Category Archives: Entrepreneurialism

Mass Transit Momentum, in Livingston, too

By John Bebow | Published: September 26, 2008
Metro Detroit mass transit czar John Hertel has been working for many months on a regional plan to end Southeast Michigan’s dubious distinction as the only major American urban center without a rapid transit system. This week, he unveiled his plan. The push is growing even in the distant exurbs. Consider Livingston County, where cheap gas and [...]
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Flint's Answer to Right to Work

By John Bebow | Published: September 26, 2008
Last week, hours after business leaders declared Right to Work an important reform for Michigan’s future, Democratic and Republican legislators showed up to the Grand Rapids Marriott for a dinner celebrating the West Michigan Regional Policy Conference. Senator Deb Cherry, a Democrat from the Flint suburb of Burton, was among the dinner guests. I impishly [...]
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MI venture capital 'coming to life'

By John Bebow | Published: September 19, 2008
No one knows the ultimate fallout of the tremors on Wall Street this week. But on the eve of the mid-September crisis, venture capitalists from around the nation gathered in Detroit for the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds annual convention. Why Detroit? Because “Detroit is reinventing itself as a technological hub for the 21st [...]
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Michigan venture capital 'coming to life'

By Phil Power | Published: September 17, 2008
Okay, admit it — as the weekend approaches, you can think of more exciting things than reading about yet another conference. Well, so can I. But hang in here with me for a moment, because this one is the real deal, when it comes to Michigan’s future. Last week, Detroit hosted the 15th annual conference of the National Association of [...]
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Michigan's Economy: Inside the Numbers

By John Bebow | Published: August 7, 2008
Michigan joined Delaware and New Hampshire as the only three states to actually have shrinking economies in 2007, according to data from the U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The BEA regularly measures state domestic product — the value of all goods and services produced in each state. Michigan had an economy valued at [...]
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Investing in Michigan

By John Bebow | Published: August 1, 2008
Lost in all the scandal news this week was an important new economic development tool announced by Gov. Jennifer Granholm. The new Invest Michigan program will take $300 million from the pension fund piggybank for state retirees and use it to provide venture capital for small- and medium-sized companies that are growing and expanding in Michigan. It’s [...]
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