It has yet to catch up to toy stores, McDonald's, and tot couture, but the kids' haircare industry is now in a growth spurt. Ilze Meija, a former attorney and stay-at-home mom, was surprised at the lack of a children's salon in Ann Arbor. Other moms she knew were either taking their kids to the big chains, which can turn out uneven results, or to their own fancier salons, a pricey option for young ones. "So there was nothing in between that was just for kids," Meija says. Hence, she founded zoey + joey, a hair care studio dedicated to the under-18 set. zoey + joey, located at 3260 Washtenaw Avenue, in the Arlington Square Plaza on the corner of Huron Parkway and Washtenaw, will hold its grand opening on Saturday, Nov. 17 from 11-4. The build-out is still underway at the 1,750 square-foot full-service salon, which will have seven hair-cutting stations. Younger clients will sit in mini Mini Cooper cars while getting hair-dos, and the older set can watch sports or play video games while seated in regular chairs. And expect an indoor play structure with a slide in the waiting area. Adults can't fit in the Mini Cooper seats (the main focus is kids, after all) but they, too, can get coiffed. Meija, who owns the salon, will be managing a staff of five stylists and a receptionist. A "green salon", zoey + joey will use vegan shampoo and non-toxic nail polish for girls' mini-manicures. A wash, cut, and style runs $21 for boys, $23 for girls. "It's a growing industry; we just haven't seen it here in Ann Arbor," Meija says. "On both coasts, in California and New York, it's a really big booming industry to open up a hair salon that's just for kids." Source: Ilse Meija, owner and founder, zoey + joey Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Another round of Ypsilanti storefronts will be getting assisted facelifts with a new round of grant money from the city's Downtown Development Authority (DDA). At its meeting last week, the DDA's board of directors approved the latest installment of the Façade Improvement Program, which will award grants totaling $40,000 for eligible projects through the end of the 2012-13 fiscal year. The Historic Downtown is to receive a $20,000 allocation, while Depot Town and West Cross St. - Campus Town will get $10,000 apiece. The DDA will match 50% of qualifying project costs, up to a maximum of $2,500 per grant. At least 16 businesses stand to benefit. Washtenaw County's Eastern Leaders group has put $7,500 towards the program, with the balance coming from the DDA. Only exterior beautification projects such as painting, new awnings, signage, brick repair, parapet repair, or replacement windows will qualify. The program is now in its second year. Tim Colbeck, director of the Ypsilanti DDA, would like to see this grant be a perpetual fund. The monies are separate from the DDA's building rehabilitation grant program, which also allows for interior work. "The larger grants, where we're talking about building rehabilitations, we know there are certain buildings in town that are either in a state of disrepair or they're being underutilized and they could really use some heavy investment. At some point in time there's an assumption that we won't have any more of those buildings," Colbeck says. "But when it comes to façade improvement there's almost always going to be a steady stream because people are going to want to replace awnings. A new business is going to come in and say, we want a new sign." Last year's projects included a new sign for Model K, a sign and awning for Old Towne Coin & Gold in Depot Town, and gooseneck exterior lighting for Red Rock Downtown Barbecue. Funds are available to both property and business owners. "So if you are a business owner and you rent, you can still apply for the grant," Colbeck says. Written permission to do the improvements from the property owner is required. Applications are being accepted now through June 30, 2013, and will be reviewed by the DDA on a rolling basis. Source: Tim Colbeck, director of the Ypsilanti DDA Writer: Tanya Muzumdar

Internet companies big and small have been struggling with how best to commercialize advertising on mobile devices. A new start-up based in Ann Arbor, AdAdapted, thinks it has an answer. "Mobile advertising really isn't working for anyone," says Michael Pedersen, founder of AdAdapted. The Tech Brewery-based start-up's software solves this problem with an advertising platform that allows advertisers to work with developers to strategically place ads in things like mobile video games. Think of it as an in-app product placement. "We allow the developer to have more control where an ad will go," Pedersen says. AdAdapted recently received financing from the Michigan Microloan Fund. Loan amounts from that fund aren't disclosed but are about five-figures in size on average. The 4-month-old start-up and its seven team members plan to use its loan to expand its product platform and prepare for the launch of its Beta version. "The Beta should be done with in the next few weeks," Pedersen says. "We're also working on landing our first pilot." Source: Michael Pedersen, founder of AdAdapted Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

An Ann Arbor-based venture capitalist is helping connect Metro Detroit's emerging investment community with the rest of the world by opening the Detroit chapter of TiE called TiE Detroit Angels. Sonali Vijayavargiya is the managing partner of Augment Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm that launched out of Ann Arbor last year. She is now chairing TiE Detroit Angels as a way of growing the region's investment community and connecting it with opportunities around the world. TiE Detroit Angels will focus on investing in a broad range of promising start-ups. "This group is made up of a diverse group of people," Vijayavargiya says. "We have physicians and entrepreneurs. We will invest across sectors." TiE is a global, not-for-profit, non-political, and non-religious organization dedicated to fostering entrepreneurs around the world. When TiE first started it stood for The Indus Entrepreneurs, which signifies the ethnic South Asian or Indus roots of the founders. Today TiE stands for Talent, Ideas and Enterprise. TiD Detroit Angels will focus on forming an investment consortium of wealthy individuals willing to provide seed capital to promising startups in Metro Detroit. The group expects to grow to a size of about 30 members within its first year and will look at the pitches from dozens of local startups from a number of different sectors. Source: Sonali Vijayavargiya, chair of TiE Detroit Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.

The Michigan Microloan Fund, a program managed by Ann Arbor SPARK, has made another round of microloans to a broad range of start-ups, most of which are based in Ann Arbor. The Michigan Microloan Fund makes microloans worth between $10,000 and $50,000 to small businesses developing new technology in Michigan. The loans are meant to help augment the shrinkage of traditional financing options since the onset of the recession. One of the recipients, Grand Rapids-based FoodCircles, is using the seed capital to develop more versions of the 4-month-old's mobile apps. "The mircoloan has allowed us to try a lot of different experiments," says Jonathan Kumar, managing director of FoodCircles. He oversees a team of four employees and two interns. The Michigan Microloan Fund has made $2.8 million in microloans to 62 companies since its launch in July, 2009. This latest round of microloans disbursed $232,000 to seven company, of which five are based in Ann Arbor. Among the Ann Arbor-based start-ups to receive microloans are: - AdAdapted, a software firm developing an advertising platform for games played on mobile devices. - AMF-Nano, a bio-tech company developing innovative nano sensors. - Child Care Daily App, a mobile app business creating software that simplifies the daily activities of child care providers by doing things like automating handwritten tasks. - PicoSpray, a tech firm commercializing a low-cost electronic fuel injection system for small engines. - Weinreich Labs, a tech business developing heirloom quality amplified violins. Source: Jonathan Kumar, managing director of FoodCircles Writer: Jon Zemke Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.