There will be some familiar start-up names in this year’s Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. Not because it's the same entrepreneurs pushing the same ideas. It's because a number of former studentpreneurs are now pushing their start-ups as professionals. A number of businesses that were launched from Michigan-based student housing are among the 51 semifinalists in the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. Among those are Covaron Advanced Materials (which won Accelerate Michigan's student competition last year under the name Kymeria Advance Materials), AutoBike (a product of U-M Ross School of Business grads), TurtleCell (founded by two U-M students) and SkySpecs (launched by four U-M students). "We want to make sure we have a staircase of opportunities for students and their companies," says Lauren Bigelow, executive director of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition. The Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition is in its fourth year. It has made a name for itself for awarding $1 million in prizes over the three-day business plan competition, including a $500,000 top prize for the top finisher. The prizes go to Michigan-based startups rooted in the new economy or startups that are looking to move to the Great Lakes State. The competition is held annually in mid November. It was held at the University of Michigan its first two years and moved to downtown Detroit last year. This year's event will also be held in downtown Detroit on Nov 12-14, primarily at the Westin Book-Cadillac Hotel. For information, click here. Source: Lauren Bigelow, executive director of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Source: Jason Zalewski, Orange Leaf Writer: Natalie Burg

Source: Joel Marotti, Vertical Media Solutions Writer: Natalie Burg

Navitas Advanced Solutions Group, a subsidiary of Navitas Systems, plans to invest $9.3 million into a new facility to manufacture battery storage technology in Ann Arbor, creating 125 new jobs. Navitas Systems, which is based in Illinois, bought the government contract business from A123 Systems early this year and spun it off into Navitas Advanced Solutions Group. The company has since hired half a dozen people and now has a staff of 37 employees and one intern. Those sorts of roots played a major role in decision to invest further in Ann Arbor. "Twenty five of 37 people were already in Ann Arbor," says Les Alexander, general manager of Navitas Advances Solutions Group. "We already have an established presence here. We have been here since 1996 (when the company was called TJ Technologies)." Navitas Advances Solutions Group is currently working on some military and commercial products that are expected to hit production in the latter half of 2014. That should trigger the hiring for this current investment. "The bulk of that hiring (the 125 jobs) will be done in 2014 and 2015," Alexander says. Navitas Systems received a $1 million Michigan Business Development Program performance-based grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp. It will also receive a property tax abatement. Source: Les Alexander, general manager of Navitas Advances Solutions Group Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Wisely is looking for a few good consumers to help test out the Beta version of its new software that puts people reviews where their wallets are. The Ann Arbor-based start-up takes data accumulated from purchases and uses that to show the popularity of a retail business. The idea is that fake reviews (both positive and negative) are posted all the time online on websites like Yelp. Wisely reveals the popularity of businesses and the items they sell by how often they are purchased creating a collection of reviews that are much harder to fake. "We always thought purchasing data was interesting but it has never been democratized," says Mike Vichich, co-founder & CEO of Wisely. "Every other piece of information has been put under a microscope." The 4-month-old start-up and its core team of five people take transaction data from consumers, which provides the basic ingredient for its secret software sauce. "We call it the first credible search engine for the physical world powered by transaction data," Vichich says. "Think credit card swipes." Wisely is launching its public beta this week. It is looking for consumers to sign up to test out the software in Ann Arbor and New York City. For information on the beta test, click here. Vichich hopes to have 10,000 users in the Ann Arbor area by the end of the year. That would enable Wisely and his team to build out a merchant services program to help businesses maximize their sales. "It's a better way for consumers and merchants to connect and establish relationships," Vichich says. Source: Mike Vichich, co-founder & CEO of Wisely Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

Star Smith is always striving for self-improvement, which made sense because the owner of All Out Fitness has been a personal trainer for eight years. That sort of drive got him started in physical fitness, led him to open his own business three years ago and double All Out Fitness’s staff over the last year. The Ann Arbor-based firm, it calls Avis Farms home, hired a personal trainer this year and has expanded its services to broad range of exercises, such as weight loss, strength training and sports performance. "I try to stay well-rounded in most things," Smith says. "That helps me be the best all-around trainer I can be." Smith started the business from scratch with just himself and few piece of work-out equipment. Now he has much more equipment, an employee and a growing client base that averages anywhere from 10-20 people a class. He says it's mostly from word-of-mouth referrals from clients and is quite proud of it. "I would like to be locally known as one of the best studios in the Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Metro Detroit area," Smith says. Source: Star Smith, owner of All Out Fitness Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.