Blog - Detroit Startup Week

#DetSW18 Celebrates the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem

18 June 2018

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Categories: thought leadership

Michigan has been a magnet for innovation and entrepreneurship for hundreds of years, from fur and timber to mining, manufacturing, and mobility.

Detroit is Michigan’s economic epicenter. Ann Arbor is its research hub. The entrepreneurial ecosystem stretches from the thumb downriver, and from the mitten to Canada. Innovation, meet traction. Will, meet way.

This year, Techstars Detroit Startup Week celebrates the unity and diversity of our broad and vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem by building regional connective tissue and bringing together hundreds of startups, thousands of entrepreneurs, and millions of dollars in investment capital.

Ann Arbor and Detroit both attract new talent and capital to the state, which the entrepreneurial ecosystem challenges, rewards, and recycles. The synergies we forge at Startup Week help retain these critical resources, building regional wealth and sustainability.

Techstars Detroit Startup Week is investing regionally to break down internal (and international) barriers, hoist a big tent, invite broad collaboration, and advance the broad and diverse community of Michigan innovators.

Zoom out: what does this look like? It looks like a community. It looks like an ecosystem. It looks like a region bootstrapping itself, marshaling resources, and investing in its entrepreneurial future. It looks a lot like Michigan.

David Bloom

[photo credit: Tara Turkington, www.taradanielle.com]

Volunteer Checklist for Success

13 June 2018

dswrocks

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Categories: Uncategorized

Volunteer Checklist for Success

Dress for the weather, you may be spending time outside.

Wear something you can be active in, you’ll be walking!

Please arrive at least 15 minutes early for your volunteer shift – this will help us effectively transition between volunteer shifts.

Always be courteous, kind, and hospitable toward hosts, speakers, attendees, other volunteers, etc. – we are here to make the event as enjoyable and valuable as possible.

If you see someone who needs help – reach out and help – we want to be proactive in asking if we can help with directions, a suggestion for a session, feedback they have to give or assistance our guests may need. Please be proactive with attendees!

If someone has a complaint, or looks frustrated with something, please engage them, ask what we can do to make it better, find one of the core leads for help, and get a phone number for follow up. Our goal is that people feel included, welcomed, and valued.

If you have questions or need assistance, look for the person in charge at your location or contact one of the volunteer leads.

If you need to cancel your volunteer shift ahead of time, please contact one of the volunteer leads or update via the link on the volunteer tab of the Detroit Startup Week website.

Don’t forget to chat, network, learn, laugh, and have some fun!

Volunteer Leads
Colleen Geyer
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (248) 376-1673

Joe Schoch
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (419) 779-4053

Gerard Smith
Email: [email protected]
Phone: (313) 244-7125

Detroit Startup Week Speaker FAQ’s

13 June 2018

dswrocks

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Categories: FAQ's

Speaker FAQ’s:

How many people are coming to my event?

A good amount – We’re anticipating 8-10k attendees this year

What is the venue size?

Venue sizes range from 50-200 people

Will my event be recorded?

No, your event will not be recorded by the DSW team. However, you are welcome to bring your own equipment to record your talk if you would like.

How do I add a speaker?

Email: [email protected]

How do I add my bio and picture?

Login into sched.com

How do I share my event?

Find your talk on detroitstartupweek.com and share the link on social media.

Will there be A/V equipment available?

Yes – the only thing we request from you is that you bring your laptop, if you wish to display a slide show. We will also provide you with all mic equipment

Parking and Transportation at Detroit Startup Week

13 June 2018

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Categories: Event Info

Parking for Techstars Startup Week 2018 will be at The D Garage (located at 90 E Fisher Service Dr. Detroit, MI 48201) and is walking distance to basecamp at Grand Circus Park. Olympia Development of Michigan is offering a 20% discount to the garage and parking passes can be purchased in advance using promo code DETROITTECH or by using this link:

https://www.parkwhiz.com/p/detroit-parking/90-e-fisher-service-drive/?coupon=DETROITTECH

For traveling to and from surrounding events, MoGo, Detroit’s public bike sharing system, has also sponsored a heavily discounted $15 weekly pass (a day pass is regularly $8) for attendees. The discounted rate will be available at MoGo kiosks using the code DSW18.

Public transit is also an affordable option for getting to events. Basecamp at Grand Circus Park is a short 5-minute walk from DDOT’s Rosa Parks Transit Center and a stones-throw from Grand Circus Q-Line and People Mover stops.

To get to neighborhood programs and events, shuttles will be provided courtesy of the Detroit Bus Company. Buses will leave Basecamp at 30 minutes after the hour and depart the neighborhoods at the top of the hour. Shuttles will be provided on the following schedule:

12:30PM – 5PM Monday: Grandmont- Rosedale

830AM – 4:30PM Tuesday: Southwest Detroit

8:30AM – 5:30PM Wednesday: Durfee Innovation Center

9:30AM – 5:30PM Thursday: Osborn

Podcast: Conversation with Corey Williams

11 June 2018

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Categories: Uncategorized

Corey Williams: Strategic Business Development by Detroit Startup Week

One of the hardest entrepreneurial myths to bust is “networking.” Students think it means elevators, pitching, sales. Or worse: that you can network from behind a screen without Getting Out of the Building.

I teach Selfless Networking. You just met somebody new? Shut up and listen. What are their values, their goals, their challenges? Listen, listen, listen.

Then, if you can connect them get the resources they Need to Succeed, just do it. Help the other person. Go out of your way. Expend social capital. Expend actual capital. No quid pro quo.

Through Selfless Networking, you learn how to serve them better, Discover new opportunities, and sharpen your entrepreneurial focus. You can’t do any of these things by pitching, so begin by helping.

In other words, #GiveFirst.

#GiveFirst is the animating principle for Techstars Detroit Startup Week, its hundreds of volunteers, and thousands of participants. When I first encountered this hashtag, its reductive beauty took my breath away. Months of entrepreneurial learning and unlearning packed into two words.

The challenge, of course, is walking the talk. Empathy, generosity, and altruism can seem to run counter to the hyper-capitalism of entrepreneurial mythology. In fact, #GiveFirst accelerates innovation and adoption, which is the whole point.

Set aside Return On (networking) Investment for a moment and just #GiveFirst because it feels good. The intrinsic motivation of helping somebody is your Drive; the extrinsic will follow. The world is full of Givers and Takers and Makers and Fakers. Help them all.

#GiveFirst

David Bloom