Entrepreneurial Opportunities

Join us for a free community event where small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs can get hands-on support with their Small Business Support Program applications, connect with business development experts, and discover the resources and guidance needed to take their business to the next level.

Why Attend?

• Get expert guidance on your application process.
• Learn about funding opportunities, tools, and resources for small businesses.
• Connect with local organizations dedicated to supporting your success.

Featured Speakers: 

• Ann Arbor SPARK – offering resources and funding opportunities to empower small businesses to grow, succeed, and thrive in our community.
• Jewish Family Services of Washtenaw County – providing career guidance, financial education, and business planning services. Learn more about the Microenterprise Development Program, which supports self-owned businesses with education, credit building, and loan assistance.

• Michigan SBDC Greater Washtenaw Region- The Michigan (MI) SBDC will provide individualized consulting, training, and market research for new ventures and existing small businesses. MI SBDC is committed to fostering and sustaining a culture of inclusion through service to Michigan’s diverse business community.
• Start-Up Incubator by the Entrepreneurship Center at Washtenaw Community College- With a holistic, two-year approach to entrepreneur development, the Start-Up Incubator focuses on launching businesses and driving revenue. This action-oriented program covers essential business skills and provides a supportive community through coaching and peer groups.

Take the next step toward your business goals. Bring your ideas, your questions, and your ambition – we’re here to help you turn them into action!

SizeUp SPARK is a powerful business intelligence tool that provides small businesses with market research, industry benchmarks, and competitive insights—all at no cost and without the need for a login.

• Find out how your business stacks up against competitors
• Discover where your ideal customers are located
• Identify untapped business opportunities
• Make data-driven decisions to support business growth

This session is designed for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and business support professionals looking to learn more about this valuable resource. Attendees will get a live demo of the platform, learn how to navigate its key features, and have the opportunity to ask questions.

Who Should Attend?

• Small business owners and entrepreneurs
• Business coaches and advisors
• Economic development professionals
• Anyone supporting small businesses and startups

Lunch is on us! Join us at SPARK Central Innovation Center for this exciting opportunity.

Discover how SizeUp SPARK can help small businesses and entrepreneurs make smarter, data-driven decisions!

Ann Arbor SPARK is happy to invite you to: “Lunch is on Us!!”

Join the SPARK Staff, and your fellow entrepreneurs, as we share a meal together, and get to know each other better, in the Main Event Space, here at the SPARK Central Innovation Center, 330 E. Liberty Street, Lower Level.

You’re welcome to bring a friend, family member, or colleague who has, or is thinking about, launching a startup, or who isn’t yet familiar with SPARK, and the local startup ecosystem.

 Please note this lunch is held on the third Wednesday of every month from 1:00pm – 2:00pm, unless we indicate otherwise.

Please share this communication with your whole team, and your networks. RSVP asap, so we know how many guests to expect.

To RSVP, contact Charlotte Dillard at charlotte@annarborusa.org.

Catalyze Student Innovation for the Common Good: RSVP today for the Impact Studio Demo Day

What to expect:

• Interact with live demonstrations of prototypes
• Connect with visionary student founders
• Provide feedback on early-stage solutions to global issues
• Light refreshments will be served

Industry areas: Tech for good, health and well-being, education, climate, economic development

Event Info

Location: Ross School of Business Winter Garden
(701 Tappan Ave)

Time: April 4th, 11am - 1pm

 

The Inclusive Workplace Series provides training and guidance to growing companies in the greater Ann Arbor region who want to understand various aspects of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) to consider in the development of their business. The series helps executives, HR professionals, team members, and all champions and allies learn how to build a more inclusive workplace culture that can result in improved hiring, employee retention and engagement, and deliver ROI in terms of innovation, performance, and growth.

In this session, participants will:

• Define trust and transparency and why they matter in the workplace.
• Understand trust and transparency as part of a value system and organizational currency which provides an environment for all team members to perform at their best.
• Identify the connection between transparency, trust, and productivity.
• Explore the hidden cost of distrust and unresolved conflict in the workplace.
• Assess personal self-awareness and accountability to increase trust in the workplace.

 

Important Note: Due to the interactive nature of this series, participation is limited, and recordings of the events will not be available.

 

Date and time

Virtual Event-Tuesday, February 18 | 11:30 am-12:30 pm EST

Overview: Pricing your product has many variables and can have a huge impact on your business success. Join us for SPARK.ed to explore various pricing models, the challenges you may encounter along the way, and the impact that your price and model has on your viability and ability to secure funding.

About the Presenter:
This SPARK.ed is hosted by Ann Arbor SPARK and led by Ted Dacko, a serial entrepreneur with decades of experience in B2B companies, engaging customers, and leading teams.

MedHealth Summit speed-matchmaking offers a flexible way to have productive, introductory conversations with people who are relevant to your organization. Medtech innovators can apply to meet with healthcare organizations, research institutions, entrepreneurial service providers, and investors through one seamless application. Applications are due March 3, 2025.

Organizations interested in hosting meetings with healthcare innovators can email hello@medhealthinnovation.org for more information.

How it Works

Innovators must apply to participate in speed-matchmaking. Applications will be vetted to ensure match with the interests of attending host organizations.

Host organizations will be positioned at tables in a dedicated space in our event venue. Accepted innovators will be admitted into this space and can meet with host organizations on a first-come-first-served basis.

All innovators must write the name of their organization down on a sign-in-sheet before beginning each meeting. Meetings can be up to ten minutes before innovators will be asked to move to another host.

Host organizations desire innovative concepts that:

• Capture and curate health data from a variety of sources: diaries, wearables, logs, provider input, clinical health records, payment information and history, pharmacy and prescription information, clinical trial data, family health data, and more
• Better link consumers, providers, and other key stakeholders to information about consumers’ behaviors and health through avenues such as web-based and mobile dashboards and applications
• Enhance patient-provider engagements
• Use artificial intelligence or machine learning to reduce or eliminate gaps in care
• Provide targeted, accurate, and timely guidance about care options, appropriate care sites, consumer costs, and care delivery locations
• Help identify and eliminate cybersecurity vulnerabilities
• Integrate or work in parallel with electronic health records
• Monitor chronic disease symptoms and treatment protocols to prevent readmission, optimize resource utilization, and drive improved outcomes
• Incorporate remote monitoring devices, telehealth, predictive analytics, and big data

Are you an early-stage/growth-stage startup or VC firm seeking top talent?

Join us for the 4th annual Startup & Venture Capital Career Fair, hosted by the Zell Lurie Institute at Michigan Ross. Connect with undergraduate and graduate students looking for internship opportunities and full-time employment. Hire Michigan’s leaders and best to accelerate your business growth and capitalize on new opportunities.

Registrations will be accepted until Friday, February 14.

Midwest House is proud to work with ecosystem partners around the Midwest to provide this platform for entrepreneurs.

Midwest House will be bringing some of the freshest startups in the region to SXSW for an early-stage pitch competition with the distinct flavor of March Madness.

The call for submissions to be a part of the field of 64 Startups is OPEN!!!

From the Top 64, an “elite 8” will be invited to compete on stage at the Midwest House during SXSW. Midwest Madness concludes with the awarding of a $10,000 cash prize for the winner and travel stipends for the "elite 8"!!

Midwest House: March 7 - 10
Pitch competition is TBD

If you have questions, please email Corey Hart at corey@midwesthouse.org.

**Please note that any accepted start-up will be responsible for their own attendance and travel-related expenses. SPARK funds are not available for these expenses. 

Renaissance UnDemo Day® is a semi-annual event that connects Midwest startups with venture capital investors from around the U.S. Spring events are virtual, and the fall event is in person in Detroit.

The goal for all UnDemo Day® events is to foster useful connections that ideally lead to investment in historically underrepresented geographies and founders.

The UnDemo Day® schedule includes startup education, networking, and a curated 1:1 meeting between startups and investors, matched based on the requests of participating VCs. Applicants with the most meeting requests from investors will be included on the Renaissance Hotlist, which is distributed to hundreds of venture capital firms.

A few reminders about the structure of Spring UnDemo Day®:

• This is a virtual event on April 9, and is free to all participants
• The event connects nationwide venture capital funds with Midwest startups led by an underrepresented founder or CEO
• The agenda includes education sessions, large group pitch rooms, and custom 1:1 virtual meeting between startups and investors, matched based on alignment of sector and stage
• Startups who wish to be considered for 1:1 virtual meetings with investors must complete an application

The time of commitment is from 11:30am to 4pm ET on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. The 20 applicants with the most interest from investors will receive a spot in the pitch room and will be included on the Renaissance Startup Hotlist (2025), which is distributed to hundreds of venture capital firms

The startup application is open until February 13 and takes 20 minutes or less to complete. Please encourage startups in your network to apply before this date in order to be considered for priority 1:1 meeting slot. Investors will begin making their selections shortly after this date.

Investor registration for Spring UnDemo Day® will open at the end of February. If you have any questions, please refer to the FAQ page or reach out to Christina at christinad@renvcf.com