A few of new business incubators have surfaced in the last few months — which is welcome and encouraging news.
The first is North Woodward Tech Incubator started by Troy-based patent law firm Young Basile Hanlon MacFarlane & Helmholdt P.C. They recently signed up their first tenant and there’s room for three or four more technology startups in dedicated, rent-free space at the firm.
Another is TechArb, a group of 30 student entrepreneurs, running 10 different startups, sharing a small-business incubator in the basement of a downtown Ann Arbor building. The space came together with the help of Ann Arbor venture capital firm RPM Ventures, the University of Michigan College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship, and a new student-run entrepreneurial organization on campus, Maize Ventures.
Last but not least is Tech Brewery, which is itself still in the startup phase. Described as a community of technologists, entrepreneurs, and startups, the Ann Arbor-based incubator has signed up about 12 companies who will share space in what used to be a brewery but is now converted office space. Last I heard, the Chamber of Commerce was looking to secure funding for the space in what would become a Chamber-led project, potentially with federal stimulus money. Other possibilities include a mix of public/private funding similar to the models used by North Woodward and TechArb. So far, the project has not been formally publicized since funding for the space is still pending.
–Matt
