Message Blocks Awarded Best of Ann Arbor SPARK Boot Camp

ANN ARBOR, Mich., June 3, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Message Blocks was awarded Best of Boot Camp at the conclusion of Ann Arbor SPARK's 22^nd Entrepreneurial Boot Camp.  Message Blocks was chosen as winner by a panel of investors who rated Boot Camp participants' pitches.  As Best of Boot Camp winner, Message Blocks received membership to the New Enterprise Forum (NEF) and a NEF coaching team for one year as well as an engagement with the Ann Arbor SPARK business accelerator.

Message Blocks provides a platform for meeting planners to manage all the details of the event in one simple, easy to use place.  It provides professional planners with a comprehensive end-to-end solution to streamlineworkflow and team coordination.

"Through the Boot Camp process, we learned that customer discovery never ends, that we need to truly understand our customers pains and that there is an incredible support network available to start-ups through Ann Arbor SPARK and its partners," said Message Blocks founder Len Gauger.  "With the information we learned during the Boot Camp process, our team made key pivots, conducted game changing discovery and have positioned our company to truly engage with professional planners at greater level.  We feel confident and prepared for the road ahead."

Ann Arbor SPARK's Entrepreneurial Boot Camp process quickly and effectively validates and focuses an entrepreneur's business idea. Compared to other entrepreneur education programs that focus on teaching how to write a business plan, Boot Camp gives business founders the tools to decide if their idea is worth planning on.

Ten teams and 40 volunteers participated in Ann Arbor SPARK's Entrepreneurial Boot Camp.  A bi-annual program, Boot Camp has assisted more than 290 companies since 2002.    

Ann Arbor SPARK will host its next Entrepreneurial Boot Camp October 16-17, 2013.

About Ann Arbor SPARK
Ann Arbor SPARK, a non-profit organization, is advancing the region by encouraging and supporting business acceleration, attraction and retention. The organization identifies and meets the needs of business at every stage, from start-ups to large organizations. Ann Arbor SPARK collaborates with business, academic, government, and community investor partners including the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Washtenaw Community College, Washtenaw County, Livingston County, Washtenaw County etcs/Michigan Works!, the City of Ann Arbor, Bank of Ann Arbor and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. For more information, please call (734) 761-9317 or visit www.AnnArborUSA.org.

SOURCE Ann Arbor SPARK