The startup formerly known as Protean Payment (freshly rebranded at Stratos) has a new name, a new pool of money to draw from, and is looking for a new home in Ann Arbor to accommodate its growth. Stratos announced last week that it raised $5.8 million in a Series A round. Silicon Valley-based Toba Capital Partners led the round with Ann Arbor-based Reasonant Venture Partners participating, along with two other venture capital firms. Stratos is working on disrupting the way people pay for everyday purchases, but not too much. It is making a new card that combines all of the cards in your wallet (credit, debit, loyalty) into a bluetooth enabled device. The idea is to simplify how a person pay for things without having to build a whole new payment infrastructure (and learning curve) around it. It is also the reason behind the larger-than-usual-by-local-startup-standards initial capital raise. "We're a software company and a hardware company, so we have an increased capital requirement," says Thiago Olson, co-founder & CEO of Stratos. Stratos is still working on developing its technology and Olson declined to give some details about it, such as when it's anticipated to launch and how many people work for the startup today. He did say the company is looking to hire 10 people right now and expects to keep hiring for the foreseeable future. "We're scaling on all fronts," Olson says. "It's going to be constant hiring on all fronts." Stratos currently works from an office building in Kerrytown that it shares with Duo Security and Reasonant Venture Partners. Duo Security, also in the midst of a hiring spree, is moving to a bigger office in downtown Ann Arbor this fall. Stratos is evaluating whether his firm will expand into the newly vacated space or elsewhere as it looks for a space that could house between 40-50 people. "We're expanding and we're going to be moving into a new office and that's one of the places we're looking at," Olson says. Source: Thiago Olson, co-founder & CEO of Stratos Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Talk to Dwight Carlson about manufacturing for any length of time and he will tell you about how it has become a global venture. The founder & CEO of Coherix, which makes software for advanced manufacturing, knows because so much of the revenue for his Ann Arbor-based business comes from well-outside of its hometown's borders. "We are truly global," Carlson says. "More than 75 percent of our advanced manufacturing technology is shipped outside of the U.S., and that is only going to increase." Coherix's principal technology provides high-speed, high-definition 3D measurement and inspection services to manufacturers. The software is designed to streamline a manufacturer’s production capability by finding efficiencies through high-tech, optical-based measurement and inspection of the manufacturers assembly processes. The 10-year-old company has operations in China and Japan. It also has subsidiaries in Singapore and Europe, all of which have consistently grown in recent years. "Europe is starting to take off with sales to Opel and Ford," Carlson says. Coherix has hired five people in the U.S. over the last year. It currently has a staff of 40 employees and the occasional intern in Ann Arbor. To Carlson, there is no better place to do the white collar side of the business. "It's an excellent place to do high-tech R&D," Carlson says. "There is a reason why Toyota has $100 million invested in R&D here." Source: Dwight Carlson, founder, chairman & CEO of Coherix Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Opportunities for finding seed capital for local startups are anything but in short supply this fall. A broad range of financial sources are looking to invest tens of thousands of dollars in promising ventures, such as the University of Michigan’s Social Venture Fund and the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. Three student-led venture capital funds at the University of Michigan are putting out calls for applications. The VCs are looking to sink $50,000 to $100,000 per investment, and they are looking for a broad range of startups to evaluate. "We invest in 1-2 companies per year," says Joanna Herrmann, director of investments for the University of Michigan’s Social Venture Fund. "Last year we invested in two companies." The other two student-led funds (the Wolverine Venture Fund and the Zell Lurie Commercialization Fund) are looking to make investments of similar sizes in a wide variety of ventures. This is the fifth year for the university's Social Venture Fund. It has made five investments in that time, including an investment in downtown Detroit-based software mapping startup Loveland Technologies, which has hired three people in recent months. The Social Venture Fund looks for companies that are for-profit and aim to make a social or environmental impact. "We try to cast a really wide net," Herrmann says. Bigger money is at stake at the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition this fall. The annual business plan competition offers prizes that are often worth $10,000 or more. Top prize is $500,000. Startups from Washtenaw County, and the U-M specifically, have historically fared quite well, often taking the top spot and walking away with six figures in seed capital. For information this year’s Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition click here. Source: Joanna Herrmann, director of investments for the University of Michigan’s Social Venture Fund Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Both Mark Maynard and the Metro Times have decided to tackle the issue of affordable housing - or rather the growing lack of such - in Ann Arbor. As usual their thoughts are both insightful and empathetic. Excerpt from Mark Maynard: "I don’t have any problem with affordable housing. I think it’s a good thing. What I have a real problem with, however, is segregation. I have a problem with a system where it’s accepted that some towns are “too nice” for the poor. And I find it doubly infuriating when these nice, liberal communities, once they’ve forced their most vulnerable citizens beyond their borders, mount campaigns to stop attempts at regional cooperation, as we recently saw play out in the battle over the AATA’s expanded role in providing bus service within Washtenaw County. Many people in Ann Arbor cried out that they didn’t want their tax dollars going to fund the transportation of people in Ypsilanti, in spite of the fact that many of those people were probably Ann Arborites before they were forced out due to the cost of living. And the same goes for everything from our public schools to our police departments." Excerpt from the Metro Times: "It's a good post, one that inspired a lot of people to join in with comments of their own. The general tone is one of despair at what Ann Arbor has become, how it has fallen from its days as a scrappy campus town with a good mix of incomes. After reading them, we come away agreeing that without lots of different kinds of people of different classes with different perspectives, a city is a less interesting place. As for subsidies, one needn't not have a job to not receive subsidies. The fact is, everybody in the United States gets some sort of subsidy, not just the odd person who makes it their life's work to avoid earning a living." Read Mark's observations and opinions here. Read the Metro Times respone here.

U-M tech innovation + entrepreneurial ambition = successful startup. See, math isn't so hard. Excerpt: "Produced by Sakti3, Inc., a self-proclaimed “spinout” company from the University of Michigan, the battery cell has double the energy density of a current lithium ion battery. In more specific terms, the battery produces over 1,100 Watt hours per liter (Wh/l) in volumetric energy density. Typical lithium-ion batteries produce between 250-730 Wh/l." Read the rest here.

What do you get when you mix one of the biggest, best-funded institutions in the country with an ever-growing list of aggressive entrepreneurial incubators? Answers revealed in the article link below! Excerpt: "Student organizations tout entrepreneurial spirit abound — namely MPowered, optiMize and MHacks — and administrative facilities and programs, like the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovate Blue, foster startup ideas and passion, providing resources that turn those concepts into realities. Even outside the University, startup enthusiasm is everywhere. Incubators and consulting firms like TechArb, Ann Arbor SPARK and Menlo Innovations are in high demand — the former two even partner with the students through Innovate Blue." Read the rest here.

College students don't always have a lot of spare money sitting around for food, but that won't be a problem at the new Brookie's Cafe on Washtenaw Ave. near Eastern's campus.  "What I'm trying to do is target the college students who want pretty decent food for pretty good prices," says manager Echo DaShuane. Students and Ypsilanti residents alike will find chicken, chili dogs, burger, cupcakes, cookies and more at the cafe, which opened last week in a storefront that sits about 13 diners and offers takeout. What foods and events Brookie's Cafe offers could evolve as well, as DaShuane says she's open to new ideas.  "I'm making a suggestion box because a lot of college students have been coming in with suggestions," she says. "It s a fun, friendly atmosphere here." Brookie's Cafe currently operates with a staff of six. DaShuane says the business is looking to hire additional staff and grow along with their clientele.  Source: Echo DaShuane, Brookie's Cafe Writer: Natalie Burg

When The Espresso Bar first started, it was intended to fill a few months of Sanford Bledsoe's time before leaving town for a job in Houston. The pop-up cafe below The Bar at 327 Braun Court quickly became a neighborhood favorite, and Bledsoe decided to devote himself to the growing business. That growth will soon continue in a new space when The Espresso Bar moves to the new third floor of Literati Bookstore.  Bledsoe had been acquainted with Literati owners Hilary and Mike Gustafson for some time. When their desire for a larger events space aligned with Bledsoe's thoughts on expanding and The Bar at Braun Court wanting to do more with with first floor, the idea of moving The Espresso Bar to an events/cafe/retail space above Literati was a win for everyone.  "We've been talking with Literati for several months, and now we're moving forward and getting all our ducks in a row so we can move as quickly as possible," says Bledsoe. "We thought this was a great opportunity for everybody." To prepare for the move, he recently hired one new employee, and intends to hire about three additional workers in the future. Though opening will be dependent on many factors including the time needed for the build-out, Bledsoe hopes to be open before Thanksgiving.  Though in a new location, Bledsoe says his focus will always remain on serving excellent coffee and espresso drinks to customers with uniquely personal service. "It frustrates me about the coffee shop industry is we treat our customers like they're spending three dollars," he says. "I think it's important to make people feel like they're spending a million dollars."? Source: Sanford Bledsoe, The Espresso Bar Writer: Natalie Burg

Huron River Ventures recently announced its investment in Cribspot, leading a $660,000 seed round in the Ann Arbor-based startup. An Ann Arbor-based venture capital firm investing in a Michigan-based startup isn't that unusual. However, it's becoming much more par for the course for Huron River Ventures. The Kerrytown-based venture capital firm has made 12 investments since it launched in 2010, and is on course to make a couple more before the end of the year. "We are almost exclusively looking at Michigan-based companies right now," says Tim Streit, partner of Huron River Ventures. That includes two that are in the final stages of due diligence before a potential investment. Streit says that startups in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem are maturing after several years of development. It means that the team of nearly half a dozen people at Huron River Ventures don’t have to travel far to make investments. "We are seeing an exceptional deal floor out of the state of Michigan right now," Streit says. "We haven't had to look very far out of state to find companies." Cribspot is latest example of it. The 1-year-old startup was launched by University of Michigan students who were looking to make the process of finding off-campus rental housing more efficient. The startup, which also has an office in downtown Detroit, went through the Bizdom program to help it sharpen its business plan. "It's a great example of how the world is shifting," Streit says. Source: Tim Streit, partner with Huron River Ventures Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.