Kidpreneur set to open pop-up location in downtown Detroit

Kidpreneur, the Northville-based entrepreneurial education company for tweens, is opening a pop-up location in downtown Detroit in mid January.

“Why not?” says Thanh Tran, founder of Kidpreneur. “Detroit is a great place. We want it to be known as a kid-friendly and family friendly place.”

Tran is a serial entrepreneur and father of two young children. Teaching his kids the ins and outs of running a business inspired him to launch the company earlier this fall at the WaterWheel Centre. Kidpreneur hosts 9-week classes about how to start a business to kids between the ages of 9- and 13-years-old. The classes, which average about 4-5 students per class, teach everything from opening a dog-walking business to designing a mobile app.

Kidpreneur won the D:hive PILOT program for winter 2014, which allows the company to operate a pop-up retail space free for two months on Woodward Aveue in downtown Detroit. It is taking the space currently occupied by Spielhaus Toys and will have a staff of 5-7 people working there for two months. It will open its doors on Jan. 18.

Kidpreneur will offer its 9-week classes, along with several other shorter classes and one-day events. Tran also hopes to eventually host hackathons and TEDx-style talks for young people in downtown Detroit’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.

“We just want to be a part of that growth,” Tran says.

Source: Thanh Tran, founder of Kidpreneur
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.