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Spellbound Founder and CEO Christina York says, "You are never done working on your pitch." York was a Showcase Presenter at the May 2017 New Enterprise Forum and has been pitching practically every day since then.

In a video recently distributed by the Michigan Economic Development Council, the NEF alum shares this takeaway and other advice for startup entrepreneurs. York's other tips address maximizing the use of local and state resources in the early stages of company growth, and avoiding pitfalls related to company culture. For more tips, read the article on the MEDC website.   https://www.michiganbusiness.org/news/2019/05/three-takeaways-what-every...

Spellbound is pioneering a new patient experience that improves patient understanding, cooperation, and satisfaction using augmented reality technology in pediatric care. Spellbound is now used by child life specialists, rehabilitation engineers and nurses across the United States and around the world in countries like Kenya and Japan. More information about Spellbound's solutions and its traction with customers can be found at https://spellboundar.com/

A communal breakfast of waffles and bacon to kickoff casual Friday is just one of the many pluses of the new co-working space where April Davis now operates her Breakout Marketing Group, a consulting firm she founded 20 years ago. April enjoys the opportunities to chat with other professionals in the office while she works hard on developing her own marketing services business, focused on optimizing social media and customer engagement. Recently she treated a visitor to a fine cup of cold brew coffee while seated at her desk overlooking the Briarwood neighborhood in Ann Arbor.

April caught the entrepreneurial bug early in her life and started multiple enterprises in her home town of Buffalo, NY. She moved to Michigan in 2000 and since then has earned degrees in business and marketing from Washtenaw Community College and Eastern Michigan University. April works with companies in a range of industries but is particularly focused on mobility ventures in the automotive space. She hopes to expand her business into global markets over the next few years and is developing contacts in China and Brazil as well as Canada and England.

April joined the Board of the New Enterprise Forum at the beginning of 2019 and has quickly taken on an active role in the organization. She is currently the impresario for the NEF’s Pitch Pit competitions, recruiting budding entrepreneurs and experienced judges for these events that NEF presents every other month. April is also using her marketing skills to help expand NEF’s social media presence. April sees her volunteering with NEF as one important part of her broader effort to “invest in relationships” and “be a part of the ecosystem”, planting seeds that will blossom in the future.

In addition to all her professional activities, April makes time for nature walks and enjoys baking and wine tasting. If you are lucky you might even find one of her Aunt Hazel lemon pudding cakes at a local restaurant.

Alchemie, a Michigan-based educational technology startup, has won another round of funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to develop 3D and augmented reality (AR) learning tools for teaching general chemistry. Alchemie CEO Julia Winter was a showcase presenter at the New Enterpise Forum in May 2016. Recently Alchemie has been testing an AR tool called ModelAR at the University of Michigan, the University of Minnesota, Georgia Tech, and the University of Washington in preparation for an April launch. In addition to NSF support, Alchemie has raised a total of $770,000 from angel and venture funds, including Invest Michigan, Belle Impact Fund, and BlueWater Angels. https://xconomy.com/detroit-ann-arbor/2019/03/14/alchemie-snags-nsf-gran...

Coffee is important and David Whitinger likes to brag that Office Evolution has some of the best in town. As co-owner of the new office space for entrepreneurs that opened in Ann Arbor in late 2018, David is eager to show off the attractively furnished facility and offered a welcome cup of coffee to a visitor who stepped in from the frozen February air. Like other franchise locations around the country, the Office Evolution space on Eisenhower Parkway combines several private offices with shared areas such as conference rooms, reception desk, and kitchen.

David joined the New Enterprise Forum as a stakeholder in 2018 while he was launching his new business. At NEF events he found the other members were accomplished and successful in their fields but were at the same time very approachable and friendly. And David appreciates the great networking opportunities that NEF membership provides. “I have a number of specific examples where people I met through NEF connections developed into clients for our business,” David explained in a recent conversation.

David has lived and worked in Michigan for over thirty years, marketing chemical adhesives in the automotive industry. He resides with his wife Carol in Dexter, near Big Portage Lake where he enjoys taking out his pontoon boat during the summer months. Carol is a Laboratory Manager at the University of Michigan as well as co-owner of Office Evolution. David and Carol are both looking forward to attending the next Forum meeting. In David’s opinion, “The topics are fascinating and interesting to talk about afterwards.”