ANN ARBOR – Five out of six elevator pitches at the Annual Collaboration For Entrepreneurs on Jan. 22 are participants in the fall cycle of Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest.

Six individuals – Edward Shaffer of Advanced Battery Concepts; Aaron Nelson of Audiallo; Alice Brown of In the Groove; Jake Sigal of Myine Electronics; and Peter Tchoryk of Windsight – all have companies competing for cash prizes in GLEQ. The only elevator pitch contestant not competing in GLEQ is Brian Tell of ShadePlex.

“GLEQ participants are leveraging Thursday’s opportunity to be seen by investors by participating in the ACE Elevator Pitch Competition,” according to Diane Durance, executive director of Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest.

“I’m impressed that five out of the six elevator pitch competitors are also in the running for awards in the GLEQ business plan competition. These entrepreneurs are pulling out the stops to launch successful businesses.”

Many of these companies are also involved with New Enterprise Forum and are clients of MI-SBTDC.

ACE ’09 will include the presentation of the GLEQ Phase I Awards. The top new Emerging Company will receive $5000, and the top New Business Idea will receive $2000.

For the ninth year, entrepreneurs, investors, and support organizations from across the Great Lakes region will gather at a conference designed to showcase innovative technology business ventures where they can network, learn, and connect. ACE will take place Thursday, January 22, at Washtenaw Community College’s Morris Lawrence Building, at 4 p.m. Admission is $9 for pre-registered attendees; registration at the event is $20.

Returning as Emcee will be Chris Holman, Small Business Advocate at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, publisher, and TV & radio host. The ACE program features a Showcase Presentation by Roger Newton, CEO of Esperion Therapeutics.

Attendees will have excellent opportunities to network and learn at ACE. Workshops include Innovation, moderated by Paula Rhodes of Third Eye Innovation; Tapping Michigan Resources, moderated by Sonja Johnson of the Van Andel Global Trade Center; and Attracting CxO-Level Talent, moderated by Jim Adox of Venture Investors.

The exhibit hall will feature displays by entrepreneurial companies and support organizations.

New this year, ACE will feature an intercollegiate pitch competition, in which competitors from university programs will go head-to-head with three-minute elevator pitches.

ACE organizers include New Enterprise Forum, MIT Enterprise Forum of the Great Lakes, Ann Arbor SPARK, Automation Alley, Great Lakes Entrepreneur�??s Quest, Michigan Small Business & Technology Development Center, Regional Growth Partnership and Rocket Ventures of Toledo, the University of Michigan College of Engineering Center for Entrepreneurship, and the University of Michigan Technology Transfer Office.

ACE�’s Lead Sponsor is Butzel Long Attorneys and Counselors. Our Professional Services Sponsor is Hylant Insurance Group, and our Co-Sponsor is the Entrepreneurial Initiative of Southeast Michigan. ACE’s Lead Media Sponsor is the Michigan Business Review. Its podcasting partner is MITEchNews.Com.

For event information and online pre-registration, click on ACE-Event.Org

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