Identifying a gap in available support, BUILD has been developing a program since 2023 specifically designed to help established business owners grow, scale, and evolve.
“Our Black Business Reunion is a celebration and recognition of Detroit’s Black business community, their everlasting legacy and the impact they make in our everyday lives,” says Christianne Malone, chief program officer at TechTown Detroit.
"We know the startup journey is challenging and that there are distinct hurdles along the way, especially for founders from underrepresented communities," says Joshua Sirefman, CEO of Michigan Central. "This program is a key step in removing some of those barriers to help innovation thrive."
“The great thing about this is that it gives access to shares to investors that may not have the means to make larger investments,” says Dayne Bartscht, co-founder and managing partner of Eastern Market Brewing Co. “The minimum investment for us is $500, which is still a lot of money to a lot of people, but it gives an opportunity for someone who believes in us to make a smaller investment and hopefully we'll be able to repay that many times over.”
“If you talk to women in journalism, women in publishing, I don't know anyone who doesn't have a story about an editor or a colleague who they thought was interested in encouraging them in professional terms, only to find out their interest was sexual or exploitative," says Room Project Founder Christin Lee. Here's how she and other womxn are changing the space.
From a Motown comeback, to ethical tech entrepreneurs, to green infrastructure and climate resiliency — our journalists will be keeping their fingers on the pulse of Detroit in 2022. Here's what they'll be watching.
This new Ferndale business was inspired by the Barbara Ward quote, “We have forgotten how to be good guests, how to walk lightly on the Earth as its other creatures do.”
Business manager Les Lance says he feels like his company has taken the hardest hit they've faced yet: “And we did it standing up.” It's this kind of resilience that LISC Detroit is fostering with loans for Detroit's small businesses.
“This is going to combine a London underground club with Detroit industrial chic,” says Herschell Masten, owner of HM Style Lounge & Chill Room.
Willie Brake has always been ahead of the curve, joining business incubators before they became trendy and recognizing the value in refurbishing computers early on. Now the Detroit entrepreneur is using his business to build up equitable access to technology and tech training in his city.
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