MI Tech Week Day Two

#MITECHWEEK DAY TWO! ??

??Day two was all about creating and supporting the ecosystem in MI! ??

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????? Panel - Building Smarter Cities: Innovation in Detroit and Ann Arbor

Speakers: Mayor Mike Duggan, Mayor Christopher Taylor

Takeaways: "When you're not pushing people out, you can welcome people in" - Mayor Duggan. To keep people in cities, both mayors emphasize improving basic services, enhancing quality of life, prioritizing place-making, and nurturing partnerships to leverage each other's strengths. For those dedicated to supporting the ecosystem, the objective isn't just to attract startups to start here, it's to ensure they start here and stay here.

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???? Pitch & Pilot Showcase by Bamboo and Community Financial Credit Union

Entrepreneurs:

- Carmen Perez (she/her) | Much

- Diana Milian | Steps After Life

- Amanda Zora | Kozen

- Michelle Winterfield | Tandum (Winner)

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???? Fireside Chat - Executing at Scale: An Intimiate Conversation with Stacy Brown-Philpot

Takeaways: This fireside chat was a narrative of pivoting and learning from setbacks. Stacey Brown-Philpot's journey illuminated an important factor that contributed to her successful pivots. In her dual roles as an entrepreneur and leader of individuals, she posed two fundamental questions: (1) how are you impacting the community you are in? (2) Where is your heart? Amidst all the numbers conversations that often dominate business discussions, she emphasized the importance of the human side of business; the bigger purpose behind the dollar signs. The why behind the why is what allowed her to keep her focus on the bigger picture during setbacks. Keeping in context with the overarching theme of today, she emphasizes that nurturing a sense of community and upholding core values is the key to ecosystem retention and long-term sustainability.

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????Fireside Chat - The Rollercoaster of Celebrity Content and Venture Capital

Speakers: Devon Townsend , Mike Vichich

Takeaways: Devon Townsend, co-founder of Cameo, had numerous tid-bits of information for startups:

- Team should consist of the Hacker, Hipster, and Hustler

- Speed is everything! Can we do this today? What do we need to do this today?

- There is an opportunity cost of waiting to find out what's working/wanted put it out there and see.

- Don't solve problems before they happen, this causes bloat in a company.

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???? Fireside Chat with Johnnie Turnage and Hill Harper - Tech Equity

Takeaways: Turnage and Harper brought our attention to a pivotal element of ecosystem development - equity. Tech has the ability to break down barriers to entry and give more opportunity for disruption, except, reality doesn't align with these aspirations. The media is filled with sound-bite moments and no accountability to follow through. Harper made a statement that made many pause in their thought, "If you don't have a seat at the table, you're on the menu." Despite Detroits's diversity, it still remains segregated. Harper emphasizes the importance of collaboration and partnership to unify, drawing a fitting analogy of a jam session vs a solo performer, resonating strongly with a city steeped in musical history - we are better and stronger together.

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???? Panel - Deep Pockets: How Startups Can Work with Corporate Venture and R&D

Speakers: Justin Turk , Chelsea Plant , Kurt Baumgarten

Takeaways: Rarely do you get the opportunity to go to VCs and ask the tough questions, thanks to Justin Turk, founders got answers to the questions they've wanted to ask to help increase their odds of funding. Here are some key takeaways:

- Strategic alignment is key - how does your product align with the corporate venture's strategic initiatives?

- Set boundaries, corporate is not as agile

- Understand if the corporate venture is housed under development (M&A) or research (R&D)

- It's just as important to understand the value YOU bring to the corporate ventures.

- Importance of teams: be open to feedback and build trust by going beyond painting the rosey picture

- Today vs the future: awareness of current state and reality builds trust

- Two items commonly left out of pitch decks or glazed over that they want to see are competitive landscape and traction

- Go to where the investors are (events) -> build a network -> put your network to work -> continue to circle back to stay top of mind and sight.