Illustration by Tabi Walters
The List, a local giveaway and discovery email list, features a different Washtenaw County small business every week, alongside an interview, a giveaway, and a weekend events roundup. Since launching on February 3, 2025, they’ve profiled more than seventy businesses and racked up 332 email subscribers and 1,888 followers across Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. The service is free for featured businesses and subscribers.
“It really is our passion project,” says Ashley Elby, the List’s social media and operations manager and a meteorologist by trade.
The List was conceived by Dr. Nic Mueller of the Bridge Chiropractic—a natural connector, the guy who knows a guy. “I’m in a service-based industry where people always ask me, ‘Do you know where I can send my kid for sports lessons? Or who can do my drywall?’” Meanwhile, he noticed his entrepreneurial patients lamenting, “I can never get the word out to anybody. I have no idea how to market.”
Elby and Mueller teamed up to build the List as a bridge between Washtenaw County residents and business owners.
“A startup with two reviews, hidden in a little corner on a non-main street that you’re not going to walk by—it’s really hard to find them,” shares Elby. But when hundreds of people see a video on the List, a business can use the momentum to increase their social media presence. Curb Crew, a car repair and maintenance service, saw an 18 percent increase in followers on socials and received a few phone calls during the week they were featured.
The List also hosts weekly giveaways provided by the featured business. They’ve given away everything from a one-year gym membership at Just Train in Dexter to a $1,000 service credit at Kind Laser Skin and Wellness on Carpenter Rd. The List subscriber Nadine Maruszczak won a gift certificate to the West End Grille. “We love to go out to dinner but try to be mindful because going often can get expensive,” she tells the Observer via email. “Winning that gift certificate gave us the treat of a night out in downtown, the ability to see the awesome new renovated space at West End and enjoy some awesome food and wine.”
But a good chunk of the List’s audience choose not to sign up for the giveaways at all, and some winners have given their prizes away to others. “It’s so funny to me,” says Mueller. “That’s what I thought would motivate people: free stuff. And really, they just want to discover new businesses in Ann Arbor.”
This article has been edited since it appeared in the October 2026 Observer to include additional information.