ANN ARBOR ? When the deadline Dec. 12 passed for business plan executive summaries to be submitted to Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest, the awards contest matched the record entries of last spring, when 174 teams competed.
“We had more alternative energy teams than in the past,” said GLEQ Executive Director Diane Durance. “We also had many more entries from Mid Michigan. I think that?s due to the entrepreneurial activities that have happened through the Mid Michigan Innovation Center and TechWorks at Kettering University in Flint.”
Indeed, Alternative Energy/Efficiency recorded 38 entries, a solid second place. But the top category was IT/Web/Software/Software As A Service at 51. Life Sciences, Medical Devices and Medical Records were third at 27, followed by Business Services and Engineering Manufacturing at 15, Consumer Services, 12, Consumer Products, 10, Business Products, 4, Social Entrepreneurs, 2.
By region of the state, the teams came from:
Ann Arbor/Ypsilanti, 46; Metro Detroit Northern Suburbs, 33, Western Suburbs, 26, Mid Michigan, 26, Lansing, 15, Detroit, 12, Western Michigan, 10, Upper Peninsula, 4, Northern Michigan, 2.
“There’s always a lot of teams coming out of Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti because of all the research done at the University of Michigan,” Durance said. “There are a lot of tech ventures starting in Washtenaw County.”
The winners, which will be determined on Jan. 21 at the ACE Awards in Ann Arbor, will win the following cash prizes:
New Business Idea
First Place, $2000, Second place, $1000, Third place, $500.
Emerging Company
First place, $5000, Second place, $2,500, Third Place, $1,500.
For more information, click on GLEQ.Org
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