CEO Podcast: Lydia Mitchell, a2Tech360

Paul Krutko: Welcome to Ann Arbor SPARK’s CEO Podcast…Conversations on Economic Opportunity. My name is Paul Krutko, and I’m the President and CEO of Ann Arbor SPARK.

Today I’m joined by Lydia Mitchell, who recently came on board as SPARK’s Program Manager for a2Tech360. In this role, Lydia is responsible for coordinating the ten-day series of events that highlight innovation, entrepreneurship, and community across the Ann Arbor region.

This year’s a2Tech360 includes a significant milestone: the 10th anniversary of both Tech Trek, which launched the series, and Tech Homecoming, a longstanding event connecting talent with local employers. With several new additions to the lineup and the return of many established programs, the 2025 series offers a comprehensive look at the strength of our region’s tech ecosystem. Lydia, welcome to the podcast.

Lydia Mitchell: Thanks Paul.

Paul: So Lydia, you joined SPARK earlier this year. We were pleased to have you join the team. Just to give some folks a little bit about yourself, what did you do before you got here? What drew you to this role and how’s the first a2Tech360 prep going for you?

Lydia: Yeah, absolutely. Well, I have spent my whole career planning events and community engagement across the state, and I am so excited. I was excited to apply because I love Ann Arbor. I’ve lived in Ann Arbor for the last 10 years, and the ability to do what I love, which is plan events and work with folks across the county to bring these events to fruition has been really fun. It’s been great to learn about the tech innovation here in Washtenaw County. That’s new to me, but the people are the same and everyone’s really great and it’s been fun to get started, and we are very excited for the 10th year. It might be my first year, but I hope it’s one of the best years of Tech Trek in particular, and I’m having a lot of fun working with everyone across the team to bring the events to life.

Paul: Well, that’s great. So, what’s new in the lineup this year? I mean, there’s always a little bit of change as we go from year to year. I mean, how do those additions, in your opinion, strengthen the overall series? One of the things just to remind listeners who follow SPARK and have been involved ina2Tech360 before, when it started, it was just Tech Trek, it was just that one afternoon. So now we have a very significant program, and you’ve got some new things. What are those and what do you think? How are they strengthening our overall program?

Lydia: Yeah, for sure. So one of the new events this year is The Business of Life Sciences event, and that’s actually going to take place in Ypsilanti at the new MI-HQ headquarters there on Michigan Ave. So we’re excited to bring that event in particular because life sciences and the folks in that ecosystem are a big part of the innovation here in the county, and we are really excited to put a focus on that critical industry. 

The other thing that’s new is we are bringing Tech Talk to a stage during Tech Trek, so it will be free, open to the public, and on a stage in Liberty Plaza, really showing folks some really cool tech that’s being innovated here in the county. So come out to Liberty Street and see all the companies from across the county, but make sure you black out some time to come see the talks on the stage in Liberty Plaza.

Paul: Yeah, because what we decided to do is we borrow this from some other events that we’ve seen. Putting the stage right into the Tech Trek environment we think is going to be a really fun thing. Hopefully we’re preparing for all kinds of things like rain, but hopefully it’ll be a beautiful, beautiful Ann Arbor September day. 

So there’s a wide range of partner events that we have, which is an interesting thing that’s happened to us over years where we have certain events that we produce and then we have partners who want to be a part of the overall program. So how do those events, in your opinion, contribute to the overall strength of the series?

Lydia: Absolutely. The partner events really bring in new voices, new perspectives, folks who are bringing together other groups of people who might otherwise not know about what’s happening at a2Tech360 and vice versa. So we have a great lineup. We have 15 partner events in total. Things like AI, digital health inventions, really it’s a great way to broaden the content. We’ve got some tried and true folks, right? Ann Arbor Art Center and the Ann Arbor Hands-On Museum are back with us in the lineup. But we also have other partners like WCC with their AI symposium and U of M’s Celebrate Invention. So a wide range of events to bring everyone together.

Paul: So one of the things that we were always very pleased to be able to do is to have the opportunity to partner with the University of Michigan and Celebrate Invention. And for those listeners who haven’t ever attended an event, it is something that you might want to try to register for in addition to everything else that you will talk about how you do that. But there you get to see some of the cutting-edge technology that is at the point of being commercialized out of the University of Michigan’s efforts. And last year, one of the ones that was very exciting and it’s now growing early-stage startup was a company called Heat2Power that we first saw at the Celebrate Invention, which is a much more efficient solar cell, and was a very exciting new company. 

Well, so a little deeper on Tech Trek, it’s one of our most visible events in the lineup, bringing people on the last day of a2Tech360 to downtown Ann Arbor. So tell us about that event. Tell us a little bit more about what someone can expect if they haven’t seen it before.

Lydia: Yeah, absolutely. So Tech Trek really is your opportunity to get your hands and your eyes on technology. We bring together as many tech companies from across the county onto Liberty Street as well as a number of folks with offices downtown that will open their doors. We’ll even engage the local pedicabs to get folks around town. So it’s a chance to see what’s being made, built, and created here in Washtenaw County. And it’s open to everyone. It’s a chance for families and community members to see what the county has to offer. And this year we’re also including some really specific student Trek opportunities. The exhibitors are going to bring in specific pieces for students from Washtenaw Community College’s CTE program, as well as some local robotics teams. And we’re also working with college students from WCC’s FAME program. So really a focus on what technology looks like, but also what the pipeline for careers and living and working here in Ann Arbor look like.

Paul: Yeah, for folks who have come, they know what it is, the environment we take over the entire street, both sides, each of the companies that are presenting, if you will, have a tented area where they are actually demonstrating their technology. So those folks that are familiar with Art Fair, kind of similar except it’s all technology. So we really would encourage you, like Lydia said, one industry where our SPARK headquarters is Liberty Plaza and we totally program Liberty Plaza as well with this new idea of a stage and presentations from that stage. 

So one of the things is changing that we’re excited about and you can talk a little bit about why we made the change is Tech Homecoming. So we historically have had that take place the night before Thanksgiving. Our thinking being that people have returned to Ann Arbor and exposing them to job opportunities was a great idea. But what we found out is lots of people with jobs don’t like to work on the night before Thanksgiving. So we’ve moved it to a2Tech360. So think a little bit about how you think that’s going to be a better opportunity for people to learn about employment in Ann Arbor.

Lydia: So we have a great track record with Tech Homecoming and companies and job seekers really wanting to be engaged. And so this is just an opportunity to catch everyone while we’re paying attention during a2Tech360, we’re talking about tech across industries. Again, with that even that focus on life sciences, we’re partnering with Nucleate to bring in life sciences companies specifically to Tech Homecoming in addition to all the other great companies that we’ll be hiring. And we really think that by plugging it into the 360 lineup, we will get everyone’s attention while they’re excited, and it’s on U of M’s homecoming weekend. So folks coming back into town for homecoming will get an opportunity to maybe think about why they should come back for good.

Paul: And interestingly enough, just to pull the curtain back a little bit, we’re playing Wisconsin. What the marketing and communication team does here is use social media into the Wisconsin environment and Madison to encourage those folks that maybe you like Wisconsin, but there’s better opportunities in Ann Arbor. So just a little bit of sidebar also for folks who follow us or don’t follow us on social media, our research director does a weekly comparison of Ann Arbor to the opponent city that we’re playing, and we find that to be something that the community finds a lot of interest in. So look forward for that too. Little deviation from the script here. 

So as you look across the full schedule, Lydia, what are you most looking forward to? I mean you’ve, you’re planning these events, right? But is there one or two or maybe more that you say, Hey, in addition to planning it, I’m really interested in seeing what it is?

Lydia: Yeah, I’m very excited for Tech Talk, the idea of bringing the stage out to Liberty Plaza and really showing folks what’s going on. And we have some great presenters, so a couple sports themes, a couple solar-themed ones, and there’s really going to be a cool chance for folks to see what’s new and what’s happening. So I’m excited about Tech Talk.

I also think the launch of the Business of Life Sciences event is going to be key. It’s a growing industry. The work that MI-HQ has done in the county is really worth highlighting, and we’re excited to bring that event to Ypsilanti. And then we’re also on the topic of new locations. We’re bringing the Michigan Startup Capital Summit to the new Vanguard Hotel. They’re near the hospital across from where the iconic Angelo’s restaurant used to be. So we’re activating some places that folks might not have seen yet. And as an event planner, that’s fun for me too.

Paul: Yeah, the one that is always very exciting and we are almost every year blown away, I’m giving you one that I think is a really great event, is the Women in Tech event. And for a number of years we’ve been holding it at the Sheraton, but we’re really excited this year for a partnership with WCC. They have a great facility, the Morris Lawrence building on campus, and Women in Tech is going to be at that location this year. That is an event that gets sold out some years. I think I’m the only guy in the room, which is great because we really wanted to highlight the women that are making things happen in startups, but also managing companies and also just all the folks that are working in that space. So that’s a one that I always look forward to. 

And the other one that’s, it’s interesting one to share, we kind of always kick off with an event [FastTrack] that celebrates the fastest growing companies in the region, and it is a way to acknowledge them, to get into that room and receive acknowledgement. You’ve had to have 20% growth year over year for at least three consecutive years. And we have some companies that that’s been the case for more than a decade. So it’s a celebration of what is called Gazelle Companies and people are very excited about being able to have that acknowledgement and we enjoy giving it to them.

Well, so as we close out, since you’ve not been with us even a year, you are now acquainted with SPARK. You really have more insight than most people into sort of the variety of the innovation ecosystem we’ve created here. So what are some thoughts you have about what you’ve experienced so far, just in general?

Lydia: Yeah, you’re right, Paul. Being able to run the 360 events, I get to work with every team here at SPARK. So each of the events highlights a different area of expertise and connection that we bring to the ecosystem. And so it’s been really, really fun to get to know each person’s passion. I think everyone here at SPARK does something different, but they are all so passionate about supporting the clients and the companies they’re working with, growing the opportunities for folks in the county, and to get to work every day with people who really are passionate and excited about that is really fun. SPARK’s a connector, right? SPARK’s the collaborator, the spark between folks, and that’s really a fun thing to bring to the table. And it also makes it really easy to walk into any room because folks know who SPARK is and are excited to connect with you whether you’re going to Happy Hour or you’re going to a business meeting. Folks are excited to work with you because they know how passionate our teams are.

Paul: Yeah, the original idea 10 years ago was that we wanted to have a program where the tech community connected with each other, but it was also we wanted to connect with the larger community. Just recently, we were evaluated by a venture capital firm in Chicago. They identified that we were the fifth most significant innovation ecosystem in the Midwest. And when people say, well, wow, five is that great, well ahead of us. Were four major cities, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Chicago, and Pittsburgh. And on many of the individual ratings, we were only second to Chicago. So part of what this a2Tech360 does is really that’s how the outside world sees us. This is a way for our local community to better understand how our economy is working relative to the tech economy. So thanks, Lydia. 

What we want to do, too, is I always close with this, but we’ll do it now. If you’re interested in seeing the lineup, if you’re interested in potentially registering for events, because some of them require registration, you just go to SPARK’s website that we always mention at the end, but I’ll do it now: it’s annarborusa.org. And right on that first page, when you get there, there is the a2Tech360 banner that you can click on and get more information. Also, if you’re just sitting around the house today and you have the Ann Arbor Observer, turn a few pages in and you’ll see a full page ad that has the listing of each of the events that’s going to happen. 

So again, Lydia, thanks for taking some time. You’re probably going to have to run and do something real quick here as we’re probably only about three weeks away from the actual event.

For more information about Ann Arbor SPARK, you can find us on the web at annarborusa.org, and also on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.