LANSING - OcuSciences, an Ann Arbor technology start up, has won the $25,000 Grand Prize in the Emerging Company category of the Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest. OcuSciences was co-founded by Drs. Victor Elner and Howard Petty from the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center and has developed a rapid and unique non-invasive imagining technique to detect retinal diseases earlier than current methods. The OcuSciences plan was pitched by Matthew Field, who participated in this special GLEQ edition of News Maker Interview.
YPSILANTI - Diane Durance, executive director of Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest, outlines what’s next for the 79 teams that submitted business plans for the Spring 2008 cycle. The business-plan submission deadline was May 15. The awards ceremony is June 12 in Lansing.
ANN ARBOR - It’s not too late to sign up for the spring cycle of the Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest business-plan competition, where first prize is $25,000 in cash. The deadline to sign up - not submit your business plans - is Friday April 18, says GLEQ Executive Director Diane Durance. For all you tech entrepreneurs or would-be tech entrepreneurs you’re going to want to get all the details in this special GLEQ channel edition of News Maker Interview.
KALAMAZOO - Only a few more spaces are left for Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quest’s FastTrac TechVenture six-week intensive business plan contest hosted by Southwest Michigan First in Kalamazoo. Diane Durance, Executive Director of GLEQ, discusses this innovative program that can help your technology or life sciences start up attract investors in this special GLEQ edition of News Maker Interview.
ANN ARBOR - GeneVivo creates transgenic – or genetically modified – animals for biomedical research. The transgenics market is $750 million and growing at 12percent - 13 percent per year. GeneVivo’s proprietary method enables the company to expand the market by genetically modifying strains of mice (analogous to breeds of dogs) that were not amenable to transgenesis by previous methods, opening up a much-needed new chest of tools to the research community. Sean Ainsworth, CEO, discusses the company in this Elevator Pitch.
ANN ARBOR - Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest in January announced its Phase 1 winners in both the New Business and Emerging Company categories during the ACE 2008 expo. To find out which companies won, and how your start up can sign up for the Phase II stage of the business-plan writing contest, which starts Feb. 1, listen to this News Maker interview.
WARREN - Robert Skandalaris, chairman and founder of Noble International, a $1.5 billion laser welding company, said in a keynote address at the awards ceremony for the 2007 Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest that Innovation will be the key to rebuilding Michigan’s battered economy. He summarizes his address in this Newsmaker Interview.
TROY - BA Maze, a Michigan startup company that makes products to help the Aging Baby Boomer set better cope with their lives, was the grand prize winner in the 2007 Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest contest, winning $25,000. Founder Robert Mazor talks about what he’ll do with the money in this podcast interview produced for GLEQ.
ANN ARBOR - PromoVUZ, an online music promotional service for up and coming musicians, won second place in the Emerging Company category of the Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest 2007 contest. Run Suarez, an Ann Arbor Councilman and Michigan entrepreneur pocketed a check for $5,000. He talks next steps in this podcast interview produced for GLEQ.
Art DeMonte, executive director of the Great Lakes Entrepreneurs Quest, said the new FastTrac TechBusiness seminar series attracted so much attention in April that the business plan writing contest plans to triple it starting next fall. Seminars will be offered in West Michigan, Central Michigan and Southeast Michigan for entrepreneurs seeking to kick start their businesses.