Four business from Grand Traverse area and three others from northern Michigan are being honored by the Michigan Association of Small Businesses as the “Michigan 50 Companies to Watch." The honorees announced today include ATLAS Space Operations, Inc. and Chronic Care Management, LLC, both of Traverse City; Mawby Sparkling Wine of Suttons Bay; Arcadia Bluffs Golf Club in Arcadia; Beards Brewery LLC of Petoskey; and Industrial Magnetics, Inc. of Boyne City. They were all among the 2019 50 Companies to Watch. In addition, Inhabitect, LLC of Traverse City was named a Best Small Business honoree by the Michigan Small Business Development Center.
 
Companies nominated for the “Michigan 50 Companies to Watch” list must be second-stage companies, defined as having between six and 99 full-time-equivalent employees and generating $750,000 to $50 million in annual revenue or working capital from investors or grants. In addition, the companies must be privately held and headquartered in Michigan.
 
“We received 575 nominations for the Michigan 50 Companies to Watch award, which surpassed last year’s record of 425 nominations,” says Jennifer Deamud, Associate State Director of the Michigan Small Business Development Center and MCSB Board Chair.The 2019 Michigan 50 Companies to Watch are responsible for $394.7 million in total annual revenue during 2018, a 26.5 percent increase in total revenue compared to 2017. Together they provide 1,710 full-time equivalent employees, 1,589 within the state of Michigan, and are projected to create over 424 new jobs in 2019.