Ann Arbor Spark

ANN ARBOR SPARK ADVANCES THE REGION BY ENCOURAGING AND SUPPORTING BUSINESS ACCELERATION, ATTRACTION, EXPANSION AND RETENTION. OUR ORGANIZATION IDENTIFIES AND MEETS THE NEEDS OF COMPANIES AT EVERY STAGE, FROM START-UPS TO LARGE ORGANIZATIONS. ANN ARBOR SPARK COLLABORATES WITH BUSINESS, ACADEMIC, GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY INVESTMENT PARTNERS TO POSITION THE REGION AS A DESTINATION FOR INNOVATION.

BUSINESS INCUBATOR/ACCELERATOR SERVICES SPARK CREATES LONG TERM REGIONAL PROSPERITY BY ACCELERATING THE GROWTH OF START-UPS AND EARLY-STAGE COMPANIES THROUGH SUPPORT BY OFFERING DIRECT AND CONSULTANT SERVICES. SPARK CREATES A PLACE WHERE EARLY-STAGE COMPANIES CAN CONDUCT BUSINESS AT AFFORDABLE RATES AND CAN CO-LOCATE WITH OTHER ENTREPRENEURS AND IN THE ECO-SYSTEM. SPARK OFFERS THOSE COMPANIES EDUCATIONAL AND NETWORKING EVENTS IN THE INCUBATOR SPACE. WE CREATE AN ECOSYSTEM WHEREBY START-UPS CAN CONNECT EASILY WITH RESOURCES THEY NEED AT EARLY STAGES, THUS ATTRACTING START-UPS TO THIS REGION. THIS SUPPORTS GROWTH IN THE COMPANIES THEMSELVES, THE DIRECT SUPPORT SERVICES, AND IN THE REGION'S ECONOMY AS A WHOLE CREATING A VIRTUOUS CYCLE OF ECONOMIC GROWTH. ASSISTED 317 INNOVATION START-UPS WHICH CURRENTLY EMPLOY 887 FTE. NURTURED 119 INCUBATOR TENANTS.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (EXPANSION, ATTRACTION, RETENTION) SPARK MAXIMIZES POTENTIAL JOBS AND CAPITAL INVESTMENT IN THE REGION AND HELPS GROW THE REGION'S GDP THROUGH THE RETENTION AND EXPANSION OF ESTABLISHED DRIVING INDUSTRY COMPANIES AND THE TARGETED ATTRACTION DOMESTICALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY OF SIMILAR COMPANIES THAT FIT THE REGION'S IDENTIFIED CLUSTERS. THIS IS DONE BY REGULAR COMMUNICATION WITH LOCAL BUSINESS TO DETERMINE THEIR NEEDS, MAKING KEY BUSINESS INTRODUCTIONS, ASSISTING WITH SITE SELECTION, COLLABORATION WITH LOCAL MUNICIPALITIES, AND ASSISTING COMPANIES IN WORKING WITH LOCAL ACADEMIC PARTNERS TO COMMUNICATE TALENT NEEDS.20 COMPANY GROWTH PROJECTS WITH PROJECTED INVESTMENT OF 51.9M, 965 JOBS PROJECTED BY THE COMPANIES, AND 847 JOBS RETAINED IN THE REGION.

MI STEM FORWARD: IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE MICHIGAN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION, SPARK WORKS TO PROMOTE STEM TALENT RETENTION IN THE STATE BY RUNNING AN INTERNSHIP MATCHING PROGRAM. THE PROGRAM RECRUITS TALENTED COLLEGE STUDENTS TO POPULATE A TALENT DATABASE, GATHERS IMPACTFUL INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FROM INNOVATIVE COMPANIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE, AND THEN COVERS THE ADMINISTRATIVE BURDENS AND 50% OF THE COST OF THE RESULTING PLACEMENTS. IN THE 15 MONTHS SINCE THE PROGRAM WAS FOUNDED, SPARK HAS RECRUITED OVER 2,000 STUDENTS AS WELL AS MORE THAN 350 COMPANIES. THESE COMPANIES HAVE POSTED OVER 500 UNIQUE JOB DESCRIPTIONS. TO DATE, MI STEM FORWARD HAS PLACED 434 INTERNS AT 163 DIFFERENT COMPANIES ACROSS MICHIGAN.

COMMUNICATION AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT: SPARK USES ITS ESTABLISHED PLATFORM OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS, WEBSITE TRAFFIC AND BRAND AWARENESS TO EXPAND LOCAL, REGIONAL, STATE-WIDE, NATIONAL, AND GLOBAL AWARENESS OF THE ANN ARBOR REGION'S ATTRACTIVENESS FOR BUSINESS LOCATION, AND CAREER AND LIFE OPPORTUNITIES. SPARK ALSO PROMOTES COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT MARKET THE REGION AS A GREAT PLACE TO START A BUSINESS AND/OR WORK FOR A START-UP. OUR WEEKLONG SERIES OF EVENTS, A2TECH360, HAD 24 TOTAL EVENTS AND OVER 4,910 REGISTERED ATTENDEES, 2,400,000 SOCIAL MEDIA VIEWS AND 119,000 WEB PAGE VIEWS. CAPITAL FUNDING: MICHIGAN ANGEL FUND & SPARK.CAPITAL (FORMERLY MICHIGAN PRE-SEED FUND). THE MISSION OF OUR FUNDING PROGRAMS IS TO SUPPORT HIGH-TECH COMPANIES THROUGHOUT THE STATE AT THEIR EARLIEST STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT AND POSITION THESE HIGH GROWTH COMPANIES TO BE ABLE TO RAISE ADDITIONAL CAPITAL AND INVESTMENT. THE CAPITAL PROGRAMS ARE AN INTENTIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TOOL THAT PAYS ITSELF BACK, ALLOWING THE FUNDS TO BE REDEPLOYED FOR FUTURE REINVESTMENT INTO MORE COMPANIES. WITH 155 MEMBERS THE MICHIGAN ANGEL FUND (MAF) IS THE LARGEST ANGEL ORGANIZATION IN MICHIGAN. THE GROUP HAS 37 COMPANIES, FILLING AN IMPORTANT FUNDING GAP BY INVESTING IN VERY EARLY-STAGE COMPANIES ACROSS THE STATE THAT ARE NOT YET PRIMED FOR VENTURE AND OTHER SOURCES OF CAPITAL. MAF IS MANAGED BY ANN ARBOR SPARK. SPARK.CAPITAL FUND IS DESIGNED TO RETAIN ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPANIES. THERE ARE HIGH-RISK INVESTMENTS WITH A FORECAST OF ABOUT 65% PROJECTED TO REACH THE NEXT LEVEL OF FUNDING. SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT: SPARK QUICKLY EXPANDED ITS TRADITIONAL FOCUS OF HELPING BUILD NEW BUSINESS AND SERVING ESTABLISHED ONES TO ALSO BECOME THE HUB FOR MULTIPLE RESOURCES THAT KEPT EVERY ELEMENT OF OUR LOCAL ECONOMY MOVING FORWARD. THOSE RESOURCES INCLUDED PUBLIC FUNDING THAT SPARK WORKED TO SECURE FOR OUR REGION, AS WELL AS PRIVATE FUNDING SOURCES THAT LOOKED TO SPARK TO ENSURE IT WAS THOUGHTFULLY DISTRIBUTED TO DO THE MOST GOOD. SPARK CREATED THE PROCESSES AND MARSHALLED THE KNOWLEDGE NEEDED TO PROVIDE CRITICALLY NEEDED FUNDING TO THE RESTAURANTS, CHILDCARE PROVIDERS, RETAILERS AND SO MANY OTHERS CRITICAL TO THE FABRIC OF OUR COMMUNITY. "FEDERAL, STATE, AND LOCAL DOLLARS WERE MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH VARIOUS GRANT OPPORTUNITIES, AND SPARK DEVELOPED NEW SYSTEMS TO RAPIDLY DISPERSE THOSE FUNDS. "SPARK PROACTIVELY ENGAGED PARTNERS TO ADDRESS BUSINESS OWNERS' QUESTIONS RELATIVE TO NAVIGATING THE CHALLENGES PRESENTED BY COVID. SURVIVAL GRANTS (FROM THE STATE): 274 COMPANIES WERE AWARDED 2,436,000 DURING THE YEAR.