On Friday, February 13^th we took our first trip out of the city to visit a new start up community. We made the two-hour, early drive to Detroit to visit a thriving start up community that is working to revive and revitalize the city of Detroit.

The first business we visited was Bizdom. Bizdom is a start up accelerator based in Detroit and Cleveland, founded by the legendary Detroit businessman, Dan Gilbert. The company’s Start-up Analyst, Brendan Rice (a Venture for America fellow), showed us the modern office space that includes a large, open co-working space and spaces for events and conferences. The company’s Accelerator Leader, Chris Seago, talked to us about what Bizdom does and how they are involved in the Detroit community. We learned about a couple Bizom companies such as Greenlancer and Payment Scholar. Also, Chris explained to us the process that start-up companies go through in their accelerator; the companies go through a process of building, measuring, and learning in order to make and market the best product possible. The value of failure is not overlooked at Bizdom; it is in fact encouraged and heralded, so long as something is learned from the process. This sentiment was repeated through out our day in Detroit.

Our next stop on the trip was to Grand Circus, where we had a relaxed and rewarding discussion with the company’s CEO and Co-Founder, Damien Rocchi. We learned about how Grand Circus was formed in order to fill a gap in Detroit. Start-up companies wanted talented, tech savvy workers and although there was a lot of potential in Detroit, there was a lack of skill and training. Grand Circus runs boot camps to fill this gap. They cover a variety of skills and training including job development, quality assurance testing, coding, and website building. The Grand Circus space, like all of the start-ups that we visited, included a modern and minimalist styled co-working space, as well as ample space for social and community events. We also discussed the “Madison Block” in Detroit where most of the start-ups we visited were located and the immense influence Dan Gilbert and his series of businesses have had on the Detroit Community. Damien also touched on the company’s efforts to reach out to Detroit area schools and teach middle schoolers and high schoolers coding and introduce them to the start-up scene. We were shown the space by the company’s Program Manager, Taylor Jayne.

Our next stop was another Dan Gilbert company, Detroit Venture Partners. A young and energetic analyst, Armando Ochoa, showed us around the facilities, including three separate floors and a rooftop event venue. Armando is a Detroit Fellow through Venture For America. Detroit Venture Partners is located in the Madison Block as well. The company invests in small start-up companies, usually tech-based, including companies such as Level Eleven and Are You A Human? While touring the facilities, we ran into two young, hip-looking employees playing a game of Ping-Pong, who didn’t mind taking a break from their game to tell us about their experiences at Detroit Venture Partners. They represented two different areas, one sales and the other marketing, but both were incredibly enthusiastic about their roles in the business and in Detroit’s start-up community in general. The energy and excitement for the start-up community that these two men professed was a commonality between every start-up that we visited, as was the Ping-Pong table.

Next we visited TechTown, a non-profit start-up accelerator and incubator with a large stake in the Detroit community. We were once again given a welcoming tour around a space that included completely open, modern co-working and event spaces, but the difference at TechTown was obvious immediately; at TechTown the walls are decorated with student art, but their connection with the Detroit community is not just for show, it’s real and impactful. We met with Managing Director of tech-based entrepreneurship, Paul Riser (his niece is a Bronco), and Managing Director of place-based entrepreneurship, Regina Ann Campbell (she is a Bronco, 1993). We discussed many of the running themes of the day; co-working spaces, student involvement, creating relationships, investing in the community, but what really made TechTown stand out was that their impact on the community is real and measurable. Through their SWOT City Program, they are not only improving Detroit neighborhoods through helping them be economically empowered, but also through education and safety initiatives.

Our last stop on the trip was to one of Detroit’s many co-working spaces, Bamboo Detroit. The company’s “Operational Dude”, Mike Ferlito, gave us a tour, which in true start-up style was laid-back, casual, and fun. The space was unsurprisingly styled to be open, minimalist, modern, and bright. The space is open to all kinds of creative professionals from tech start-ups to local lawyers. The environment was hip, young, and literally energetic, with a mini-fridge full of energy drinks that Bamboo Detroit is working on re-branding. Unlike the incubators and accelerators that had previously visited, Bamboo Detroit does not provide specific help or mentoring to start-ups but does provide a productive and social environment for creative professionals to work and socialize.

Visiting these great companies in Detroit was the perfect way to truly kick off our adventure into the world of entrepreneurship. Not only the companies, but also the culture, city, food, and camaraderie, have ignited excitement and interest in our group. We are now prepared for even bigger adventures, like our next trip to Chicago and our Spring Break trip to Boulder, Colorado and Austin, Texas.