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Ann Arbor's University of Michigan has a reputation for turning out students who go on to excel in their fields, from the arts to library science. Most recently, U-M has been in the spotlight for turning out entrepreneurs in high-tech fields, sometimes before the students have even obtained their undergraduate degrees.One example is the startup Mobil33t, a company run by U-M students and graduates of the college, who are making mobile phone applications for Apple’s iPhone. Their most famous application is DoGood, an application that sends reminders to users to do a good deed each day.

Another startup run by U-M students is MyBandStock.com. This Web site turns fans of musicians into an army of marketers. Through the site, fans can buy “stock” in a band or musician. This “stock” doesn’t actually return monetary value to fans, but fans can gain access to special message boards, private online conversations with their favorite musicians and perks such as free concert tickets.

Part of the reason the University of Michigan may be such a hotbed for startups is that it is highly supportive of entrepreneurship in general. The university boasts both a Tech Transfer program and a Center for Entrepreneurship within the Engineering College. The Tech Transfer program helps students develop business plans and evaluate the market and their chances of success, while the aim of The Center for Entrepreneurship is to cultivate talents and skills that support entrepreneurial enterprises.

Thomas Zurbuchen, the director of the Center for Entrepreneurship, is quoted on the center's Web site as saying, “Our standard of living, our tools to solve problems in the future, and our ability to lead the world through innovations and technologies l