TechTown Detroit - Organization of the Year

Company: TechTown Detroit, Detroit, MI
Company Description: TechTown empowers Detroit-based startups and local businesses to start, stabilize and scale by providing resources, collaborative workspace and education for entrepreneurs that will further accelerate inclusive economic development across Detroit. Since 2007, TechTown has supported 4,530 companies, which created more than 1,600 jobs and raised more than $172 million in startup and growth capital.
Nomination Category: Company / Organization Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Organization of the Year - Non-Profit or Government - Small

Nomination Title: TechTown Detroit - Nonprofit Organization of the Year

TechTown is Detroit’s entrepreneurship hub. We are an incubator and accelerator with a full suite of programs for nonprofits, tech and neighborhood small businesses. We help tech startups and local businesses launch and grow and provide collaborative workspace and education for entrepreneurs that will further accelerate inclusive economic development across Detroit.

Founded in 2000 by Wayne State University, Henry Ford Health System and General Motors, TechTown incorporated as a nonprofit in 2004 and established its headquarters in a landmark 1927 Albert Kahn building, north of the Wayne State campus.

Originally launched to support tech-based spinoffs from the university, we soon realized that our incubation and acceleration strategies for tech companies could help strengthen neighborhood small businesses and commercial corridors across Detroit.

Today, we offer a full suite of entrepreneurial services. Our five-story building houses our administrative offices, coworking community, meeting and event space, and numerous businesses and organizations working across sectors to drive progress in Detroit.

Ned Staebler serves as vice president for economic development at Wayne State University and as president and CEO of TechTown. He works closely with a team of 40 members to ensure success for all the organizations TechTown touches.

From 2019-2020, TechTown served 1,667 businesses, created 27 jobs and generated more than $3.9 million in startup and growth capital. Weopened Co.act Detroit, a hub for collaborative action in Southeast Michigan’s nonprofit community, and launchedStart Studioto answer Detroit’s unmet demand for idea-stage tech business assistance.

We also doubled down on our ongoing efforts to create a more equitable Detroit and more diverse and inclusive work environment. Diversity and Inclusion Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Marlo Rencher, joined the staff; a salary equity analysis addressed inequities and resulted in pay increases; 90% of Start Studio entrepreneurs were not white, 50% were women and 30% had no bachelor’s degree.

Then the pandemic hit, and TechTown’s leadership implemented changes for staff’s health and mental well-being. Wellness checks were added; unlimited time off was implemented; monthly mental health days allowed employees to unplug; and the innovativeCoworking Classroomprovided a free and safe virtual learning environment for school-aged children at TechTown while parents worked onsite.

Externally, we turned our attention to helping entrepreneurs weather the storm of COVID-19. In the early days of the pandemic, we provided emergency funding to small businesses in Detroit to bridge the gap until additional resources were announced. This Detroit Small Business Stabilization Fund and the TechTown Stabilization Fund funneled approximately $1.2 million into local small businesses.

We also launched afree virtual training series, spearheaded a customized business support program called313 STRONGand played an integral role in the newDetroit Means Businesscoalition.

A blog written on ICIC’s website highlights the challenges incubators and accelerators across all sectors face to find effective strategies that increase the diversity of entrepreneurs they support and the inclusivity of their organization. However, despite these challenges TechTown has built out one of the nation’s most inclusive and diverse pipelines and pathways for small business support. We’ve identified and removed barriers for thousands of entrepreneurs, and we’re getting asked by people from Honolulu to Providence to build out similar ecosystems.

In 2020, nearly 60% of TechTown’s tech founders were Black, compared to 15% in 2018. We did this through the creation and implementation of programs like Start Studio and STEEP, a 15-week business incubator program for Black/African-American women entrepreneurs or small business owners. We also accomplished this through extensive research benchmarking best practices for inclusive tech entrepreneurship environments and then practicing what we preach in our own business.

While the health and wellness of our employees has always paramount at TechTown, the pandemic forced us develop new programs to reduce stress and support family needs. According to a CNBC, only 32 percent of employers have child-care plans of any kind in place and 42 percent did not have a dedicated plan to help employees balance child-care responsibilities. That is why the launch of the Coworking Classoom was so significant – not only did we provide safe, in-person educational support for children of our staff and coworking members, but we did it free of charge.

The news media took note of TechTown Detroit’s efforts to not only continue support of its own entrepreneurs during this unusual time, but its support of those in the community at large. Articles were written about the new virtual monthly training series, spreading the word about this valuable resource to entrepreneurs and underscoring its importance as ascribed by third-party credibility.

In sharp contrast, at a time when businesses throughout the nation were closing at record numbers, the media highlighted that TechTown’s Retail Boot Camp (RBC) graduates were actually opening their doors. Media coverage of the program boosted awareness and channeled retail traffic to recent RBC graduates.

The organization’s work in the diversity, equity and inclusion space was recognized as Authority Magazine tapped CEO Ned Staebler as a source for a Q & A profile piece focusing on the value and benefits of building a company or organization focused on diversity, equity and inclusion. The piece extensively referenced and used as example the work of TechTown Detroit, reinforcing its reputation as an entrepreneurship hub and its mission to strengthen and support neighborhood businesses.