Michigan Technology News and Entrepreneurs
DETROIT - Walter Pat's Bakery Cafe was crowned the winner of the 2025 Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest by TechTown on June 19. Owner Lauren Ellis took home the $100,000 grand prize, courtesy of Comerica Bank, to kickstart and open the brick-and-mortar business of her dreams in Detroit. She will also receive technical assistance from TechTown
GRAND RAPIDS - Bamboo — a co-working company with other locations in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Royal Oak — is targeting a November opening date for its new Grand Rapids location, UICA building. It will include reopening the building’s theater, gallery space and rooftop patio. The building will also serve as the new headquarters for
DETROIT - The Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest by TechTown is back for its 13th consecutive year, and one entrepreneur will win $100,000 in startup funding from Comerica Bank to open a brick-and-mortar storefront in Detroit, Hamtramck or Highland Park. The winner will also earn a business support package from TechTown Detroit, Wayne State University’s entrepreneurship
GRAND RAPIDS — A vacant factory in southeast Grand Rapids could soon become a center for entrepreneurs. The building at 1515 Madison Ave. south of Hall Street was a Heinz pickle factory for many years. The Grand Rapids Center for Community Transformation is leading the $20 million project. Justin Beene is the founder of the center, which
SOUTHFIELD - The Michigan Council of Women In Technology is hosting a variety of events this summer and MCWT spokeswoman Kathleen Norton-Schock provices all the details in this video interview. The events include: Quarterly Volunteer Information Meeting Wednesday, May 14, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. - Virtual Event Vino Voyage! A Wine Tasting Journey
LANSING - The Michigan Strategic Fund Board officially established the Michigan Innovation Fund on Tuesday, allocating $60 million toward evergreen venture capital funds. The board’s vote was necessary to finalize the implementation of the fund after Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a package of bills spurring its creation in January. The Michigan Innovation Fund is the largest funding
LANSING – Michigan’s entrepreneurial economy is fading in its strength over time, including relative to our Midwest neighbors, according to the 21st edition of the Entrepreneurship Score Card released today by the Small Business Association of Michigan (SBAM) Foundation. This annual analysis combines dozens of metrics and measures to create a comprehensive evaluation of Michigan’s
LANSING – Michigan small business owners have serious concerns about the state and national economy, according to responses and data compiled through the Small Business Association of Michigan’s (SBAM) quarterly survey. At the same time, Michigan small businesses are looking out for their employees, with sixty-seven percent reporting they’ve increased wages over the last year to
GRAND RAPIDS – Michigan Capital Network announced it has expanded its leadership team by promoting Jenni Li, Ph.D., to principal at the firm. Li first joined MCN as an analyst in 2020 after receiving her Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology. Li was promoted to senior analyst at
WASHINGTON – A new national survey of small business owners reveals widespread concern about the U.S. economy, particularly fueled by the “whiplash” caused by recent trade policy. In a snap survey of 501 small business owners in the Small Business for Americas Future Network, 63% believe the American economy is on the wrong track. The
