LANSING ? A new interactive marketing group aimed at raising the visibility of the more than 600 life sciences, biotech and pharma companies in Michigan officially launches Tuesday at the MichBio Expo at the Lansing Center.
The privately funded Michigan Life Sciences Network is the brain child of Michael DeBiak, the founder of Nucleus Communications. DeBiak, who also bankrolled the network, is using the MichBio Expo to launch two virtual companies – The Michigan Virtual BioPharma Company, and the Michigan Virtual Medical Device Company.
?Virtual companies are a three step process,? he said. ?First step starts today. Identify companies and organize them. We ask each company to show us where fit by function or by time line on the org chart for product development.
?Then we organize these businesses together and go to step two. What is there expertise to provide that service? Then in step three we go to Japan, China, California and anywhere in Michigan and sell the services for that company.?
The network companies will be created by using the latest Web 2.0 tools called Crowdsourcing. This is a “wiki” project where each member adds their knowledge and understanding of their part for the benefit of the whole. Using the wisdom of the disparate Michigan companies themselves, the process will quickly create unity, new value, and knowledge of each other.
At the exhibit, a very large graphical organization chart will represent each of the two companies. The chart is intended to be very visual and tactile to contribute to the overall understanding of the project. The goal will be to see how quickly all the state’s life science companies can fill in who has each kind of expertise in the blank boxes. Each box is the size of a business card. Attendees at the Expo and afterward on an on-going basis will be invited to add their cards under the function they can provide in making up the whole company.
The Virtual Companies Project is sponsored by the members of the Network themselves and the financial and professional support of Kreis, Enderle, Callander & Hudgins, PC, TCF Bank, Grubb & Ellis|Paramount Commerce, and Comerica Bank.
The network hopes to make money from these sponsorships as well as finder?s fees for cobbling deals together, he said.
?When we make an introduction and the put the deal together, we?ll ask for a commission,? DeBiak said.
DeBiak founded his network in February and has been planning the action item agenda since then. He has opened offices in Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo and TechTown at Wayne State University in Detroit.
For more information, click on MILifeScienceNetwork.Com
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