Our speaker this week was Craig Donnellyis.  Craig is the WSU Assistant VP of Economic Development and Chief Strategy Officer of TechTown Detroit.
 
Mr. Donnelly focused on his work with TechTown, Detroit’s entrepreneurship hub.  Its purpose is to help tech startups and local businesses, as an incubator and accelerator. TechTown operates under three legs.
 
(1) Space:  It provides workspace at its location near Wayne State.  It has 30 full-time tenants and over 300 members who co-work where they can share desks and offices and use the facility for meetings and events. 
(2) Tech: Offers a Business Incubator Center for new businesses and DTX Launch Detroit, a summer accelerator for college students and recent grads.
 
(3) Neighborhoods: It supports local brick and mortar small businesses through SWOT City for existing businesses, a Retail Boot Camp to prepare those trying to open a business, and Pop-up Opportunities at the SHOP, a monthly retail pop-up on the first floor of their facility.
 
TechTown supports those with a dream and a viable business plan.  Through failures, much can be learned and the hope is to fail small to succeed big.  To learn more, go to