Source: Heather Sinawe, Encore Hookah Writer: Natalie Burg

Source: Kasia Bielak-Hoops, Ann Arbor School for the Performing Arts Writer: Natalie Burg

Esperion Therapeutics is moving its headquarters back to Ann Arbor, taking space in the Valley Ranch Business Park on the city’s south side. Esperion Therapeutics relaunched out of Ann Arbor six years ago when Roger Newton and a group of investors bought it back from Pfizer. They moved the company to the Michigan Life Sciences Innovation Center in Plymouth a few years ago before bringing the company’s headquarters back to its roots in Ann Arbor this week. "We're keeping our labs out there (in Plymouth)," says Tim Mayleben, CEO of Esperion Therapeutics. "We have added approximately 8,000 square feet in Ann Arbor." Newton made his name in pharmaceuticals by co-discovering Lipitor at Pfizer before he went on to co-found Esperion Therapeutics, which was acquired by Pfizer. Esperion Therapeutics is now working on a new drug, ETC-1002, for patients with hypercholesterolemia and other cardiometabolic risk factors. ETC-1002 is a small-molecule metabolic regulator of imbalances in lipid and carbohydrate metabolism and inflammation. It is being developed to address the underlying causes of metabolic diseases and reduce multiple risk factors associated with them. ETC-1002 completed a Phase 2a program which consisted of seven clinical trials for the drug last year. It is currently conducting a Phase 2b program of two clinical trials for the drug and is set to begin a Phase 3 program launch in 2015. "We're in the middle of this large Phase 2b program, which totals approximately 500 patients across the country," Mayleben says. Esperion Therapeutics has raised $110 million in seed capital over the last year to push its commercialization efforts forward. The firm raised $80 million in an IPO and another $30 million in mezzanine financing. "We have money to take us through next year and into 2016," Mayleben says. Esperion Therapeutics has hired 10 people in the last year and is looking to hire a clinical researcher right now. The staff currently stands at 18 employees and 10 independent contractors. "We're really taking advantage of the wealth of talent and expertise here, especially after Pfizer closed (its Ann Arbor office)," Mayleben says. Source: Tim Mayleben, CEO of Esperion Therapeutics Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Last year Enlighten started to make the transition from digital marketing to developing software. That change is still ongoing but the Ann Arbor-based business finds itself succeeding in both worlds. "The focus has been a little bit more on developing software platforms," says Steve Glauberman, CEO of Enlighten. "But our work is still marketing based." Enlighten is growing its revenue at an average rate of 20 percent a year. The 30-year-old company has hired 10 people over the last year, expanding its staff to 85 employees and five interns. The new hires include professionals specializing in interactive design, software development, project management, and IT infrastructure. It's also looking for five more people now in strategy, account management, engineering and IT architecture. Enlighten has released two photo-oriented software products in 2012 , WhatWasThere.com and YearlyMe.com, along with OffersNow last year. OffersNow is a coupon and marketing software program aimed at helping small businesses. "It's going well," Glauberman says. "We're still slowly introducing it into a few test markets. The reception has been great so far." He adds that Enlighten's digital marketing work is moving toward catering to people who communicate on multiple devices. Think people who use laptops, tablets and smart phones. "There is a lot of strategic work based around how to connect with these people," Glauberman says. Source: Steve Glauberman, CEO of Enlighten Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The Wolverine Venture Fund, an investment vehicle run by students at the University of Michigan, is celebrating a win now that it has recorded its fourth profitable exit with the IBM's acquisition of Silverpop. Silverpop is a software company offering marketing automation and real-time personalization technology services. The Wolverine Venture Fund invested $200,000 in 2000. The size of the return hasn’t been released yet besides the managing director of the fund saying the exit "makes us very happy." "What's nice about this one is that it's a company that was founded during the Dot Com boom," says Erik Gordon, a professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and managing director of the Wolverine Venture Fund. "Very few of these companies were standing three years later. This is one of the few Dot Com companies that was able to survive and pivot a few times." The Wolverine Venture Fund got its start in 1997 with $2 million donated by supports of U-M’s business school. It has since grown to $6.5 million, recording four successful exits. The fund specializes in making early round investments in startups of around $100,000 to $200,000. The fund currently has about a dozen active portfolio companies. The students who run the Wolverine Venture Fund number about 25 each year. About a dozen students sign up for a two-year stint of managing the fund each year. Most of those students are MBA students at the Ross School of Business but a few others are often graduate students in science and technology fields of the university. "It's a huge commitment," Gordon says. "You come in and do it for two years, including through the summer. This is a real deep dive. They become real venture capitalists." Some of the Wolverine Venture Fund’s recent alumni include Jake Cohen, a partner with Detroit Venture Partners, along with Michael Godwin and Jason Townsend, co-founders of Resonant Venture Partners. "That's the fund's real accomplishment," Gordon says. "We are training our students to get up and make it happen." Source: Erik Gordon, a professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.