ANN ARBOR ? The New Enterprise Forum is celebrating its tenth anniversary in July during its unusual entrepreneurs month, featuring business success stories hinging on a wacky product or service idea, lucky timing in a market segment, or a chance encounter that become the big break.

To celebrate the decade mark, this year NEF will look back at some of its favorite companies that presented previously and see how they are doing today. Come join NEF on July 25 to hear how “outside the box” ideas can become successful business opportunities.

Panelists:

Tanya Allen, Forever Fresh Disposable Undergarments

Tanya saw a need and created a solution: disposable underwear in bikini and brief styles, initially for women, but evolving into other applications — for travelers, minor incontinence, post-surgery, and during disaster relief. Today, ForeverFresh is sold at participating MI Walgreens stores and on Amazon.com.

Howdy Holmes, Chelsea Milling/Jiffy Mix

After successfully competing in the world of motor sports for 20 years, Howdy returned to the family business, Chelsea Milling, in November of 1987 and led the company in a transformation: from a then-100-year-old (and slightly behind the times) family operation into a professionally managed firm with a strategic vision for the future. Today, Jiffy Mix is the market-share leader in retail prepared baking mixes.

Brad Morgan, Morgan Composting/Dairy Doo

Morgan Composting is a family business founded in 1996 by Brad and his father Dale on their farm in Sears, MI. The Morgans began composting as a solution to the manure produced in their 200-head dairy operation. Today, the composting operation offers a line of potting soils, and biological soil amendments that are shipped directly to farms and to 60 different retail locations across the state.

Moderator:

Jesse Bernstein, Serial Entrepreneur

Jesse is former President/CEO of the Ann Arbor Area Chamber of Commerce (2006-2009) and AATA board member and chair (2008-2013). Previously, he was President of Strategic Performance Planners, LLC, a human resource management and performance strategies firm, and worked with Capacity Building Consultants advising non-profits on staff and volunteer issues.

Showcase Presentation:

Ornicept, Justin Otani, CEO

Ornicept provides an SaaS natural resource data management product, GeoTraverse?, that reduces cost and improves efficiency in the design and management of field studies; data collection in the field; storage in the cloud; and generation of data-driven analytic reports via a web-interface. Ornicept has been a prizewinner in both the Accelerate Michigan and Great Lakes Entrepreneur Quest business plan competitions.

Where: Holiday Inn North Campus,

3600 Plymouth Road at US-23, Ann Arbor, MI

When: Thursday, July 25, 2013

(One week later than usual due to Ann Arbor Art Fairs)

Registration and networking 5:00 p.m., program begins at 5:45

Cost: Free to NEF members, $20 for non-members, $5 for students.

For more information, click on NewEnterpriseForum.Org