Helping Foster State, Local and Regional Economic
Success Through Business Incubation
Incubators
Michigan Business Incubator Association is comprised of the state's best business incubators, accelerators economic partners who are focused on creating jobs and developing Michigan's local economies. The MBIA provides a supportive entrepreneurial environment that stimulates the growth of business to ensure economic vitality and encourage job creation.
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Resources
The MBIA fosters communication and exchanges ideas among incubators, their managers, tenants, clients, entrepreneurs, new ventures, and other stakeholders. We serve as a clearinghouse for the collection and dissemination of information about incubators to assist entrepreneurs with new business ideas, providing a basis for mutually supportive group efforts that promote the public image of incubators and their economic impact.
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Leadership
MBIA recognizes the incubation industry's involvement in transforming the Michigan economy, and hopes to bring together incubators, entrepreneurs and economic developers to engage with a dynamic network of organizations and individuals committed to forwarding the Michigan economy.
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MBIA Partners
Varnum is a leading Michigan law firm providing a broad range of legal services to meet the complex needs of its clients. With more than 150 attorneys in five offices, Varnum serves as counsel to businesses and institutions throughout Michigan and the Midwest. Through its innovative MiSpringboard program, Varnum removes some of the barriers associated with starting and growing a business by providing free legal services to new business initiatives. Find Varnum and the MiSpringboard program on the web at www.varnumlaw.com.
At Turnstone we are inspired by the spirit of small business and we design workplace solutions that help create great work environments that are easy to own and exhilarating to use. Running a small business is hard enough — having a great space to work in should be easy. http://myturnstone.com
"We live in a world where we want people to have choice. We want the sons and daughters of farmers to grow up and be doctors and teachers and contractors and whatever they want to be, but if we live in that world, then we also need to live in a world where the sons and daughters of doctors and teachers and contractors can choose to be farmers, can choose farming as a vocation, as a career path."
LiveWorkLaunch! will feature a pitch competition for innovation-based entrepreneurs looking for capital. Competitors will have the opportunity to present their business ideas in front of a panel of investors and venture capitalists. The team or individual with the winning pitch will receive $10,000 to help start their Detroit-based business. Finalists will receive a variety of business-building resources and services such as free incubator space, mentoring from a successful entrepreneur, and consulting services.
To qualify for a 2012 FastTrack award, companies had to show $100,000 gross revenue in 2008 and then consistent improvement until this year. Three companies won the award for the first time on Friday; The Whole Brain Group, Arbormoon Software, and Estrakon. Beal Inc. won the award for the second year, and Beal Properties received the award for the third time.
Discussions continue about developing The Village at Grand Traverse Commons into a regional food hub, with a year-round indoor farmer's market, processing centers, and even a restaurant incubator with test kitchens — all housed in a building that used to prepare food for hospital patients and staff.
Since joining MEDC in 2011, Cell has helped run programs aimed at keeping graduating college entrepreneurs in state by providing access to venture capital, mentors, and incubator space. “We want to make sure that young people that graduate from our colleges and high schools have the opportunity to get a good job here in Michigan.”
