Date: Nov 07, 2014 Source: bizjournal (
click here to go to the source)
SkySpecs LLC, an Ann Arbor-based maker of drone aircraft to inspect bridges, wind turbines, buildings and other infrastructure, won the grand prize of $500,000 Thursday night at the fifth annual Accelerate Michigan Innovation event at Orchestra Hall in Detroit.
It was the third year the company has competed at the three-day event.
Launched in 2012 by a team of engineering students at the University of Michigan, SkySpecs finished third in the student category that year and was a semifinalist last year before being named one of the 10 finalists this year.
Finalists made five-minute presentations to a panel of four judges that decided the big payoff Thursday night.
Seconds after being handed a big cardboard check by Dave Egner, executive director of the New Economy Initiative, SkySpecs CEO Daniel Ellis was on his phone. "We just took first place! Honest to God! I swear to God! I'll take a picture of the check and send it to you," he exclaimed.
Ellis was a member of the 2014 class of Crain's 20 in their 20s. "This will really help us to catapult the company," he said Thursday night.
Now all he and other drone-makers need is the long-anticipated approval by the Federal Aviation Administration for commercial drones to take to the air.
Ann Arbor-based Cribspot.com, a startup that helps college students find places to live while helping mom-and-pop owners manage their rental properties, won $100,000 as runner-up, capping an eventful fall. In September, Cribspot, which was incubated by Bizdom in downtown Detroit, closed on a seed funding round of $660,000, led by Ann Arbor-based Huron River Ventures and joined by the Detroit-based First Step Fund.
The other finalists were:
Akervall Technologies Inc. of Saline, a maker of lighter, more protective mouth guards for athletes;
Ann Arbor-based AMF-Nano Corp., which makes sensors to monitor conditions for crops and farm animals in real time;
Ann Arbor-based FreeStride Therapeutics Inc., which makes drugs to alleviate joint paint and symptoms of arthritis in horses, cats and dogs
Levanto Financial Inc. of Troy, which bills itself as a cloud-based CFO for households with incomes of $150,000 a year;
Ann Arbor-based Movellus Circuits Inc., which makes less expensive, more efficient circuits to serve as internal clocks for electronic devices;
Ann Arbor-based Ornicept Inc., which provides cloud-based data collection and management for inspectors in the field;
SurClean Inc. of Wixom, which provides laser-based removal of surface coatings and dirt from such things as aircraft, bridges and water towers;
TurtleCell LLC, an Ann Arbor-based maker of smartphone cases with retractable ear buds.
Following are the other prize winners. Because awards were given out in various sectors, companies were able to win money even though they had not been selected among the 10 finalists:
The Next Energy Alternative Energy Prize: Solartonic LLC of Ann Arbor, a maker of off-grid lighting systems -- $25,000
Information technology: Ornicept -- $25,000
Advanced materials: Akervall -- $25,000
Products and services: SurClean -- $25,000
Life sciences: FreeStride -- $25,000
Medical devices: Ann Arbor-based AlertWatch LLC, which makes real-time patient-monitoring tools for hospitals -- $25,000
Advanced transportation: Inventev, which provides mobile power generation for truck fleets to runs tools and accessories at job sites -- $25,000
Advanced manufacturing: BEET Analytics Technology of Ann Arbor, which makes software to reduce factory down time and improve maintenance scheduling -- $25,000
Peoples choice award, based on a vote of the audience for the second straight year: TurtleCell -- $10,000
Among the 29 entries in the student category:
EV Airway Innovations, a maker of devices to help keep breathing tubes in place and affiliated with Grand Valley State University, won $7,000 as the best entry.
HeelSecret, a maker of mini-insoles to keep heels from slipping in shoes and affiliated with the University of Michigan, won $5,000 as runner-up.
Mach Hockey, a maker of protective goalie gear affiliated with Michigan State University, was third and won $3,000.
