Comments on: Entrepreneurship in Ann Arbor, Michigan

By: classic video games

classic video games — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:42:51 +0000

Thanks for your suggests of where to turn to for support.

By: mathew

mathew — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:21:31 +0000

Thanks for your suggests of where to turn to for support.

By: club penguin cheats

club penguin cheats — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 08:18:44 +0000

I would have expected more startup activity, but have always thought the innovation drag was more to do with Detroit. AA does not have the scale by itself and gets little help from Detroit since it does not have "pull" like other cities or significant ecosystems outside of auto which has been a laggard industry.

By: Jason Mendelson

Jason Mendelson — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:10:05 +0000

It was my pleasure. Folks like you are making it all the worthwhile.

By: Marc Weiser

Marc Weiser — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:01:37 +0000

{3 of 3}
I hope that the entrepreneurs, university, government, and yes even the VCs in Ann Arbor realize that the focus has to be on collaborating together. In the past we would hear each group complain about the other, today we more frequently hear praise. We are on the verge of building a permanent foundation or our entrepreneurial community in Ann Arbor. Now is the time for everyone to get involved, come out from their hiding spots, and work on the bigger picture together. Otherwise we will repeat the failures of the past.

Thanks again for your visit to A2, we llok forward to seeing you again soon.

By: Marc Weiser

Marc Weiser — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 15:00:39 +0000

{2 of 3 }

The key now is sustainability, we’ve seen momentum build in the past, only to fall flat. It will take everyone pulling in the same direction, something we’ve not been good at in the past. As I have had the opportunity to view both Ann Arbor and Boulder it strikes me that the biggest difference is the bonds formed between the different constituencies in Colorado are are much stronger. Every visit I’ve had to Colorado has led to dinners, poker nights, even bowling where entrepreneurs, VCs, angels, university faculty, etc.. were always in attendance – and all of these were just regular occurrences. It wasn’t forced, it was because everyone enjoyed the energy and had a true respect for each other.

By: Marc Weiser

Marc Weiser — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 14:56:10 +0000

{Posted in 2 comments – 1 of 2}

Thanks for the visit! Always great to get fresh perspective in A2, its needed. Your message was consistent with what we believe here. We've had a small but dedicated group that has carried the water for years, but it takes a larger community. We aren't just at the beginning, but the momentum in the last few years has given us hope.

By: Making Social Computing Work for You - Ann Arbor, MI | Mendelson's Musings

Making Social Computing Work for You - Ann Arbor, MI | Mendelson's Musings — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 00:14:48 +0000

[...] off the heels of my recent Ann Arbor visit, I came back to Boulder to find out that one of our companies, Newsgator is participating in a [...]

By: Peter Bardwick

Peter Bardwick — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 00:09:38 +0000

I'm a UofM (2 degrees) grad and Ann Arbor fan. There are other resources in Ann Arbor associated with the B School and the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies: http://www.zli.bus.umich.edu/resources_research/. I recently became a member of the Advisory Board for the Wolverine Venture Fund–one of the first student managed investment funds in the country–and am impressed by the student enthusiasm and community support.

Ann Arbor isn't Palo Alto or Boston but it has developed many of the ingredients for success in the past 10 years. Two of the local venture funds have successfully raised new money which is quite an accomplishment in this environment. Ann Arbor is progressing, if it can build the ecosystem it will take time and a handful of homegrown success stories.

By: laspegren

laspegren — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 22:12:06 +0000

I've got portfolio companies in Ann Arbor and Colorado, and it always amazes me how the environments are so similar. They both suffer from the our eco-sphere is not here problem which makes finding people, raising capital and doing all the things that Valley types are so good at hard. If I hear one more time that you cannot recruit a CEO or good sales and marketing talent in either location I will projectile vomit.