Michigan is emerging as a launch pad for a new kind of social innovation, with entrepreneurs seeking to build sustainable organizations that improve our communities statewide! Are you one of these social entrepreneurs? If so, you won't want to miss out on this opportunity.

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Corps and Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest are teaming up to launch a new effort to support and advance social entrepreneurship in Michigan! Be sure to sign up to learn more!

http://www.MichiganCorps.org/TheChallenge

SmartZone Award Category submissions must be made by Monday, May 6, 5 p.m.

All other award category submissions must be made by Monday, May 20, 5 p.m.

Each category of participant will need to submit the following deliverables:
• New Business Idea - Five-page Executive Summaries
• Emerging Company - 12 page Business Plans
• Vision to Action Challenge - 3 minute video and either a Business Model Canvas or Vision/Traction Organizer
• Pure Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge - Concept Summary and either an executive summary or business plan as specified in New Business Idea or Emerging Company
• SmartZone - http://bit.ly/9UfFz8

Awards will be presented at Entrepreneur Connect, Tuesday, June 18, 2013 at the Henry Executive Center in Lansing.

The Fall 2012 GLEQ Business Plan Award Winners were announced at ACE'13 on January 31st:

Spirit of Entrepreneurship - Barry Paxton, Pharma Form Solutions

Coach Recognition Award - John Balbach, Tech Team Consultant for MI-SBTDC

Emerging Company
First Place - Monarch Antenna, Inc.
Second Place - Blue Water Bioproducts
Third Place - Exo Dynamics

New Business Idea
First Place - AdAdapted
Second Place - Beet Analytics
Third Place - Kymeira Advanced Materials

Vision to Action Challenge
- Barry Paxton, Pharma Form Solutions
- Joyce Kortman, ITB Packaging
- Tom Golibart, DrainFixt, LLC
- Jeff Eusebio, FamilyMint
- Cheryl Peters, Generation E Institute
- Ruth Ann Church, Artison Coffee
- Marty Sovis, Sovilok Manufacturing
- Carolyn Yarina, CentriCycle
- Susan Burke, Social2Step
- Brad Alan, Switcheels

GLEQ will be giving out the next $100,000 SmartZone Award in the Spring 2013 cycle of the GLEQ Business Plan Competition. The award will be presented on June 18, 2013. There are extra steps and there are other qualifications to join the SmartZone Competition.

Please click here to find out more

Registration ended April 10 for the Spring 2013 GLEQ Business Plan Competition and Pure Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge.

Now the hard work begins as more than 390 Michigan-based entrepreneurs work to complete their documents for the May deadlines.

The competition awards will be announced on Tuesday, June 18 during Entrepreneur Connect 2013 - a day-long event celebrating entrepreneurship in Michigan.

Join us when the winners are announced that evening at the GLEQ Awards Banquet. The awards program begins at 5 p.m. with a networking reception in the Atrium of the James B. Henry Center on the MSU campus in Lansing.

GLEQ entrepreneurs are going strong. Here are a few exciting updates from across the state. Tell us your good news – and we’ll spread the word.

AdAdapted, Ornicept, ENT Biotech Solutions get Pre-Seed money. The Michigan Microloan Fund Program has awarded 9 companies with funding to support commercialization of their core producs and 3 of them were GLEQ alum!
http://detroit.cbslocal.com/2013/04/15/nine-companies-receive-michigan-microloan-fund-program-awards/

GreenLancer Energy Inc. secures over $250K in funding. GreenLancer has secured $277,500 in grants and angels to grow their business. Nice.
http://bit.ly/176JUXP

Ornicept and SkySpecs win in Chicago. A surprizing showing for Michigan companies at the Clean Energy Challenge in Chicago earlier this month. Go team!
http://bit.ly/XJnYiI

NutriInfo adds two new experts to their team.
Mark Reynolds (sales) and Dave Morin (COO) join the team for to take the company up yet another notch.
http://bit.ly/XJoltR

Tangent Medical named Most Innovative Company. This GLEQ alum named the Most Innovative Company at the 2013 Business Excellence Awards by ActionCOACH, a business coaching firm sponsoring the award event.
http://bit.ly/XJr9Hm

GLEQ and Michigan Corps have teamed up with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to bring the first ever state-wide Social Entrepreneurship business competition to the United States. The Pure Michigan Social Entrepreneurship Challenge will recognize just a few of the hundreds of entries on June 18 at Entrepreneur Connect. Are you one of our candidates? Take a look and see if all of the following criteria apply to you:

• Is the leader of your organization a tenacious leader with a
pragmatic vision?
• Does the solution address a clear social problem?
• Does the solution change systems, not just symptoms of the
problem?
• Does the model prioritize social impact over financial gain?
• Does the business model generate a sustainable funding
stream?

To listen to a recording of a webinar that will sketch out the above criteria, go to https://medc.adobeconnect.com/_a1051360766/p63gdyj7zq5/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal