The New Enterprise Forum

Vol. XXVII, No. 5 • May 2012 www.NewEnterpriseForum.org

See May Program, Page 2

The Entrepreneur’s Link to Resources

NEF Stakeholder Members

May Program6th Annual Battle of the Elevator PitchOur May Forum is an annual competition featuring improv “business opportunity” pitches by experienced investors who then get feedback from a panel of investor judges.

2011 Pitch Battle Champ Skip Simms, is Vice President of Entrepreneurial Business Devel-opment and Manager of the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund for Ann Arbor SPARK. He will

defend his title against a new field of upstart wannabes.

Skip works with early stage start-up technology companies, preparing them for equity fund raising. He successfully raised an $8 million Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund, the largest state 21st Century Jobs Fund program, and is currently the administrator of this fund as well as three other funds raised for the program totaling $25 million.

Prior to his role at Ann Arbor SPARK, Skip was the Managing General Partner at the Ralph Wilson Equity Fund, a $31 million fund-of-funds, where he performed due diligence and analysis of opportunities, including the recommending of the Fund’s level of investment. Previously, he had 29

years of management experience at several television stations around the country. So this is one pitch-savvy and spotlight-tested dude! Who will dare challenge him!!??

Upcoming EventsGLEQ News

Spring Business Plan Competition One sector award

still open for registration! If you have a food safety or food process-ing business, you can still register through

<http://www.GLEQ.org>www.GLEQ.org. You could be in the running for a $10,000 prize sponsored by the Global

Food Protection Institute to be awarded at the Entrepreneur Connect (EC) event on Tuesday, June 12, 2012. Details below.

Entrepreneur Connect2:30 to 8:00 p.m.

MSU Henry Center, LansingStatewide gathering of Entrepreneurs, Investors and Support Professionals.

Exhibit tables showcasing GLEQ

See GLEQ, Page 2

Skip Simms

Coming Soon...Michigan Growth Capital

SymposiumTues./Wed., May 15 and 16

Early registration thru 5/11 $395On-site registration $495

Marriott Resort at EagleCrest1275 S. Huron StreetYpsilanti, MI 48197

More info and registration athttp://www.michigangcs.com/register/

New Enterprise Forum The New JOBS Act

(Jump Start Our Business Startups)Thursday, June 21

Holiday Inn, Plymouth RdHow will the new legislation affect

entrepreneurs and investors. To learn more,

visit news.cnet.com/.../jobs-act

May 2012 2

Board of directors

Become a Member • Stakeholder $500 • Corporate $275 • Individual $100 • Student $25 For details of category benefits

and payment of membership fees, visit www.NewEnterpriseForum.org

Join Our Program Committee*

All are welcome!8 a.m., A2Y Regional Chamber

115 W. Huron, Third Floor, Ann Arbor, MIAddress questions about Program Com-

mittee or becoming a Showcase Presenter to Committee Chair, Helen Ewing, at

programchair@NewEnterpriseForum.org

*Our next Program Committee meeting is Thursday, May 24.

© 2012 New Enterprise Forumwww.NewEnterpriseForum.org

May Program, Cont. from Page 1

Gerry Roston, PresidentPair of Docs Consulting, 734/516-6715, gerry@pairofdocs.net

Diane Durance, Vice PresidentGreat Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest734/255-3183, diane@gleq.org

Helen Ewing, Program Committee ChairThe Ewing Group, 810/360-5153helen@1ewingroup.com

Joan Hutchinson, SecretaryWrite on…, 734/996-0566writeon@iserv.net, writeonA2.com

Chuck Rubin, TreasurerC.H. Rubin & Co. CPA, P.C.734/665-6688, chrubincpa@sbcglobal.net

Steve Field, Membership ChairTrenton Corporation734/424-3634 sfield@trentoncorp.com

Lauren BigelowGrowth Capital Network734/ 678-5161 cell, lauren@growthcap.net

Paul BrownMI Economic Development Corp.517/241-5231, brownp@michigan.org

Jan GensheimerSeracon, Inc.734/944-1065, Seracon@aol.com

Francis GlorieBD Biosciences734/846-0407, francisglorie@yahoo.com

Wayne HarveyU-M Tech Transfer734/ 936-1955 , waharvey@umich.edu

Gary HessenaurHessenaur & Assoc., CPA, PC810/231-2050 or 734/663-9306 gary@hessenaur.com

George C. LevyGDI Infotech, Inc. (retired, but active)734/657-6464, geolevy@gmail.com

Bill MayerAnn Arbor SPARK734/821-0072, Bill@annarborusa.org

Andrew McColmEarly Stage Partners 734-748-7859, amccolm@esplp.com

William McPhersonMcPherson Commercial Capital, LLC734/429-2524, wmcpherson@mcphersoncc.com

Claudia RastButzel Long734/213-3431, rast@butzel.com

Barbara ShoffnerShoffner & Associates734/827-2230, bshoffner@comcast.net

Phil TepleySBTDC734/547-9170, tepleyp@gvsu.edu

Ray WatersDetroit Development Fund313/886-2091rwaters@detroitdevelopmentfund.com

A few reluctant challengers were still avoiding commitment at press time. Stay tuned.

Showcase PresentationsAlso on the Program will be a Take Two presentation from Doug Dormer, President and Co-founder of White Pines LLC, a pri-vately held company based in Ann Arbor, MI that presented in April 2009. Their flagship product, the Secure Personal Information and Notification Network, (SPINNphr), is a low cost, fully configurable, private-labeled, in-teroperable Personal Health Records solution that improves communication among patient, healthcare providers, and the patient’s extended network of official and unofficial care givers. They have made “a great deal of progress” with partnerships and clients, and will have “another major announcement”.

As always, we will have great networking and hors d’oeuvres before and after the program. Please plan to join us on Thursday, May 17!

GLEQ, Cont. from Page 1

participants, breakout sessions, Consul-tants’ Corridor, and $200K in awards for

Spring Competition winners. Wine/cheese mixer and Strolling Dinner. Register at

http://gleq.net/gleq/events.aspx

A2NewTech MeetupTuesday, May 15, 6:30-8 p.m.

Blau Auditorium, UM Ross School of Business, Ann Arbor.

Five presenters, 10-minutes each, then Q&A and networking

http://www.a2newtech.org/events/41372302/

LA2M Sessions Coming UpLunch group meets every Wednesday

11:45 a.m.-1 p.m.Conor O’Neills

318 S. Main St., Ann Arbor. Details at http://www.la2m.org/

May 16: Beth Tanenhaus Winsten of tinyBIGPICTUREshows presents “From

Hollywood to Silicon Valley” May 23: Kentaro Roy of Kentaro Web

Design SEO presents “Using Web Analytics for Smarter Marketing.”

Starting Your Own Business Friday, May 18, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

SPARK East, 215 W. Michigan,YpsilantiGet advice from a variety of business

experts and organizations that are available to support new ventures.

http://www.annarborusa.org/events

Past Presenter NewsMay 2010 - InPore TechnologiesThe Company produces a porous silicate par-ticle – holely sand – whose unique properties offer opportunities across numerous markets. The Company is focused on the use of its mate-rial as a polymer additive in two applications. The first is as a flame retardant (FR) adjuvant. In this market, the addition of a very small amount of our Silapore materials allows for a substantial reduction in the amount of the other FR agents needed. The second is as a property enhancer for fluid separation membranes. In this market, the incorporation of our Mez-zopore materials into membranes significantly reduces the amount of energy needed to push fluid through the membrane. The Company is actively fund-raising to support further scale-up of production and business activities. For more info, visit http://inpore.com

May 2011 - Fusion CoolantThe Company is developing next-generation coolant and lubricating fluids for the machining and forming of metals which increase pro duc-tion rates and extend tool life. They are making good progress toward milestones and won the Frankel Commercialization Fund Competition, making Fusion Coolant eligible for an $85K investment. Their product is now being sold as part of original equipment by two different manufacturers. They have also sold a machine to another OEM for testing of the product by that company and its customers. Learn more at http://fusioncoolant.com/6.html

3 May 2012

Featured Speakers

“20th Century Marketing: Is It Still Relevant?”

Panel:Angela Kujava, Logic Solutions

MaryAnn Labant, Sciences StrategyJeff Stanislow, Motor City Interactive

Moderator: Larry Freed, ForeSee

All panelists agreed the shift is on from print marketing materials to digital and social media, but they stressed the need to plan the shift to match customer preferences, capabilities, and budgets. While much of the “new” marketing utiizes free or inexpensive online ven-ues and services, to be effective the new formats generally require substantially more time and/or personnel resources than the old.

“Jumping in without sufficient planning, then peetering out,” Ku-java said, “reflects poorly on the company.” The new formats rely more on the trust of peers and their recommendations and less on company spin or even industry reputation, so get used to thinking in those terms. Rather than tell, engage -- with solutions, savings, promos, giveaways, coupons, etc.

The purpose of all tricks in any marketing-mix bag, old or new, the panelists agreed, is still lead generation and sales. Tracking numbers for return on market investment (ROIM) is still difficult. With the old methods, sales are often not directly traceable; with the new, numbers can be vacuous or bought. So best rule of thumb: Let the type of company, type of customer, stage of business, and budget determine which new methods and venues are a “best fit” -- and proceed with caution. Things move very quickly in the new marketing environments. Be ready when you jump in!

The New Enterprise Forum reviews business plans to determine the readiness of entrepreneurial ventures for presentation to the group. No independent investigation of claims or representation is made. Applicable securities laws place certain limitations on the manner in which an offer to sell securities may be made and on solicitations and advertisements to sell securities. Failure to comply could result in the loss of the private offering exemption. The New Enterprise Forum can assume no responsibility for the form or content thereof.

LAST MONTH HIGHLIGHTS

Showcase Presentations

U-M student teams from the MI Clean Energy Venture Challenge

and Tech Arb Student Group:

picoSprayJason Shintani, PresenterPicoSpray is a sustainability-oriented start-up founded by U-M Mechanical Engineering student Lihang Nong. The firm is devel-oping a super efficient fuel-injection system for the kinds of small engines that drive motorcycles and lawnmowers. picoSpray’s patent-pending technology drastically reduces the number of engine parts, making it extremely easy to install and dramatically lowering cost. A working prototype is complete, and they are working on proof of concept, initially targeting the motorcycle market. They are seeking funding to add staff, test product, and begin small scale production. picoSpray recently took second place at the Michigan Clean Energy Venture Challenge, taking home $20,000 in cash. For more information, visit http://neweconomyinitiative.cfsem.org/u-m-students-launch-small-engine-efficiency-start-up.

Converge Medical TechnologiesMike Johnson, PresenterConverge is a spin-out of the Medical Innovation Center at the Uni-versity of Michigan. The Company is developing technology for a monitor to track brain function in real-time for anesthesiologists. The device would allow practitioners to evaluate communication between different regions of the brain and thus improve patient care. Six team members, including four co-founders from U-M, are leading the development. A rough prototype is complete; they hope to have a beta version done by this summer, with a final ver-sion by the end of this year. The Company is seeking investment funding for continued development and clinical trials. Converge was recently Runner-up in the Michigan Business Challenge, re-ceiving $10,000 for the Pryor-Hale Award for Best Business. For more information, contact Jennifer Stovall, Education Director, jstovall@med.umich.edu

YouTrivia Shamik Ganguly and Ricardo Rodriguez The Company was founded by two U-M students who are creat-ing an online platform to create fun, interactive presentations that incorporate game elements to improve user immersion and engage the reader. The company website presently features TV, music, sports, and “places” games accessed via Facebook. The new itera-tion will create revenue from subscriptions and memberships. IP is protected and trademarked and the firm has landed its first customer. YouTrivia is presently seeking $100K for the matching requirement for a SPARK micro loan. To see more, visit www.youtrivia.com

April Meeting Sponsor:Stakeholder Member, Bodman

Thank You!

Jeff Stanislow Larry FreedAngela Kujava MaryAnn Labant

NEXT MEETING: Thursday, May 17, 2012

“6th Annual Battle of the Elevator Pitch”

New Enterprise Forum115 W. Huron at Main, 3rd FloorAnn Arbor, MI 48104May 2012

Inside:

• May Program: 6th Annual Battle of the Elevator Pitch • May 2010/2011 Presenter Updates InPore Technologies Fusion Coolant

• GLEQ Events • Get Involved in NEF! Thank You to Our Program Partners...

www.gleq.org www.a2ychamber.org

Take TwoBusiness Update

SPINNDoug Dormer, Presenter

Update on White Pine Systems’ flagship product, SPINNphr, a low cost, fully configurable Personal Health Record

(PHR) solution that improves communication among patients,

healthcare providers, and the patient’s extended network of care givers.

Pitch ChampSkip Simms, Ann Arbor SPARK

Pitch ContestantsTBA

Don’t miss this wacky, wonderful program in which the contestants have just minutes

to create a pitch on an imaginary “busi-ness opportunity” to present to a panel of

investor judges.

Open Forum

Brief turn at the micto introduce your business, marketingstrategy, and present resource needs.

Meeting SponsorStakeholder Member

Butzel Long

Holiday Inn North Campus • 3600 Plymouth Road at US-23 • Ann Arbor, MIRegistration and networking begin at 5:00 p.m., program at 5:45 p.m.

Non-members $20 at the door, students $5

Meetings are videotaped by Vince Chmielewski of VC Web Design (734/217-4530 or vince@vcwebdesign.com)