Local Events Promote Entrepreneurship

There is a new wave of young entrepreneurs poised to take over Michigan. A colleague of mine participated in Startup Weekend Kalamazoo last weekend, where entrepreneurs pitch their ideas and form teams to start the company in a mere three days. At the end of this three day event, in which entrepreneurs spend over 12 hours each day working on their idea, entrepreneurs present their ideas again with awards going to the top companies. My calendar is filled with more of these exciting events that are coming up in April. Central Michigan University is sponsoring a New Venture Competition with awards totaling $45,000. There will be another Startup Weekend this time in East Lansing. Even Detroit is getting in to the mix with the Ignite Detroit event at Motor City Casino. These are great networking events for young entrepreneurs to attend. Even if you’re not participating, you need to get out and meet people.

“The only difference between where you are now and where you’ll be five years from now are the people you meet and the books you read.” –Charlie “Tremendous” Jones