Detroit Launches Business Storytelling Accelerator

Entre-SLAM, an Ann Arbor based business storytelling organization, is launching a Business Storytelling Accelerator in Detroit, Michigan. They have partnered with TechTown Detroit, Dinsmore and Goldman Sachs 10K Small Businesses to deliver a series of competitive, business storytelling cohorts for Tech, Retail and Social Enterprise organizations.

The Entre-SLAM Business Storytelling Accelerator schedule is as follows:

• The Tech Cohort begins June 24th
• The Retail Cohort begins June 27th
• The Social Enterprise Cohort begins June 28th

Each cohort will last for four weeks. Training will be held mostly at TechTown’s Junction440 at 440 Burroughs St. Detroit, Michigan 48202.

Subsidized by Entre-SLAM and partner sponsorships, cohort fees start at a low rate of $49 and go to $225. Fees covers coaching, marketing, strategy and sales training.

Interested parties can go to Entre-SLAM: www.entreslam.com/accelerator

All will accomplish:

• Discovering their 'why' and how to build a compelling, competitive narrative around it, 
• Connecting their personal 'why' to their brand's 'why', and,
• Building focused plans for implementing sales and digital marketing strategies.

Select candidates will be featured at the Entre-SLAM Business Storytelling Demo Day on October 5th at TechTown where the event will feature a steampunk theme. Three winners will receive valuable prizes. ‘The stories building and coming out of Detroit and the state of Michigan, by extension, are stories of resiliency, determination and tenacity. Detroit won’t stop and neither will Entre-SLAM as we join in the city’s pursuit of positioning Detroit as a viable draw for entrepreneurship.’ says Christa Chambers-Price, founder of Entre-SLAM.

“Every business has a powerful story, and that story is integral to every facet of operations,” says Bonnie Fahoome, SWOT City Portfolio Manager at TechTown. “TechTown is thrilled to be partnering with Entre-SLAM to provide Detroit entrepreneurs with the tools they need to develop and deliver their stories across channels in engaging and impactful ways.”

Since 2012 Entre-SLAM provides coaching, training and events for innovators seeking to discover their 'why,' build compelling narratives and implement them across their entire operations.

NPR: Detroit Hopes To Drive Tech Startups Away From Silicon Valley

Jason Margolis/NPR

Many University of Michigan business students who have an entrepreneurial streak take Professor Jerry Davis' start-up class. Davis has lived in the Silicon Valley, he has a Ph.D. from Stanford University, and he has advice for young people: Forget the Bay Area.

"You spend a whole lot of your time on freeways. It's expensive, it's annoying. The weather is beautiful, but basically the Bay Area has turned into Los Angeles," Davis says. "All the things that people hate about LA are now true of the Bay Area."

And the home prices are worse. The median price in Silicon Valley now tops $1 million. In Detroit, it's $38,000.

That's appealing to Aaron Mason, a 36-year-old San Franciscan. "Having a yard, having a garden, starting a family, those kinds of things," says Mason, imagining a possible move to Michigan.

The city of Detroit doesn't have a lot of high-tech companies, but it is interested in attracting young tech entrepreneurs like Mason. He's well known among techies — he's helped launch four companies and has 70,000 Twitter followers. It's not just the lifestyle possibilities intriguing him about Michigan — he thinks it might be easier to launch company number five in Detroit.

"Coming from a place like San Francisco, real estate here is really expensive. And so to go to a place like Detroit and see that you have fairly cheap space, and an infrastructure that is already in place, it's a very exciting place to be," Mason says.

He says he likes the scrappy feel of Detroit's emerging tech community, one that is "still sort of getting up and off the ground."

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Best Colleges Online Names TechTown As One Of Their Top Business Incubators!

College campuses are ripe with innovation, as students grow through education and experimentation in school. To help foster this innovation, many colleges and universities have opened business incubators, helping students and others in their community to help make their innovative dreams a reality. Whether they’re offering tricked-out labs or incredible funding opportunities, these incubators offer a great opportunity for students who are smart (and lucky!) enough to participate. Follow along as we explore 10 of the most exciting college business incubators around today, and be sure to share your own favorites in the comments.

TechTown:

In the Motor City, technology startups can turn to the super-cool Tech Town incubator, a program created by Wayne State University to reignite Detroit’s entrepreneurial culture. Founded in 2000, Tech Town boasts an incredible list of resources for tech-minded entrepreneurs, including work space, access to capital, educational workshops, and guidance with business development programs, coaching, and mentoring. Entrepreneurs working with Tech Town even get access to Wayne State’s significant research, academic, and technology assets. Although decidedly urban in nature, Tech Town boasts 12 blocks, 43 acres, and a rich history: the TechOne building was once the Chevy Creative Services building, and the Corvette was designed on the building’s third floor. With nearly 300 companies working under its roof, participants in the Tech Town program contribute to the growth and livelihood of Detroit and the Wayne State University community. Even established corporations can’t resist the attraction of Tech Town: the Henry Ford Health System relocated its genetics labs to Tech Town’s research space.

Click HERE to read the full article on Best Colleges Online!