LEVERAGING SMART MOMENTUM
Our SmartZone has existed 21 years, funded by a TIF tax capture that took years to build. During our first decade, we didn’t have the funding needed for the programming, staff, or services to help the businesses we hoped to start and grow here. The SmartZone designation existed; the capacity to use it did not.

The capacity gap has closed, and the last several years have shown what real momentum looks like. For every dollar of tax capture invested in supporting local high-growth companies, those companies go on to secure many times that amount in outside investment, grants, and follow-on funding. In 2022, $479,000 in tax capture helped our companies secure $4.7 million in additional funding, roughly a 10-to-1 return. By 2026, $857,347 helped leverage $17.5 million, more than 20 times the invested amount. That return is not just about capital: founders get coordinated support across the region, including benefits from a strong partnership with the MSU Research Foundation to the regional programs and funding available through LEAP.

These returns translate into real success. One of our companies went from the lowest-rated pitch in a student competition to securing a patent and landing a deal on Shark Tank. Another followed last year’s MSU Innovation of the Year award with a $1.55 million SBIR to bring its patient safety device closer to market. Momentum like this doesn’t happen by accident. The State of Michigan has funded the SmartZone program for 25 years.

Without renewed legislation, the staff, space, and programming behind everything in this report become far harder to sustain. We’re optimistic about what continued state support could mean, and we intend to keep building on it, because that’s what 21 years of perseverance has taught us to do.

Leaning into the momentum,
Jillian Winn, Director and Abbie Tykocki, Board Chair