Crain's Detroit Business - 2011 Book of Lists - (Page 73)

December 27, 2010 CRAIN’S DETROIT BUSINESS Cobo Center property of the city of Detroit while allowing the city to lease the hall to a regional authority, which would be responsible for the renovation and expansion of the exhibition space. Organizers were considering moving the North American International Auto Show to a different venue after 2010 because of Cobo’s size and deteriorating conditions. shop that sells them. In 2009, City Bird grossed $60,000. Page 73 lead the 2010 Michigan’s Defining Moment public engagement campaign to heighten public awareness of the challenges Michigan faces and tighten the focus of statewide leaders. Short coordinated hundreds of community conversations, helping hosts create community groups across the state. 20 in their 20s In its fifth year, Crain’s 20 in their 20s highlighted the brainpower and entrepreneurial talent of local young professionals. They were honored May 6 at Bookies Bar & Grille in Detroit. Lena Epstein, 28 General manager of marketing, Vesco Oil Corp., Southfield Since she was 16, Lena Epstein has worked at practically every position imaginable at Vesco Oil Corp., the business her grandfather founded in 1947. But it was in 2008 as the newly minted general manager of marketing that Epstein took the Southfield-based company to a new level by creating a brand identity and arming its sales force with talking points. While a poor economy has reduced sales somewhat from $118 million in 2007, Epstein said the company’s revenue would have taken a further hit without her marketing department. Joseph McClure, 29 Co-owner, McClure’s Pickles, Royal Oak Joseph McClure was just 6 years old when he learned the craft of pickling. Some 20 years later, brothers Bob and Joseph recognized a business opportunity, as people kept asking for their family recipe. The company has since been featured on TV shows and written about on websites. Revenue grew from $20,000 in 2007 to more than $300,000 in 2009. Benjamin Bator, 24 Founding partner, Texts From Last Night Inc., Birmingham Most people would find it odd to get text messages from random people all over the world — especially messages about life’s most embarrassing moments. But that’s all in a day’s work for Benjamin Bator, who operates the website TextsFromLastNight.com. The site’s concept is simple: People send him random text messages and he posts them. Launched one year ago, the site now has drawn 40 million unique visitors from 226 countries, along with some major advertisers, such as American Apparel. The company has estimated annual revenue of $1 million. Jake Sigal, 28 Founder and CEO, Myine Electronics LLC, Ferndale Jake Sigal started Myine Electronics LLC because he wanted to make technology his baby boomer parents could use. He developed Livio Radio, which plays Internet radio stations. Sigal has since secured licensing deals with such entities as Pandora Media Inc. and National Public Radio. In its first year of sales, Myine grossed $1.1 million, and Sigal says the company is on track to gross $6 million in 2010. Rebekah Johnson, 24 Public relations coordinator, Michigan Opera Theatre, Detroit To help her peers shed their preconceived notions of who attends events produced by the Michigan Opera Theatre, and to bring them back more often, Public Relations Coordinator Rebekah Johnson came up with a plan. She developed the theater’s Access program to sell reduced-cost single ticketsto those aged 18 to 45. At the post-show cocktail reception, young professionals can mingle with their peers, artists and David DiChiera, founding general manager of the MOT. Brian Mooney, 29 Project manager, estimator and marketing representative, J.C. Beal Construction Inc., Detroit As a project manager with J.C. Beal, Mooney has developed a specialty of bringing new life to old buildings, such as Christ Church-Detroit, the Music Hall Center for the Performing Arts and the Milner Hotel. Mooney led J.C. Beal’s effort to secure $1 million worth of work at the Detroit Zoo and helped to secure $8 million worth of work with the DetroitWindsor Tunnel. David Flynn, 24 Commissioner, District 8, Macomb County Board of Commissioners, Mt. Clemens In November, David Flynn proved he did not peak early in politics be being reelected to the Macomb County Board of Commissioners for his third term. Flynn, 24, wrapped up his second term on the board at year’s end, and also his tenure as chairman of its education and training committee, which played a role in leasing the former Macomb County Library to Wayne State University for the newly opened WSU Macomb Education Center. In 2006, Flynn became the youngest person ever elected to the board, at 20 years old. Christianne Sims, 28 Director of Fusion, the young professionals group of Detroit Regional Chamber, Detroit Three years ago the Detroit Regional Chamber asked Christianne Sims as a staff member to research the potential for a division serving young professionals; when that was done, she launched Fusion with 80 members in 2007. It had 125 by mid2008. It now claims 375 paying members, plus the employees of its 400 corporate members. Jason Kado, 29 Director of development and vice president of operations, Rice Bowl Fresh Asian Kitchen Inc. and Andy’s Convenience Store, Detroit In 2001, Jason Kado and his brother Paul opened the first of the five Andy’s Convenience Store locations that operate in Detroit. The sundry shops that sell snacks, magazines, newspapers and other on-the-go goods generated $1.8 million in revenue in 2009. In 2003, Kado opened the first Rice Bowl Fresh Asian Kitchen, in the lobby of New Center One in Detroit. The business has grown to four locations, generating $2.3 million in revenue in 2009. Sharon Carney, 25 Special project director, Michigan Suburbs Alliance, Ferndale Sharon Carney led an effort in late 2008 to get 25 Southeast Michigan municipal leaders to agree to come together with young professional delegates from their communities to form the Millennial Mayors Congress. The organization’s charge is to find ways to make progress on regional goals. Last July, the congress — which operates as a program of the Michigan Suburbs Alliance and meets several times each year — chose sustainability as its first area of focus. Carney is now helping the communities explore ways to improve sustainability. Rishi Narayan, 28 Co-founder and managing member, Underground Printing, Ann Arbor Underground Printing began to see real growth when the company started targeting student groups on UM’s Ann Arbor campus. It opened its first retail location on South University Avenue in 2006. It now has 12 locations in Big Ten college towns throughout the Midwest. Revenue hit $6.4 million last year. Sean Forbes, 28 Co-founder and chief creative officer, Deaf Professional Arts Network Forbes and Ferndale-based music publisher Joel Martin co-founded the nonprofit Deaf Professional Arts Network in 2007, and since then Forbes has licensed dozens of popular songs and created videos with deaf locals performing and using American Sign Language. In October 2009, Forbes created a new business arm called D-PAN Productions to create ASLcentric entertainment media for outside clients. Current projects include producing an ASL training video for children and making a silent film created by a deaf filmmaker more appealing to a hearing audience. It has also created two scholarship programs for the hearing impaired. Nick Tennant, 24 Founder and president, Med Grow Cannabis College, Southfield In September 2009, Crain’s profiled the launch of Nick Tennant’s Med Grow Cannabis College in Southfield, a school aimed at educating those interested in growing pot under Michigan’s medical marijuana law. Not long after the story appeared, media outlets worldwide featured Tennant and his school. The school started running at capacity with 115 students and 11 employees. He expected to hit at least $500,000 in revenue in 2010. Ben Kazez, 23 Founder and president, Mobiata LLC, Ann Arbor In December 2008, Kazez launched mobile application company Mobiata. In 2009, Kazez quit to concentrate on Mobiata and moved to Ann Arbor to capitalize on the engineering talent at the University of Michigan. Kazez’s first apps, FlightTrack and FlightTrack Pro, which track flights worldwide, generated more than $1 million in revenue in 2009. has since launched apps TripDeck and HotelPal. Brandon Chesnutt, 25 Social media director, Identity Marketing & Public Relations LLC, Bingham Farms When Brandon Chesnutt arrived at Bingham Farms-based Identity Marketing & Public Relations LLC in 2007, Identity had very few social media clients. Now social media is the company’s fastest-growing business line, said Tom Nixon, one of three Identity partners. “We weren’t actively seeking social media as an agency, and I saw handwriting on the wall,” Chesnutt said. Of Identity’s more than 50 clients, six are now exclusively social media clients, with another 12 that are both public relations and social media, Chesnutt said. “Our client roster is growing by leaps and bounds,” he said. Ali Sayed, 29 President, Hype Athletics Community, Dearborn In 2001, Ali Sayed founded Hype Athletics Community to give kids in Dearborn some structured recreational activities. Hype got its nonprofit status in 2007 and has grown sharply. Sayed said revenue was about $500,000 in 2009 and was expected to double in 2010, in part from a $1.8 million grant by Michigan’s Department of Human Services. Peter Van Dyke, 28 Account supervisor, Berg Muirhead and Associates, Detroit Three years ago, Peter Van Dyke launched the company’s internship program and now manages nine interns a year. He’s also focusing on his own career. In the past three and a half years, he’s landed such clients as Studio One Apartments in Detroit, Comerica TasteFest, Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, bringing Berg Muirhead about $100,000 in new business. Andrew Linn, 26 Co-owner, City Bird, Detroit; associate, Zachary and Associates Inc., Detroit By day, Andrew Linn works as an associate at Detroit-based Zachary and Associates Inc. Then there’s his other job: co-owner and cocreator — with sister Emily — of City Bird, the name of both a line of products and the Midtown Shanelle Jackson, 29 Michigan House representative, 9th District In 2009, after just two years in the Michigan House of Representatives, Shanelle Jackson developed and pushed through a bill that kept Nancy Short, 28 Outreach coordinator, The Center for Michigan, Ann Arbor In 2008, Short was hired as an outreach coordinator for The Center for Michigan, a nonpartisan think tank. It was her responsibility to PEOPLE http://www.TextsFromLastNight.com http://www.TextsFromLastNight.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Crain's Detroit Business - 2011 Book of Lists

Crain's Detroit Business - 2011 Book of Lists
The Big Picture
10 things to watch in 2011
10 things to remember about 2010
Private 200
Fastest-growing companies
Public school districts
Top-compensated CEOs
Top-compensated non-CEOs
Metro Detroit employers
Wayne County employers
City of Detroit employers
Livingston County employers
Washtenaw County employers
Macomb County employers
Oakland County employers
Publicly held companies
Hispanic-owned businesses
Native American-owned businesses
Asian-owned companies
Black-owned businesses
Woman-owned businesses
The Motor City
Airlines Serving Detroit Metro
Professional Sports Teams
Auto Suppliers
Auto Dealers
Aftermarket Suppliers
Divisions
Defense Contractors
New Economy/Health Care
Family-owned companies
IP law firms
Group health plans
Hospital companies
Physician organizations
Graduate business degrees
Engineering companies
Environmental companies
IT companies
Biotech companies
People/Awards
Salute to Entrepreneurs
CFO Awards
40 Under 40
Best Lawyers
20 in their 20s
Women to Watch
M&A Awards
Most Connected
Finance
Capital campaigns
Accounting firms
Banks and thrifts
Money managers
Business insurance agencies
SBA Lenders
Real Estate/Services
Office furniture dealers
Nonprofits
Meeting facilities
General contractors
Architects
Property managers
Residential brokers
Staffing companies
Logistics firms
Law firms
Classifieds
Index of Companies

Crain's Detroit Business - 2011 Book of Lists