Startup Story Night. Photo by Stephen Koss.
Detroit Dough. Photo by Stephen Koss.
Clement Brown, Jr., Owner, Three Thirteen. Photo by Stephen Koss.
Mark Kiel, Co-Founder & CSO, Genomenon. Photo by Stephen Koss.
Charese L. Howard, Owner, Amazing Kinkz, LLC. Photo by Stephen Koss.
ONEFREQ. Photo by Stephen Koss.
L to R: Mark Kiel, Charese L. Howard, Clement Brown, Jr., Autumn Kyles, Victoria Washington and Daniel A. Washington, Photo by Stephen Koss.
Shannon Cason with ONEFREQ. Photo by Stephen Koss.
With the neo-soul stylings of Detroit's
ONEFREQ setting a loose and freewheeling vibe, a packed house at Marble Bar was regaled with four tales of entrepreneurial woe and resilience on March 27, 2019.
It was all part of "Don't Call It a Comeback". The night marked Model D's third annual
Startup Story Night held in partnership with the Community Foundation for Southeastern Michigan's New Economy Initiative.
This year's event, hosted by pro-storyteller Shannon Cason, focused on entrepreneurial resilience. The four storytellers were selected from more than 50 submissions and were mentored by Cason in preparation for the evening's presentation. Entrepreneurs included a hair braider, a biotech innovator, a Detroit-brand clothing purveyor, and a cookie dough maker.
Each of them had made mistakes. Each of them bounced back from the depths of despair. Each of them had a story to tell. But just don't call it a comeback.
Enjoy each of the stories here:
A tale of falling and climbing back up.
Mark Kiel, Co-Founder & CSO, Genomenon
He went from flying on corporate jets to laying on a nursery floor, listening to whales.
It all started with a case of the "-itis."
Victoria Washington, Co-Owner, Detroit Dough
Her parents never thought Detroiters would buy edible cookie dough. They were wrong.
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