The Collaborative Group Blog

hiredMYway.com, a revolutionary new career website helping job seekers and employers filter down their job search with a unique matching system, will launch its first career expo on July 1^st.  Matt Mosher and Erinn O’Connor, founders of hiredMYway.com, presented to The Collaborative Group earlier this year before their business idea became a reality.  Working with other members of The Collaborative Group, hiredMYway.com is currently developing a website similar to dating websites which seek to find a perfect match. 

Members of The Collaborative Group have delved in to help with plans for the July 1^st expo which will take place at Rock Financial Showplace in Novi, Michigan.  hiredMYway.com expects over 5,000 job seekers and over 50 employers with hundreds of job opportunities for every skill set and industry.  Do you know of a company that’d like to be involved at the expo?  Contact careerfairs@hiredmyway.com for more information.  And, be sure to visit hiredMYway.com for continued updates!

Detroit is home to more than 200,000 vacant parcels of land; that’s about 30,000 acres.  Yes, thirty THOUSAND.  On Thursday, May 27^th, entrepreneur John Hantz joined us for a discussion about utilizing this abundance of vacant land for urban agriculture.  As the champion of the Detroit’s urban farming movement, John sees this vast amount of open land as an ideal laboratory for agricultural collaboration. 

Driven by a desire to maintain his 20-year residency in the city limits, John’s hope is to not only strengthen the community, but also to preserve his home and neighborhood.  Over the years, John kept hoping things would get better, but continued to see very little improvement.  Recognizing that without scarcity everyone will continue to pull back until the bottom is reached, John realized that not only could he help create scarcity, but also by solving one issue, many other issues would also be resolved.  Immediately the idea of urban farming peaked his interest.

Relying on Michigan’s excellent educational and agricultural resources, in particular Rick Foster at the Kellogg Foundation and Dean Keller at Michigan State University’s School of Agriculture and Natural Resources, John delved into a new realm of business for Detroit.  And, for John, his new education has proven that urban farming goes beyond corn and wheat; it includes forestry and indoor growing systems, too.

With the idea in place, John’s next step is acquiring available properties.  With over 200,000 city-owned parcels that cost approximately $12,000 per year to maintain, John expected an easy sell for a bargain price, but no such luck.  As a personal investor in this initiative, John continues to work with various city departments in hopes of garnering land.  This summer Hantz Farms will plant its first crops on approximately 350-acres.  The more acreage he can acquire, the more John believes that Detroit will become a role-model for the urban farming movement with various demonstration sites popping up across the city.  John sees Detroit on the verge of a tipping point, “Let’s stop waiting for the perfect idea.  Let’s get started!”

Dear friends,

Despite the tough times we face, I see myself as one of the luckiest individuals in Detroit.  Life has a funny way of presenting opportunities to us.  For me, the downturn in the construction industry has afforded me time to spend forming and developing The Collaborative Group.  This organization allows me unique opportunities to meet with individuals whose life stories are interesting, whose minds are innovative and forward thinking, and whose spirits are community oriented.  There is a movement toward collective intellectual capital, connectivity, hope, drive and desire for people to come together to revitalize the region.  It shows no boundaries or age, occupation, gender or ethnicity.  It is a united front.

The impact of The Collaborative Group may not be fully understood since we do not combine our financial capital, but rather our intellectual capital and connectivity.  As we individually move forward on parallel paths working towards efforts that personally concern us, think of the leverage, excellence, and efficiencies we share.  Elaine Kelly is recognized as one of the states top CEOs and connectors; Chris and Andrew McCuiston understand and can offer assistance to those seeking venture capital and franchising opportunities; and Katie Dirksen is a young, entrepreneurial thinker who can rally the youth leaders.  The list goes on to include every member of The Collaborative Group and forms the basis for this exceptional organization.

Beyond connecting with our members, Deirdre and I are forming strategic alliances with organizations and institutions from across the community.  For example, we have connected with The Kresge Foundation, The Hudson Weber Foundation, The Cultural Alliance for Southeast Michigan, The Detroit Riverfront Conservancy, The Michigan Municipal League, Detroit’s Symphony Orchestra, and The Detroit Economic Club.

We also continue to connect with marketers and media players such as The Detroit Free Press, WJR News Radio, Crain’s Detroit Business, Fox 2 News, Model D Media, Team Detroit, and The Detroit Regional News Hub.  The connections allow us to develop awareness of The Collaborative Group, share our story, and establish bonds for future support.

Our membership, strategic alliances, and media connections, along with our speaker series events, member and community proposals, round table sessions, and energetic gatherings we are strengthening our personal, professional and philanthropic pillars.  We are also progressing on initiatives that will strengthen our community such as Challenge Detroit which will launch in June.  The Collaborative Group will have impact, will affect change, and will be part of the rebirth of the region.  How lucky are we?

Sincerely,
Doyle

PS Resolute Consulting, our pro bono strategic business development consultant, recently won the Publicity Club of Chicago Silver Trumpet Award in the Institutional Category recognizing their achievement and dedication to The Collaborative Group.  The Club awards communication programs or campaigns that are devoted to an idea or a philosophy, a total concept or identity.  Resolute’s team has gone above and beyond to develop our organization’s identity, strategy for success, and media solutions.  Thank you, Resolute!

On Thursday, May 6^th Mike Brennan, President of The United Way of Southeast Michigan and community game-changer, joined us in a discussion about the evolution of the United Way since it has been under his leadership.  A native Michigander, Mike began his career at the United Way 25-years ago after a brief stint in the corporate world where he found that he was “too young to hate his job.” 

At just 10-years-old, Mike’s mother passed away, leaving his father to manage both his business and the household.  As neighbors, relatives, and friends continued to show up and offer support Mike realized in life “we can’t make it going alone.”  The United Way was formed on a similar premise in 1912, the same year that Mike’s family first came to Detroit.

At the time, the United Way focused on finding a different way to improve the region.  Distributing dollars was just one facet of their mission.  Michigan’s two United Way’s soon garnered a reputation as the most traditional, value producing models in the country.  While the Michigan organizations did good things, Mike felt they could make more of an impact.

Upon returning to his native Metropolitan Detroit after 15-years at the United Way’s Grand Rapids and Washington DC offices, Mike realized that a reboot was necessary.  Doing the unimaginable, Mike asked his 150-member Board to voluntarily resign so he could restart and reincorporate around a redefined mission.  Amazingly enough they obliged.  Mike then merged the Oakland County and Detroit offices, reducing the Board from 150- to 30-members.

Continuing to define the future success of the United Way by how progress is made on social issues, the organization now focuses on three core areas:

1. Education;
2. Financial stability; and
3. Safety.

Acting as a resource and advocate for the community, Mike has implemented the 211 phone system to help residents of a five-country area navigate resources such as food, job placement, and shelter.  Mike has also implemented an important metric for raising graduation rates from 40% to more than 80% in 30-high schools in those same counties. 

Mike humbly recognizes that the United Way was born out of the community and that he is only the steward for the organization, but he has made great strides in impacting our community.

On Tuesday, May 4^th entrepreneurs and a member of the leadership team from Tech Town joined us to share more about the organization and their entrepreneurs presented plans for businesses that are set to launch in Detroit.

Ebony Johnson, SmartStart Support Leader, assists with the management and development the SmartStart program by recruiting and screening entrepreneurs with ideas, business concepts or early stage start-up companies who are interested in participating in TechTown programs.  Ebony explained that TechTown, established in 2000, is recognized as an epicenter stimulating job growth and small-business creation by developing companies in emerging high-technology industries and equipping them with the services, support and resources they need to grow and thrive.  At the meeting we heard from two up-and-coming entrepreneurs.

Thahn Tran, founder of Mental Note Online, expressed his mission to merge technology with psychiatric medicine by providing a system for electronic medical record keeping for all levels of the mental health industry.  With 116-software licenses already sold and key staff in place, Thahn’s organization is finding success. 

Tanya Allen, creator of Forever Fresh, explained that while she has no true business experience, she conceptualized an idea years ago that she knew would revolutionize the feminine hygiene industry.  Her environmentally-conscious product was first patented in 1994, winning numerous international awards since.  Tanya’s business launched online on May 15 with an acclaimed distributor for institutional sales.  Since then, Tanya has been featured on a Michigan Technology News Podcast as well.

On Tuesday, April 6^th we hosted two proposal presentations by members of The Collaborative Group.  Recognizing the immense effort and dollars that employers pay to find good talent, Matt Mosher and Erinn O’Connor believe there is a forthcoming shift in online recruiting and career building and are designing a Web site to accommodate the new era of online job shopping. 

Sites currently available allow job seekers to apply for a position at no cost.  Due to the difficult economy, this often leads to an overwhelming response to posted positions – sometimes 700-resumes per job!   Matt and Erinn have developed a unique filtering process that will match candidates to opportunities much like a dating service, placing opportunities in the job seekers’ hands.  Employers can initially post opportunities for free and job seekers pay nominal fees to apply, limiting the pool to serious applicants only. 

When a job seeker is matched with an employer through the site, the employer will then pay their posting fee and the new hire will receive a signing bonus from the Web site.  This paradigm shift will result in a higher chance of employment and an opportunity to track the success of the Web site – something no other career building Web site currently does. 

Andy Meyer, a senior level executive who consults with various software companies, has a unique understanding of the venture capital market.  Andy shared that while securing startup funding can be simple, it is often difficult to raise funds for continued growth.  Andy contemplated how The Collaborative Group can help software businesses grow to a bigger market beyond Michigan noting that some solutions do exist, but they are limited:
-          Private capital,
-          Government sponsored venture capital, and
-          Traditional venture capital. 

Business incubators offer a good concept for starting a business and often provide seed capital, but who helps businesses continue to grow and find funding?  Andy recommended that The Collaborative Group:
-          Raise awareness,
-          Provide resources via our Web site,
-          Promote businesses and venture capitalists, and
-          Provide coaching opportunities to businesses seeking funding.