Ann Arbor New Tech is a group of people from various industries and backgrounds (e.g., entrepreneurs, technologists, investors, lawyers, marketers, students, etc.) interested in fostering local technology startups by organizing events, sharing resources, and building a supportive community.

Ann Arbor New Tech’s signature event takes place on the third Tuesday of each month, at 6 p.m., at Chesebrough Auditorium at UM’s Chrysler Center.  The monthly event features three to five companies who are each given five minutes to demo and five minutes to answer questions.  Open announcements and networking follows.

This month’s meetup (on May 19^th) features John Barrie from Appropriate Technology Collaborative, Jim Deakins from Lyfe, Drew Leahy and Bobby Matson from MyBandStock, and Tim Stephens from Speedraft.

Following its regular program, this month’s meetup features a special visit by Rick Snyder (CEO of venture capital firm Ardesta and former COO of Gateway Computer) who will hold court for a tech-style town hall meeting.  Snyder, a moderate Republican, announced in March that he’s forming an exploratory committee to decide whether he should launch a campaign in Michigan’s 2010 gubernatorial race.

I will be attending the event and look forward to hearing Snyder’s ideas on building an entrepreneurial technology economy in Michigan.

–Matt