Global initiative celebrates entrepreneurs in Detroit May 23-27
Detroit Startup Week, powered by Chase, will feature over 100 events with 2,500+ participants expected over five days. Marquee speakers include:
- Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company
- Jennifer Piepszak, CEO of Chase Business
- Danielle Weisberg & Carly Zakin, co-founders, theSkimm
- Tami Door, president and CEO, Downtown Denver Partnership and co-founder of Denver Startup Week™
- Mike Duggan, mayor, city of Detroit
- Jason Mendelson, co-founder, Foundry Group
- Pamela Lewis, director, New Economy Initiative
- Eugene Richards & Patricia Lay-Dorsey, artists, Facing Change: Documenting Detroit
- Devita Davison, co-director, FoodLab
- April Boyle, director, Build Institute
- Garlin Gilchrist II, deputy technology director for civic community engagement, city of Detroit
Detroit’s inaugural Startup Week™ will be the largest first-year event in the global brand’s six-year history.
“Our city is unlike any other, with both ingenuity and a welcoming spirit, brilliance and grit, and opportunities abound. Detroit Startup Week™ is designed to glue together those opportunities, celebrate what’s already working, and lay the groundwork for what’s to come,” said Kyle Bazzy, lead organizer.
Detroit Startup Week™, powered by Chase, celebrates and supports entrepreneurship in Detroit and beyond. All activities are free and startups, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts are all welcome to attend to amp up their business skills, networks, and knowledge of opportunities in Detroit and the region. Ten learning tracks will be offered to entrepreneurs at all levels: technology, entrepreneurship 101, mobility, music, food-preneurship, art+design, civic innovation, neighborhood collaboration, social entrepreneurship and the Internet of things (IoT).
“Entrepreneurs are playing an invaluable role in Detroit’s comeback,” said Jennifer Piepszak, CEO of Chase Business Banking, whose firm has committed $100 million over five years to Detroit’s economic recovery. “Detroit Startup Week™ is a great opportunity to recognize small businesses’ importance to the city’s recovery and to ensure they gain access to the necessary resources to support and grow.”
“More than a century ago, Ford Motor Company was a startup business that applied innovative thinking and collaboration to get where it is today,” said Bill Ford, executive chairman, Ford Motor Company. “We are proud to support the next generation of entrepreneurs at Detroit Startup Week who embody that same spirit.”
Sessions aligned with the ten tracks, including fireside chats and panels, networking opportunities, happy hours and even free headshots for entrepreneurs will round out the week. Events will take place all over the city at venues that include Civilla, Grand Circus, Techtown, Bamboo Detroit and more. Event headquarters are at the historic Masonic Temple, known for the week as #ChaseBasecamp.
To learn more to register for Detroit Startup Week, visit https://detroit.startupweek.co.
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