The Collaborative Group Blog

Incubation and acceleration are the name of the game for Detroit’s Tech Town.  On Thursday, May 26, general manager Leslie Smith joined us to share how Tech Town is incubating entrepreneurs and accelerating business growth across the greater Detroit area.

Forming powerful partnerships with key stakeholders has been a driving force behind the organization’s success.  Partners include nationally recognized Kauffman Foundation, US Small Business Administration, the City of Detroit, and the New Economy Initiative among others.  These partnerships have enabled access to capital, talent, mentorship, and support for developing big ideas and making a big impact on entrepreneurship and innovation.

Since its inception, Tech Town has garnered much media attention for its meaningful efforts and contribution to the fabric of economic development in and around Detroit.  From Crain’s Detroit Business and the Detroit Free Press to Time magazine and The New York Times, the nation is captivated by Tech Town’s unique approach to putting Detroit back to work.

Drive.  Passion.  Ambition.  All keywords that characterize top leaders, including the panel from our first LeadershipLab.

On Tuesday, May 10^th we gathered some of the greater Detroit area’s top minds to talk about the work they’re doing to move the region forward.  Panelists included Glenn Oliver, President of H2Bid.com, David Gasper, Financial Advisor at UBS Financial Services, Marge Sorge, Executive Director of The Detroit Regional News Hub, and Natalie Bruno, Director of Development for multiple organizations including Detroit Chamber Winds & Strings, Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, and Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival.

Here are a few of the key take-ways:

Glenn is a lawyer and businessman who recognizes that entrepreneurial spirit is a driving force for Detroit’s revitalization.  Capitalizing on what is perhaps our greatest resource – water – Glenn founded H2Bid.com, a company that improves connectivity for water contractors.  Glenn has built his business on two key principles:

1. Using a “potluck” approach to enact change, and
2. Making the tent big enough to fit everyone under it.

A native Michigander who resided on the west coast after college, David says that the best decision he ever made and biggest risk he ever took are one in the same: coming home to Michigan.  Today, David works with his father who has influenced him to always do what is best for his clients and family.  David is an avid golfer and volunteers much of his time to the Midnight Golf Program which connects mentors to teens using golf as a means to engage positive peer pressure.

Through all she’s accomplished, one lesson Marge has learned is that collaboration is essential.  As leader of The News Hub, an organization that seeks to work with the media to provide balanced stories about Detroit, Marge has gathered community leaders to develop a key message for Detroit: “This is a vibrant, robust place, proud of its heritage and working together to get things done.”  Marge serves on numerous boards and has received a wealth of awards for her work in advancing media relations in Detroit.

Natalie is a fundraiser, trumpet player, and community leader who proclaims that her biggest achievement is Detroit Passport to the Arts, a multi-ticket discount package program to Detroit arts organizations targeting young professionals.  Natalie believes the lessons learned as a musician can be applied to any career: vision, passion, drive, creative spirit, and a sense of community are always keys for success.  Proving that point, Detroit Passport to the Arts has become a model program for cities across the country.

On Tuesday, April 26 we learned about a new initiative taking root.  Longtime partner focusing on environmental issues at Jaffe Law, Arthur Siegal’s recent passion has taken him in a new direction.  Realizing that the average local high school student knows little about the greater Detroit community except they don’t want to be here, Arthur co-founded BackStage Pass, “an exclusive four-year program dedicated to retaining the next generation of Jewish influencers and change-agents in the metropolitan Detroit area.”  Seeking creative young leaders with an entrepreneurial spirit, BackStage Pass accepted 21-students into the first cohort after receiving applications in a variety of formats including art projects, letters to future selves, and even videos.  BackStage Pass will engage students with opportunities to connect to relevant experiences and leaders with an end goal of showcasing the region’s assets and encouraging more young people to stay in the area.

On Tuesday, April 26 we learned about a new business emerging locally.  Paul Chamber and Curtis Hays co-founded Quotegine out of a necessity to better control their business’ proposal management system.  Both leaders at Core 3 Solutions, a local web solutions company, they questioned why a web-based business was resorting to printers and fax machines to finalize deals.  Quotegine allows users the ability to collaborate in an online forum with other team members to create proposals and use an e-based delivery and approval system. Quotgine also boasts numerous tutorials to guide newbies along the way.  For a small monthly fee, Quotegine makes the proposal process efficient and (just about) effortless.

Every month, PNC and WJR partner in a series of web exclusive topical interviews co-hosted by WJR’s Paul W. Smith and PNC’s Ric DeVore.  The PNC Roundtable gives “direct access to business, community and civic leaders whose daily work helps to shape the economic outlook and quality of life for all of us in Southeastern Michigan.”  The driving force behind the PNC Roundtable is presenting real issues with real answers from key opinion leaders in their arena.

In April, PNC’s Roundtable featured Collaborative member Kerry Doman, founder and CEO of After 5 Detroit, and executive director Deirdre Greene Groves on a topic essential to the mission of The Collaborative Group,  “Detroit’s Future: Attracting & Retaining Young Professionals.” Click here to hear the full interview.

Having spent 25-years studying and authoring stories about major developments in the city for the Free Press, John Gallagher knows Detroit.  When he set out to write a book about the city, he planned to focus on land use, economics, and government, but quickly realized that, while his book would touch on these topics, the main focus would be vacancy.

Gallagher talked about Manchester, England and Turin, Italy as two examples of cities that have fought against vacancy with historic rehabilitation, greening strategies, and innovating thinking.  In general, he discovered that European’s believe strongly in central cities.  One German city official even said lightly, “We really try to make people feel bad if they move out of town.”

Where the world sees “ruin porn”, Gallagher sees a challenge in Detroit’s vacancy.  A few ideas for the challenge include; implementing urban agriculture: opening buried waterways: engaging public art: redesigning our road systems to include bike- and pedestrian-friendly thoroughfares: using immigration as a tool for growth: focusing on ideas as resources: establishing a stronger regional connection: embracing youth, and using Michigan’s land bank law to the city’s advantage.  Gallagher believes that we can even use vacancy as an amenity in the form of urban greenways linking neighborhoods.

The questions now are what will Detroit allow and how do we combat the naysayers?  Detroit is unique and our model is different than any other city.  We need a mindset willing to try anything and everything.  If each idea moves the needle just a little, the sum will accomplish a lot.

Snapping pictures for an internship has turned into a drive to showcase Detroit for Mike Holtzman and Sabrina Fitzwilliams.  After spending months documenting over 400-historic structures across the city for Preservation Wayne, Mike and Sabrina, students of architecture and history, fell in the love with Detroit.  They’ve discovered that by introducing their friends to Detroit’s history via www.BarebonesDetroit.com, they’re re-engaging an entire demographic.

Barebones Detroit is just one facet of a project that will showcase the city.  A map-based website, Barebones Detroit offers a one-click approach to learning about and viewing images of Detroit’s historic architectural gems.  The site operates like a land-survey, but is much more interactive.  But, there is more to what Mike and Sabrina seek to accomplish.  Partnering with Cory Coffey and Kimo Frederiksen, the pair wants to live, work, and play in the city… and document their experiences along the way.

The four-person team behind the Make/Shift Project is currently seeking housing for a year-long stint in the city.  Their plan is to document their adventures in business and life on a monthly basis while inviting other creatives in the city to join them.  With a master plan for promoting the project already in place, they will use online media to engage people in their mission.  Mike and Sabrina promise that they are not just another group of cheerleaders for Detroit.  They are unbiased pragmatists.  Watch for their version of the “real Detroit” to hit the web soon.

Consider this: Encyclopedia Britannica was the Google of its age.  “Dislodging creativity is a devastating force,” Josh Linkner explained to an audience of 75-people at The Collaborative Group.  When Microsoft, Wikipedia, and now Google changed the way we think, a chain of ingenuity was broken…  Encyclopedia Britannica is no longer needed.

Have you ever considered that creativity is your single most important skill?  But, according to Josh, in an era of ever-changing and ever-advancing technologies, our creative nature is declining.  Beaurocracy, the workforce, and even our schools can beat the creativity out of us, forcing us to believe there is only one right answer.  This has resulted in a creativity gap.

Did you know that creativity is 85% learned behavior?  We need to think of creativity as a muscle that we can work out, but how do we exercise it?

1. Awaken curiosity: Never stop asking, “Why?”
2. Encourage courage: Too often we think that if we make a mistake we should run and hide.  Don’t let imaginary barriers get in the way of success!
3. Build a greenhouse: Most business facilities restrict rather than enable us; our environment matters – both physically and culturally – our growth.

Detroit’s story, in chapters, began with Chapter 1: Innovation, followed by Chapter 2: Entitlement, and is currently in Chapter 3: ____________.  Chapter 3 offers us an opportunity make it a personal responsibility to make a difference and leave a legacy.  We can use our creativity to change Detroit and maybe even to change the world.

What can we accomplish in our finest moment?  This is the moment for Detroit…

As an artist and educator, Clint Snider finds immense beauty in Detroit.  Reflecting on the history of civilization and recognizing that many have come and gone, Clint sees Detroit as still in its infancy. A student of history and creator of art, Clint appreciates historical landscapes.  To him, these pieces of art catch a glimpse of the brief part of eternity in which we exist.

Understanding the story of the people, the beauty of the architecture, and the history of wealth, which are all so integral to Detroit’s story, Clint became fascinated with the coexistence of nature’s reclamation of the city.  Putting a unique spin on his paintings, Clint uses old materials (wood, for example) as his canvas.

One of Clint’s most engaging projects was House 365.  With a desire to involve the community, Clint built a tiny house of left-behind materials.  The house traveled across the greater Detroit area and was deeded to a new owner each month.  Clint found the turning over of the house to the community to be very gratifying.  Today, the house is part of Hamtramck’s infamous PowerHouse acting as part of a rainwater collection system.

While Detroit remains a focus for Clint, he sees art in all places where transition exists.  For more information on Clint’s work, stop by the Collaborative to see his art, visit his website at www.clintonsnider.com and check out his upcoming show at Ferndale’s Hilberry Gallery in November.

Life is about relationships.  According to Toby Barlow, an education in philosophy gives a person an understanding of man’s relationship to existence.  A career in advertising gives a person an understanding of man’s relationship to beer, cars, and Kleenex.  As an expert in brand stewardship (he has worked with MillerCoors, Ford, and, yes, Kleenex), Toby Barlow’s brain doesn’t seem to ever stop working.  His creative passion is reflected by his role as Chief Creative Officer at Team Detroit.

Toby has lived in various U.S. cities and is preconditioned to see the beauty in everything; he has found Detroit to be his favorite place to live.  Detroit is a great city, but there is presently not enough inflow and outflow of people.  The loss of population has created a brand dissonance; Detroit has become a perfect tragedy.  The American dream is a reality called Michigan.  After decades of wining, Detroit walked away from its brand.  “Today, the city asks for you to have a dialogue with it… You can be more engaged here than anywhere else,” he reflected.  Is this Detroit’s new brand?

Toby’s goal is to focus on the things that work in city and make them work harder and better.  He wants Detroit’s next brand to be a city of new solutions. Some of the crazy ideas relating to this brand include:

• Write an essay, get a home.  The foreclosures of recent years have left empty neighborhoods across greater Detroit.  Why not offer a free home (we have plenty!) to those dedicated to writing a detailed essay on why they deserve one?
• Legalize gay marriage, get two homes.  San Francisco, as an example, is a welcoming city to all, including homosexuals.  Many have congregated in specific neighborhoods that are now thriving, vibrant places.  Why can’t Detroit be a more welcoming place that encourages people to move by, perhaps, offering a free home (or two!)?
• Take a test, get a green cab.  “Have you ever taken a cab ride in Detroit?” Toby asked.  Just tracking a cab down is a job and, apparently, the ride itself can be a rather interesting experience, to say the least.  Why not engage new transportation options by offering free eco-friendly cabs to those who can pass the driver’s test and have an entrepreneurial spirit?
• Billionaire skyscraper challenge.  Years ago, New Yorkers began a revolution when billionaires began competing over who could build the biggest and best skyscraper.  Why not encourage Detroit billionaires to take on the same challenge?
• Santa Monica parking.  Santa Monica offers a couple free hours of parking to city visitors.  What a great way to encourage people to come downtown.  Why not take on that model here in Detroit?
• Five to One.  Ever heard of Kiva?  How about Kickstarter?  These programs provide small micro-loans or funding from the greater community for start-up businesses and ideas.  Why not take this to the next level by working with local funders (i.e. foundations and banks) to match five-times the funding lent by the community?

Crazy ideas are just one thing that makes Detroit so unique and vibrant.  Lots of people have ‘em and lots of people are making ‘em a reality.  In fact, be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more information on the Five to One program expected to launch this summer.  These crazy ideas are just one more reason why Toby loves Detroit and why the rest of us should, too.