On Mar. 1, Michigan State University announced a new partnership with INgage Networks, a world-leading social media company working with organizations, governments, corporations and non-profits to help them utilize social media to enhance their business.

The partnership will allow INgage to establish a base in Michigan and work with in-state businesses that can expand and become successful through use of social media. It will also allow for growth in social media research at MSU, while giving students the opportunity for real-world experiences.

“The partnership with INgage Networks will significantly enhance the great work we already do every day in the social media arena,” says Pamela Whitten, dean of the MSU College of Communication Arts and Sciences. “From research to consulting to teaching, we have a partner committed to working with MSU to cross new frontiers in the online world that are critical to economic and social development.”

The INgage research and development office will be situated in the Communication Arts and Sciences building, with initial plans for creating 24 high-tech jobs. Several shared projects are already in progress to leverage online collaborations throughout the state to create jobs, retain workers and assist Michigan with ‘green’ initiatives.

Source: MSU University Relations

Writer: Suban Nur Cooley

In June 2009, Sarah Haubert started Lansing Companion Animal Services (LCAS), a business offering customizable and affordable professional in-home pet care to pet owners in the region. in 2010 alone, the LCAS client-base has grown 20 percent.

LCAS accommodates and assists with all types of animals—from dogs to chickens to snakes—which Haubert sees as a great convenience for owners of multiple pets, and likely contributes to her business success.

"There is so much added value in choosing a professional service over an individual pet sitter—from training and certification to emergency plans and back-up," says Voss. Also, "everyone agrees that animals are more comfortable in their own home . . . and keeping the animals in their home where they're comfortable and secure minimizes their stress the best way [possible]."

To accommodate the increase in business, Haubert has added a pet sitter position already and expects to add several new pet sitting positions by the summer. "One or two positions might not seem like a lot, but for a relatively new pet sitting service, that kind of growth in the beginning is huge," adds Haubert.

Source: Sarah Haubert, Lansing Companion Animal Services

Writer: Suban Nur Cooley

When Angela Voss started working in an office environment, she was surprised to see the amount of recyclable material being tossed away. Even though they had tried to recycle in the past, no one could keep it going, so Voss took on the added responsibility. Her recycling methods are still in use three years later.

"The more I thought about it, the more I realized that there are probably so many other businesses out there that tried and failed to keep a recycling program going, because of the effort and time it consumes," says Voss. That's why she decided to start Mission Green.

Mission Green offers full-service recycling for small to mid-sized businesses, offices and restaurants. Voss currently has eight customers in Lansing, East Lansing, Okemos and Mason.

"My main goal . . . is to get businesses to recycle and to make them realize how important their impact is on our environment and our economy," says Voss. "The possibilities are endless with Mission Green—we have hundreds of thousands of businesses in our region, and if we could get even half of them to start recycling, I think the results would be astounding."

Source: Angela Voss, Mission Green

Writer: Suban Nur Cooley

Thomas M. Cooley Law School has invested $1.485 million into the City of Lansing and its minor league baseball team, the Lansing Lugnuts. On Feb. 22, president and dean of the Cooley Law School Don LeDuc and Lansing mayor Virg Bernero announced that the Downtown Lansing baseball stadium will officially be named the Cooley Law School Stadium.

“Lansing is where Cooley started and remains its home campus. Cooley and Lansing have a 38-year history of growth together,” says Don LeDuc. “Further associating Cooley, the Lugnuts, and the City of Lansing is to our mutual benefit, as well as of great benefit to our students.”

The Lansing Lugnuts and Cooley Law School signed an 11-year sponsorship agreement, which mirrors the stadium lease between the team and the City of Lansing. The new stadium name agreement allows the baseball club and the city to evenly split the sponsorship support.

“The portion going to the Lugnuts will help them provide one of the best sports and entertainment values in the country through low ticket prices,” LeDuc adds. “The City will benefit from added revenue in a tight financial time for government.”

Source: Don LeDuc, Cooley Law

Writer: Suban Nur Cooley

Dewpoint, Inc., a leading enterprise technology solution provider headquartered in Lansing, has acquired the Indianapolis-based Moongate Technologies.

Dewpoint will benefit from Moongate’s leadership regarding Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), and their focus on Roadmap and Architecture, SOA governance, service development, hosting and implementation services.

The acquisition "enables organic growth for our SOA practice due to Dewpoint's presence throughout the Midwest," says Moongate president Julie Kennedy.

Strong competencies with partners such as Symantec, Microsoft, NetApp, Hitachi Data Systems, Akorri, Oracle, Sun Microsystems and others allow Dewpoint to bring best solution providers to business, education and government organizations. The combined strength of the two leading solution providers will result in one of the largest reseller presences in Indiana, with a deep local resource pool to support customers throughout the state.

“We’re extremely excited to bring Moongate on board with Dewpoint,” says Dewpoint president and CEO Andy Kotarba. “The companies both have a long history in [the Midwest], with complementary talents and technology offerings. Together our experienced team can deliver even more diverse strategic IT solutions to our local community as well as across the Midwest.”

Source: Katie Donovan, Donovan and Smith

Writer: Suban Nur Cooley

Rizzi Designs, a marketing firm in Old Town, has acquired Addis Enterprises, an award-winning web design and video production company. Thanks to the merger, the number of Rizzi Designs' clients has doubled while they've also added new services to its list of in-house offerings.

"Part of becoming successful so quickly is that I had more clients than I could handle alone," explains John Addis of Addis Enterprises. "I began looking to partner with another small business, and when Rochelle gave me the tour of Rizzi's new location, we both realized how mutually beneficial a full merger would be.”

Rizzi purchased Old Town Manor—the newly renovated former School for the Blind—in November last year, moving from 300 square feet to 6,000.

“We never would have imagined that we would assume responsibility for 11 team members, additional infrastructure and over 90 new clients in only three months,” says Rochelle Rizzi, president and CEO of Rizzi Design.

“We are absolutely thrilled to be able to offer award-winning web design in-house and be able to offer personal attention and added strategic marketing services to the incoming clients from Addis Enterprises."

Source: Rochelle Rizzi, Rizzi Designs

Writer: Suban Nur Cooley

Michigan State University is one of five universities nationwide to be awarded a $25 million grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to establish a center, bringing together scientists from across the nation to study evolution in action in both natural and virtual settings.

The center, officially titled “BEACON, an NSF Science and Technology Center for the Study of Evolution in Action,” will serve as a resource for multidisciplinary academics and industry. It will unite biologists who study natural evolutionary processes with computer scientists and engineers who are harnessing these processes to solve real-world problems, ranging from the development of safer, more efficient cars to systems that detect computer intrusions.

"It is a great honor to be selected as one of five to be funded, out of hundreds of universities submitting pre-proposals," says Erik Goodman, MSU professor of electrical and computer engineering and director of the center.

"MSU's biologists, computer scientists and engineers have a long history of strong collaboration in study of evolution—in nature and in the computer—and of applying evolutionary principles to solve problems for industry. It is the strength of these researchers at MSU that made [the university] a strong candidate for a new NSF Science and Technology Center."

Source: Erik Goodman, Michigan State University

Writer: Suban Nur Cooley

A small business incubator, The Center for New Enterprise Opportunity (NEO), has formed in Lansing in response to a growing need in the region for a space that supports and enables the growth of a small business ecology.

"We're not just another office park," says Tom Stewart, President of NEO Center. "We're creating an environment that puts local innovators face to face with each other, encourages them to cultivate dynamic relationships, [while providing] services that help them bring their ideas to life."

The mission of NEO Center is to foster creativity and entrepreneurship by offering an environment that develops relationships while providing support services for growing ventures to expand into the Lansing community. The center hopes to attract entrepreneurs and small businesses with a focus on marketing and media technology or the creative arts.

"Ultimately, we think NEO Center will help draw the "underground" innovators out of their garages and basements and into a space that gets them interacting, bouncing ideas off each other, and creating solutions to the systemic problems that face our city and state," adds Stewart.

NEO Center is currently looking for entrepreneurs and small businesses to fill their future centers, and is exploring spaces for their coming sites.

Source:  Tom Stewart, NEO Center

Writer: Suban Nur Cooley