The Fraunhofer Center

In my last post, I mentioned that Michigan has some very unique organizations offering amazing resources to help with your business development, and that I will be highlighting some of these groups and resources in this blog.  To give you a sense of the breadth of some of the business support organizations in Michigan, I would like to direct you to an interesting group that a member of our team, Bonnie Fahoome, pointed out to me last week - the Fraunhofer Center for Coatings and Laser Applications.

The Fraunhofer Center is a non-profit group that has a close partnership with Michigan State University.  They offer resources like Laser Processing Services, Coating Services, and Characterization and Testing Facilities - in addition to many others.  They describe themselves as "...a non-profit organization providing research services to our customers who include federal and state governments, multinational corporations, and small to medium-size companies. The overall aim of the entire Fraunhofer organization is to bridge the gap between research and industry by providing top notch applied research services..."

Who needs any of these things?  Having never worked directly with lasers or coatings and not yet doing the appropriate research, I currently have no idea - but if you're looking for any of these types of specialized services, they look to be a great place to turn for assistance.

To learn more about the Fraunhofer Center, visit:  http://www.ccl.fraunhofer.org/e_welcome.php
To find other interesting business support organizations, visit:  http://insyght.co

Resources in Michigan

MORE – Matching Opportunities and Resources for Entrepreneurs

There are more resources that exist in the state of Michigan to support the development and growth of your business than you can possibly realize.  Furthermore, tens of thousands of these resources are free, heavily discounted, or are offered by not-for-profit organizations.  When I mention the word “resources”, I include many of the things that you might immediately think about, including mentors, coaches, lab equipment, office or conference space, business planning assistance, and certain funding opportunities.  Furthermore, there are many great support programs that are available throughout the state that are far less obvious.  For example, if you have a concept drawing for a new product, there are not-for-profit groups in the state that will assist you with turning your concept into a fully realized, functional prototype.  There are other resource providers that will design and assist you with implementing your website at no cost if you don’t have the necessary expertise to do this yourself.  This is a tiny sampling of the types of great resources available as you create and grow your business.

These are programs that have been created and funded by organizations in Michigan that have a focus on business development.  Why?  In most instances, these resource-providing organizations want to create an ecosystem that promotes innovation, entrepreneurship, and business development.  They know that an innovative atmosphere benefits the long term health of Michigan through making the state an attractive place to live.

The MORE Program is a non-profit organization that has developed a web platform, called InsYght (http://insyght.co) to connect entrepreneurs to the best resource providers and resources for their immediate needs.  MORE has created innovative software and processes to inventory statewide business support resources and then match entrepreneurs and innovators (you) to the right resource providers and corresponding resources for them (you).

In this space, I will be highlighting some of the interesting, unique, and exciting resources that The MORE Program team has identified.  I will also be keeping you up to date on advancements and new features of InsYght, as well as drawing your attention to many of the exciting new ongoing endeavors in Michigan to support economic gardening.