Bizdom U is putting the finishing touches on its latest batch of entrepreneurs and is starting to take applications for the next class.
The non-profit graduated 13 entrepreneurs from its fall session last month. Those graduates are expected to team up to start several small businesses this spring. Those businesses will be rooted in the new economy. Recent examples include
PostEgram, a business based around Facebook for senior citizens, and
Jimmy Kicks, a custom shoe company for sneakerheads.
"We have several businesses that will come out of this session," says Maria LaLonde, recruiting specialist for
Bizdom U. "There will be 3-4 businesses, and possibly more."
Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert started Bizdom U in 2007 as a way to retool the Motor City's entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Detroit-based entrepreneurship accelerator is focused on growing Detroit's base of new economy-based businesses through free training, mentors and the chance to finance a new business through the $100,000 Bizdom U Fund.
The company currently has eight active businesses in its portfolio and just opened a new office in Cleveland. Gilbert owns the Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans has a large presence in the city's downtown. Bizdom U began taking applications for its next training session this fall in both Detroit and Cleveland. LaLonde expects the two classes to intermingle and even form companies that have roots in both cities.
"We are looking for somebody who has entrepreneurial instincts," LaLonde says. "We want to surround them with the right resources to become successful."
For information about joining Bizdom U's next class of entrepreneurs, click
here, send an
email or call 313-833-7800. Bizdom U will also hold informational meetings on joining the program this spring.
Source: Maria LaLonde, recruiting specialist for Bizdom U
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at
SEMichiganStartup.com.
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