historic buildings.

The Wright Kay Building is one of the oldest buildings in downtown Detroit, opening in 1891. The 6-story office building is made of brick and brownstone trim with a large turret overlooking the corner of Woodward Avenue and John R Street. It originally served as the home of Schwankovsky Temple of Music and then became the home of Wright Kay Jewelry (for which it is named) for most of the 20th Century.

Rock Ventures, the real-estate umbrella company for Quicken Loans, acquired the building last year and began renovations to turn it into a home for creatively inclined firms. The building's grand architecture was a big selling point in Hudson Editorial's decision to set up shop there.

"That building is so beautiful," Redman says. "Every time I describe that building everybody knows exactly what we're talking about."

Source: Kristin Redman, executive producer at Hudson Editorial
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Corridor Sausage Co has gone mobile, launching a food truck called The Grindhouse in Eastern Market last weekend.

The new side venture is one of a handful of milestones the slow-food startup is achieving this spring. Corridor Sausage Co has doubled its production of its artisan sausages in the last six months and received USDA approval to begin selling them in large quantities in more markets. It is also making plans to expand its offerings to include more foods.

Making all of this possible is the Corridor Sausage Co's new home in Eastern Market. The 4-year-old company moved into its first permanent home late last year, allowing it to buy bigger equipment so it can ramp up production. Since then it has doubled its revenue and hired four people to its staff of seven by expanding the firm's client list, landing some big accounts like The Henry Ford and Greenfield Village.

"It has opened up a lot of doors for us," says Will Branch, co-owner of Corridor Sausage Co. "We have gone from seven hours a week in a rented kitchen to 40-50 hours a week in our own space."

That new production capability also allowed the firm to outfit its own food truck. Branch and his co-founder, Zachary Klein, spun off the food truck with Gjon Camaj, who owns a tech firm called Image Space in Ann Arbor. The Grindhouse will sell Corridor Sausage Co's sausages along with its own home-made ingredients, such as mustard. Other ingredients, like kraut, will be sourced from The Brinery in Ann Arbor.

Branch and Klein are making plans to expand Corridor Sausage Co's product portfolio. The partners are experimenting with mustard recipes and making salumi and charcuterie and other aged meats.

"We have been thinking about that for a few years now," Branch says.

Corridor Sausage Co's product could also start to become ubiquitous in the U.S. The firm recently received USDA approval for its sausages, a long and arduous approval process. That approval will allow Corridor Sausage Co to wholesale its sausages and market them in other states, which Branch expects will set the stage for an even bigger growth spurt for the firm.

Source: Will Branch, co-owner of Corridor Sausage Co
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Meet Savvy Languages, the latest startup born in Ann Arbor that has moved to Detroit.

The online language company is the latest in a growing handful of tech firms to make the leap east over I-275 and land in Detroit's greater downtown area. Other recent transplants include, Are You A Human (a Detroit Venture Partners portfolio firm in the M@dison Building) and Fusion Coolant Systems (Focus:HOPE).

Savvy Languages is one of the first startups to take part in TechTown's Venture Accelerator Program. It is in its first month of the three-month program and its leadership is looking at making the move to TechTown permanent this summer.

"They set us up with funding, coaching, office space," says Michael Frye, co-founder & CEO of Savvy Languages. "We have been meeting with local CEOs and entrepreneurs. The networking is great."

Frye and his co-founders started the company one year ago after becoming frustrated with the difficulty in learning a second language and lack of effective educational options for overcoming that hardship. Savvy Languages is creating online and mobile platforms that offer language-learning tools that are both entertaining and motivational.

Savvy Language is running some private user tests right now. Its team of four people expects to launch a Beta version of its software this summer.

Source: Michael Frye, co-founder & CEO of Savvy Languages
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Igniteless isn't Orlando Robinson's first ticket to the invention/entrepreneurial rodeo.

The Palmer Woods resident has been inventing gadgets to help make life simpler since he was in the Marine Corps in the early 1990s. In 1991, he says he came up with an early version of camelback to help he and his fellow leathernecks avoid losing their canteens and make it easier to drink. His squad used it and it never made it beyond there, but he started to notice camelbacks on the commercial market not long after.

Since then he has come up with three more inventions.

This is not the first time the D&D Innovations CEO has been inspired to create a life-saving or problem-solving product. A decade ago, Robinson invented the Seat Belt Shifter Lock system and the Door Pal, which helps secure foreclosed properties from break-ins. Door Pal made its way to $1.6 million in revenue thanks to landing some big clients like Bank of America, Chase Bank, Comerica Bank and Wells Fargo.

"I have been tearing stuff apart and putting it back together all my life," Robinson says. "If you come to my house you will see gadgets all over that help me solve problems. All my life I have been coming up with technology solutions."

His latest invention is Igniteless, a device that would automatically turn off a stove that was left on unattended. Robinson's 8-year-old son inspired him to create it after watching a news story about a family of children that died in a house fire.

"It shuts the gas off before it has a chance to ignite," Robinson says. "That's why we call it Igniteless."

Robinson and his team of four people have developed a working prototype and are currently in the process of obtaining certification for the technology. In the meantime, Robinson is pushing forward with an Indiegogo campaign to raise money for the first manufacturing run. He hopes to raise $150,000 so he can manufacture 5,000 units this fall and sell them at $150 each.

Source: Orlando Robinson, inventor Igniteless
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

TechTown, Detroit's business accelerator, is partnering with Silicon Valley-based NewME Accelerator for a pop-up event at the end of the month that is more than what it seems on the surface.

The NewME Accelerator bills itself as "a residential technology start-up accelerator/incubator for businesses that are led by under-represented minorities in the technology industry." Its partners include tech-giant Google. It will be hosting an intensive version of its program over three nights in TechTown in an effort to help find more startups for its incubator. It's an event organizers from both California and Detroit see less about stealing startups than sharing opportunities.

"Some startups relocate (to Silicon Valley) but a lot of startups end up going back to where they are from," says Angela Benton, founder & CEO of the NewME Accelerator. "These startups become go-to people in their communities."

A couple of Detroit-based startups have already made gone through one of the NewME Accelerator's 12-week cycles. Ubi Video took part in the program last year and Rippld, a Detroit Creative Corridor Center graduate, is currently going through the program.

"We try to look at start-up ideas and their ideas were very good," Benton says.

Leslie Smith, CEO of TechTown, says this is a healthy exchange of entrepreneurs and ideas across entrepreneurial ecosystems. She thinks the connections and ideas that come from this sort of cooperation will help broaden the Motor City's start-up community by increasing opportunities for investment.

"We need to get away from the 'us-vs-them' mindset and into an 'us' mindset," Smith says.

Source: Angela Benton, founder & CEO of the NewME Accelerator
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Opening a Detroit office in the Elevator Building overlooking the Motor City's riverfront is a bit of a homecoming for the founder of 140 Proof.

John Manoogian III (no, he's not related the mayoral mansion Manoogian) grew up in Metro Detroit and earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Michigan. He moved out to California and now is the CTO of 140 Proof, a social media advertising startup that calls Silicon Valley home. The 3-year-old company's claim to fame is being one of the first development partners with Twitter.

140 Proof employs 20 people and the occasional intern and has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Detroit. The Motor City office, the company's first satellite office, was virtually based for its first 18 months. It shared space with other companies until it landed in the Elevator Building six weeks ago. The two-person office also shares space with fellow startup Hashgram.

"We have very high hopes for how much we can grow the Detroit office," Manoogian says.

The Elevator Building is a former warehouse turned loft-style office building after an extensive renovation in 2010. The building overlooks the Detroit RiverWalk and the Dequindre Cut and is home to a number of different design and tech startups, including M1/DTW and Grit Design. That sort of eclectic environment made the building at 1938 Franklin St. highly desirable.

"There are a bunch of cool people there," says Manoogian III. "We are a business based on technology and design so we wanted to be around other cool people."

Source: John Manoogian III, founder & CTO of 140 Proof
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Title Source's continued move to Detroit and the hundreds of jobs it brings with it is now becoming more robust thanks to an expanded hiring goal.

The downtown Detroit-based company is moving the vast majority of its 2,000-person workforce to the city's Central Business District. Currently 1,500 people have moved from the firm's Troy offices to the First National Building since last year and another 550 are in the process of making the move.

"We have three additional floors being built out," says Jeff Eisenshtadt, CEO of Title Source. "We currently have 10 floors and 330,000 square feet. That's 42 percent of the building."

Title Source is currently in the process of trying to fill 250 full-time positions and 100 internships. Eisenshtadt says his firm has upped its hiring goal by more than 100 people because of the growing demand for its services. Click here to apply for one of those jobs, and Eisenshtadt has some words of wisdom for the people who want to land one of those jobs.

"We always say make yourself the obvious choice," Eisenshtadt says. "We are more about who the person is than the skill set they possess."

Source: Jeff Eisenshtadt, CEO of Title Source
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

It's common knowledge that ADP Dealer Services plans to bring 150 new jobs to downtown Detroit. But what a lot of people want to know is how to land one of those gigs?

ADP Dealer Services is opening an office in the Renaissance Center. It's billing it as a "Digital Marketing Innovation Center" that will employ "data scientists," "web technologists" and "digital advertising consultants." Translation, the company is investing $3 million to create a digital marketing office focused on the automotive industry.

Chris Reed, chief marketing officer for ADP Digital Marketing, has some hints for the type of people ADP Dealer Services wants to hire.

• Cool and casual. ADP Dealer Services fancies itself as a tech company that can trace its roots back to the early years of the Internet age. That means it leans more towards its employees wearing a Mark Zuckerburg-style hoodie than a Big 3 power suit.

"We're not a suit-and-tie culture," Reed says. "We try to facilitate creativity and innovation. We are a very flat organization."

• Oil in the blood. ADP Dealer Services wants people who have "automotive DNA," Reed says. The type of folks who are as comfortable in the car-making line whether it be the floor of a factory or a dealership.

"Having that knowledge of manufacturing or the dealership or those sorts of environments and how to relate to them, that will help you stand out from the crowd," Reed says.

• Midwestern work ethic. ADP Dealer Services is looking for traditional Detroit workers who work hard, are willing to learn and have a passion for their job. The company will also offer its employees the opportunity for internal promotion.

ADP Dealer Services is a division of Automated Data Processing, a Seattle-based provider of what it calls "integrated computing solutions to truck, auto, motorcycle, marine, recreational vehicle and heavy equipment dealers worldwide." The Michigan Strategic Fund gave ADP a $1.5 million Michigan Business Development performance-based grant to open ADP Dealer Services office in downtown Detroit.

The firm plans to hire all 150 people within the next 12 months. It currently has 100 job openings for its Detroit office. Click here to find them.

Source: Chris Reed, chief marketing officer of ADP Digital Marketing
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

SIB Medical Technologies thinks it can reinvent colon cancer detection.

The Wayne State University spin-out is developing a medical device that could become the simpler and cheaper option for colon cancer screening. The technology preserves tissue samples in a liquid solution rather than with heavy, bulky cryogenic materials, which could allow for home screenings.

"It's a much smoother process to screen for colon cancer," says Adham Aljahmi, co-founder & COO of SIB Medical Technologies.

Aljahmi and Sagor Bhuiyan, both juniors at Wayne State University, are working to develop the technology. They currently oversee a team of five people that are working to launch a pilot study of the technology this fall.

SIB Medical Technologies is currently working the Blackstone LaunchPad business incubator for Wayne State University students in Midtown and the TechTown business accelerator in New Center. SIB Medical Technologies recently scored $5,000 in seed capital from the Warrior Fund, which it will use to secure the patent on the technology and conduct market research.

"We both (Aljahmi and Bhuiyan) have interest in science so we decided to go for it," Aljahmi says.

Source: Adham Aljahmi, co-founder & COO of SIB Medical Technologies
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Shane Doyle wanted an easier way to access Instagram photos outside of his mobile device, so he created a startup to do just that, Hashgram.

The Elevator Building-based startup has created a platform that allows users to access photos on Instagram through non-mobile devices, such as laptop and desktop computers. At first photos on Instagram were only visible on mobile devices, such as smart phones and tablet computers.

Hashgram was started by Shane Doyle who was director of sales for 140 Proof, a Silicon Valley-based startup that was one of the first development partners with Twitter. Hashgram capitalizes on its technology by hosting instagram photos for businesses and brands and then selling keywords for them in searches.

"It's about evolving what we call sponsor tags," Doyle says. "It allows users and brands to go in and leverage the real-time activity."

The 1-year-old business and its team of two people (it's currently looking for an intern) shares space at 140 Proof's office in the Elevator Building. The company chose the recently renovated warehouse turned office building overlooking the Detroit Riverwalk and the Dequindre Cut because of its unique space and community atmosphere.

"We just really liked the space," Doyle says.

Source: Shane Doyle, founder of Hashgram
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.