Laura Cowan

3 Lansing LEAP Startups Land on Michigan Tech Startup Hotlist
Funding

3 Lansing LEAP Startups Land on Michigan Tech Startup Hotlist

Three Michigan startups from mid-Michigan have just been named to a Michigan list of 25 top startups to watch, the Renaissance VC Fund list. Ann Arbor-Detroit and Traverse City aren’t the only Michigan cities creating welcoming communities for new tech startups. According to incubator Lansing LEAP, which supports new ventures in the Mid-Michigan region, “The Lansing area grew by 5% in 25 critical high-tech occupations from 2015-2020 and projects an additional 4% growth from 2020-2025, outpacing the national average.” Lansing is not known as one of the bigger emerging tech hubs in the Midwest, but its network of advanced manufacturing, seat of state government, and growing funding make it a critical and growing part of the Midwest’s long-standing effort to recover and diversify the economy and provide new businesses with a healthier climate to operate with a much lower operating cost than on the coasts.

20Fathoms Announces Virtual HealthSpark Digital and Telehealth Startup Accelerator (Deadline)
Announcements, Medical Tech, Networking

20Fathoms Announces Virtual HealthSpark Digital and Telehealth Startup Accelerator (Deadline)

Traverse City’s 20Fathoms just announced its new HealthSpark Accelerator for digital and telehealth startups, to be held virtually starting April 12, 2021, running through June 30. Preference is given to Michigan companies, but the cohort is not restricted to Michigan only so the virtual format means this could be a great opportunity for a startup from any location. “HealthSpark is a 12-week high-intensity program,” 20Fathoms Executive Director Lauren Bigelow tells Cronicle. “We have pulled experts from across the country who are both leaders and practitioners,” she says, so that startup founders gain experience and can network with leaders in their space who know what it is to build a digital or telehealth startup on the ground.

Pitch Your Michigan Mobility Startup @ SXSW, Venture Summit, TC Sessions, & TechStars
Announcements, Mobility Tech, News, Tech Events

Pitch Your Michigan Mobility Startup @ SXSW, Venture Summit, TC Sessions, & TechStars

Have a new startup in mobility, sustainable energy, or tech that you would like to pitch? Ann Arbor SPARK has just announced a number of opportunities for startups, particularly in the mobility space, to get their name out and find funding. Here are some new announcements of opportunities for Michigan startups from Komal Doshi, Director of Mobility Programs at Ann Arbor SPARK, Ann Arbor’s premier business support organization for tech startups.

February Michigan Tech Events Focus on Post-Pandemic Life, Hackathons & Wellness Software
Networking, Tech Events

February Michigan Tech Events Focus on Post-Pandemic Life, Hackathons & Wellness Software

What’s going on lately with all the pitch groups and networking events that have gone virtual? This month, we’re seeing tech groups focus on planning through the end of the coronavirus pandemic to look forward to how work and life will function in the future. Also, we’re seeing a lot of conferences and pitch groups focused on agtech and health and wellness as well as COVID response technology and data analysis. Plus, some regular hackathons are still happening that you won’t want to miss out of Detroit.

Blumira Hires Veteran Jim Simpson as VP Product As Security Startup Doubles Hiring
Funding, Recruiting, Security

Blumira Hires Veteran Jim Simpson as VP Product As Security Startup Doubles Hiring

How does someone build a career in successful startup exits 5 companies deep in a smaller and still emerging tech hub like Ann Arbor? Ask Jim Simpson, who has done just that in the burgeoning security startup scene in Ann Arbor with startups including Duo Security and Arbor Networks. Now new security startup Blumira, whose alumni include people from Duo Security, Censys, Groundspeed, Deepfield by Nokia and the NSA, has just hired Ann Arbor security startup veteran Jim Simpson as VP of Product as the company heads into its next building phase. Blumira has closed on $2.6 million in funding in the last year and recently doubled its team of about a dozen to two dozen, hoping to double that again in the next year to 50. We chatted with Simpson this week about the company’s rapid growth and how Blumira is working with the dynamics created by COVID-19 instead of against it to build success.

Washtenaw COVID-19 Business Impact Report Now Available
News

Washtenaw COVID-19 Business Impact Report Now Available

Entrypoint’s current Washtenaw County COVID-19 Business Impact Report is now available for anyone wanting an in-depth look at how the coronavirus pandemic has affected businesses in Ann Arbor’s business industries over the past year. Cronicle reported on the upcoming research earlier this year, and it’s now complete and updated for current market conditions.

3 Lansing LEAP Startups Land on Michigan Tech Startup Hotlist
Funding

3 Lansing LEAP Startups Land on Michigan Tech Startup Hotlist

Three Michigan startups from mid-Michigan have just been named to a Michigan list of 25 top startups to watch, the Renaissance VC Fund list. Ann Arbor-Detroit and Traverse City aren’t the only Michigan cities creating welcoming communities for new tech startups. According to incubator Lansing LEAP, which supports new ventures in the Mid-Michigan region, “The Lansing area grew by 5% in 25 critical high-tech occupations from 2015-2020 and projects an additional 4% growth from 2020-2025, outpacing the national average.” Lansing is not known as one of the bigger emerging tech hubs in the Midwest, but its network of advanced manufacturing, seat of state government, and growing funding make it a critical and growing part of the Midwest’s long-standing effort to recover and diversify the economy and provide new businesses with a healthier climate to operate with a much lower operating cost than on the coasts.

20Fathoms Announces Virtual HealthSpark Digital and Telehealth Startup Accelerator (Deadline)
Announcements, Medical Tech, Networking

20Fathoms Announces Virtual HealthSpark Digital and Telehealth Startup Accelerator (Deadline)

Traverse City’s 20Fathoms just announced its new HealthSpark Accelerator for digital and telehealth startups, to be held virtually starting April 12, 2021, running through June 30. Preference is given to Michigan companies, but the cohort is not restricted to Michigan only so the virtual format means this could be a great opportunity for a startup from any location. “HealthSpark is a 12-week high-intensity program,” 20Fathoms Executive Director Lauren Bigelow tells Cronicle. “We have pulled experts from across the country who are both leaders and practitioners,” she says, so that startup founders gain experience and can network with leaders in their space who know what it is to build a digital or telehealth startup on the ground.

Pitch Your Michigan Mobility Startup @ SXSW, Venture Summit, TC Sessions, & TechStars
Announcements, Mobility Tech, News, Tech Events

Pitch Your Michigan Mobility Startup @ SXSW, Venture Summit, TC Sessions, & TechStars

Have a new startup in mobility, sustainable energy, or tech that you would like to pitch? Ann Arbor SPARK has just announced a number of opportunities for startups, particularly in the mobility space, to get their name out and find funding. Here are some new announcements of opportunities for Michigan startups from Komal Doshi, Director of Mobility Programs at Ann Arbor SPARK, Ann Arbor’s premier business support organization for tech startups.

February Michigan Tech Events Focus on Post-Pandemic Life, Hackathons & Wellness Software
Networking, Tech Events

February Michigan Tech Events Focus on Post-Pandemic Life, Hackathons & Wellness Software

What’s going on lately with all the pitch groups and networking events that have gone virtual? This month, we’re seeing tech groups focus on planning through the end of the coronavirus pandemic to look forward to how work and life will function in the future. Also, we’re seeing a lot of conferences and pitch groups focused on agtech and health and wellness as well as COVID response technology and data analysis. Plus, some regular hackathons are still happening that you won’t want to miss out of Detroit.

Blumira Hires Veteran Jim Simpson as VP Product As Security Startup Doubles Hiring
Funding, Recruiting, Security

Blumira Hires Veteran Jim Simpson as VP Product As Security Startup Doubles Hiring

How does someone build a career in successful startup exits 5 companies deep in a smaller and still emerging tech hub like Ann Arbor? Ask Jim Simpson, who has done just that in the burgeoning security startup scene in Ann Arbor with startups including Duo Security and Arbor Networks. Now new security startup Blumira, whose alumni include people from Duo Security, Censys, Groundspeed, Deepfield by Nokia and the NSA, has just hired Ann Arbor security startup veteran Jim Simpson as VP of Product as the company heads into its next building phase. Blumira has closed on $2.6 million in funding in the last year and recently doubled its team of about a dozen to two dozen, hoping to double that again in the next year to 50. We chatted with Simpson this week about the company’s rapid growth and how Blumira is working with the dynamics created by COVID-19 instead of against it to build success.

Washtenaw COVID-19 Business Impact Report Now Available
News

Washtenaw COVID-19 Business Impact Report Now Available

Entrypoint’s current Washtenaw County COVID-19 Business Impact Report is now available for anyone wanting an in-depth look at how the coronavirus pandemic has affected businesses in Ann Arbor’s business industries over the past year. Cronicle reported on the upcoming research earlier this year, and it’s now complete and updated for current market conditions.

Behind The Scenes Look at Massive Consolidation in the Auto Industry’s Suppliers with 123Go’s Dominic Rea
Advanced Manufacturing, Agile Methods, Mobility Tech, Software

Behind The Scenes Look at Massive Consolidation in the Auto Industry’s Suppliers with 123Go’s Dominic Rea

123Go enterprise software development startup co-founder Dominic Rea has years of experience working to design software for the auto industry, which gives him an edge to understand software design in a logistically complex industry. Rea works with Detroit’s Automation Alley, various Tier 1 automotive suppliers, and companies in the HVAC industry on applications such as time tracking, trying to bring a collaborative “low-code” process to custom software development, and more. According to Rea, the auto industry is currently undergoing a massive consolidation in terms of suppliers, which affects how automotive software designers, mobility startups, and Tier 1 suppliers plug in to a diverse industry of many technologies. We were curious to learn more both about how 123Go designs its efficient software development process for business professionals who aren’t in IT, and if Rea could tell us more about what’s going on behind the scenes for the sake of Cronicle readers who are working to hook into the mobility tech scene.

GM Aims For All-Electric Vehicles and Zero Emissions by 2035, Rivian Raises $2.65 Billion
Advanced Manufacturing, Announcements, Mobility Tech, Sustainable Energy

GM Aims For All-Electric Vehicles and Zero Emissions by 2035, Rivian Raises $2.65 Billion

Combining a shift to electric vehicles over the next decades and paying to offset emissions, General Motors announced yesterday a plan to finally put internal combustion engines and their climate-altering pollution in the rearview within 2 decades. Historically, GM is not known for quick corporate change or for prioritizing the planet over shareholder value, but the writing has been on the wall now for over a decade between government regulations and urgent climate change priorities shifting how consumers aim to purchase next vehicles. GM has worked for a number of years to retrofit older vehicle designs with hybrid and electric options, and recently put nearly all of its R&D budget into designing electric vehicles from the ground up, signaling a serious commitment to EVs. Currently, electric vehicle sales are in the single digits percentage-wise of vehicles sold, but rising quickly as more practical options become available and rapid charging becomes viable for the average consumer.

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