Detroit Startup Week 2017 (Rolling Program Additions)

A panel discussion on how startups can quickly gain investors and market interest by roadmapping their product. What it means to build a MVP and what are the requirements of a MVP to be noticed. The importance of design, presentation, and technology when building your product and company as well as how to gain market traction. User first vs. Investment.

Many Entrepreneurs struggle with the act of raising a round of founding for their early stage company/startup. Building a Minimum Viable Product that can be noticed by investors and users is crucial for raising funding. Learn from industry leaders with backgrounds in design, development, technology, and venture capital on what really defines a investible and scalable MVP.

What is the most efficient way to rapidly prototype a MVP for your startup. This panel will help founders and entrepreneurs understand the importance of key features that should not be dismissed when building a MVP. And with a MVP, how to position yourself in the market for investment.

Entrepreneurs bring so much value to societies. They create the vast majority of new jobs, pull economies out of recessions, introduce useful products and services, and create prosperity. At the same time, entrepreneurs are at a higher risk for mental health problems, with over 40% being diaganosed with a mental illness. Because mental health is still a taboo subject, many entrepreneurs are fighting battles in the dark with no tools to help them. Developing a self-care practice, one that focuses on balancing our home life, personal health, and work, helps us to be more productive instead of just being busy. We are the ones that show up at our businesses everyday so it's important that our mental health is in an optimal state.

In this panel talk, you'll hear from multiple entrepreneurs who have incorporated self care practices into their lives to help them function in and outside of work, learn how they deal with struggles that impact their well being, and learn tools from them to help with creating and managing a self-care practice that helps create a work-life balance.

As Detroit continues to rebuild and grow and the entrepreneur sector grows, more people will deal with mental health challenges as they work on building their businesses. With constant ups and downs, it's important Detroiters learn the value of work-life balance so they can continue to rebuild the city and its neighborhoods. Most importantly, if Detroiters are not in the right mental state when building their businesses, the things we build here may collapse within 20 years. It's not about grabbing a piece of the pie, but about creating something sustainable for all generations, current and future.

Regardless of what business you're in, it's common that stress follows. Having tools and knowledge of how to manage that stress, overcome it, and knowing that others are also going through it is valuable. Teaching self-care and work-life balance to entrepreneurs gets them to understand that they are the core of their businesses and that they matter, not just the business. Without them, their business suffers.

Argonomo will sponsor/emcee the session of 5-6 women tech founders. Companies will be at various stages; mix between start-up, emerging and growing, developed. Companies will span various verticals from Tech/IT to Healthcare and Nonprofit.

Description: Join the conversation with our panel of Women Tech Founders as they provide insights on being a high-growth tech company and how they’re conquering challenges at the various stages of their businesses. You’ll hear real-life lessons learned on building a team, finding talent, pivoting, scaling and growth, as well as building your network and strategic partnerships. You’ll also hear their secrets to staying focused and motivated as an entrepreneur. You might even walk away with a few innovative ideas that you can implement immediately.

Entrepreneurs in Detroit will get to hear firsthand from women tech entrepreneurs in the area. The life lessons on building a company and networking. Struggles and successes of these women entrepreneurs in their journey of building high-growth tech companies.

Insight from successful women as entrepreneurs to provide motivation to current and future generation of tech founders.

Sponsors include: Invest Detroit Ventures, Inforum, OU INC, Wayne State University, Bamboo Detriot, TechStak and Argonomo

A panel of venture capital investors will be providing you with a "peek" inside their minds!  What do they want?  What are they looking for?  How do you get their attention?!

Speakers:

• Doron York 
• Joseph Savanyo
• Kenneth Silver
• Tim Hudson

Program Partners:

• City Side Ventures
• Sidepitch
• Argonomo
• Bamboo Detroit
• Innovation Warriors WSU
• Blackstone Launchpad - Wayne State University
• Herculeze

Learn from successful entrepreneurs on the innovative ways and resources they used in financing their business. This interactive session will feature representatives from different alternative financing options to teach you what you should - and shouldn't - do to get the money you need.

It can be daunting to navigate the variety of finance options. Luckily, this session takes the guess work out of selecting the best resource to grow your business.

Brings together the various financing options within the financing industry. This session brings industry experts, resource providers and entrepreneurs together.

This session is located at Techtown in the Garage, 440 Burroughs St., Detroit, MI 48202
Shuttle Service is not available for this session. 

Key politicians, patient, and diversity advocates will weight in to discuss the current climate and hopes for the future cannabis industry in Michigan. 

Documenting Detroit members of our Fellowship for Emerging Photographers will present their work covering local stories and communities.

Visual coverage of Detroit communities and businesses BY Detroit photographers is critical to how Detroit is seen and understood.

Navigating a career as an independent photographer in a time of rapidly changing media is both challenging and exciting, with many opportunities.

Attendees will hear from Entrepreneurs on how they navigated the landscape of selecting the right local resource provider to grow their business.

We are bringing together successful Entrepreneurs to share their stories on how they grew their business and what resource providers they used to do so.

This highlights the variety of business development resources available and how entrepreneurs can be strategic in growing their business.

This session is located at Techtown in the Garage, 440 Burroughs St., Detroit, MI 48202
Shuttle Service is not available for this session. 

Attendees will hear from Entrepreneurs on how they navigated the landscape of selecting the right local resource provider to grow their business.

We are bringing together successful Entrepreneurs to share their stories on how they grew their business and what resource providers they used to do so.

This highlights the variety of business development resources available and how entrepreneurs can be strategic in growing their business.

This session is located at Techtown in the Garage, 440 Burroughs St., Detroit, MI 48202
Shuttle Service is not available for this session. 

Venture Capital is one of the sexiest, non-traditional forms of financing a business. It’s also one of the riskiest and expensive alternatives and must be a well-informed choice. This event will feature “She Started It”, a movie that for two years follows five women entrepreneurs building tech companies and highlights the various struggles and successes they experience. The film will be followed by a fireside chat discussion with Jill Ford, the City of Detroit's Head of Innovation and Entrepreneurship and other women in the space.

Learn more about women entrepreneurs, venture capitalist and how to navigate through the process

Valuable information specific to the struggles women entrepreneurs face when trying to raise funds.