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Detroiters, no strangers
to the concept of entrepreneurship – a guy by the name of
Henry Ford comes to mind – are at it with a passion in this
post-manufacturing Motor City era. There to assist these
budding business owners is the Build Institute.
Build was organized in
2012 as a welcome center and resource hub for the downtown
area with an idea of empowering people to turn business
ideas into reality. April Boyle, a founding team member and
the executive director, has managed the growth of the
organization and has seen more than 700 aspiring
entrepreneurs graduate from its programs and courses which
are offered all over the city.
“We can package a class up
and take it anywhere,” says Boyle. “Students might not feel
comfortable coming into an incubator but may feel
comfortable in a coffee shop.”
Build offers several
programs for prospective students.
·
Build Basics is an eight-week business and project planning
course based on nationally recognized curriculum and taught
by experienced professionals.
·
Build Social trains, develops and coaches social
entrepreneurs through a nine week timeline. This program is
geared for those who wish to start a for-profit company to
address Detroit’s social and/or environmental issues.
·
Build Bazaar is a rotating pop-up marketplace that
celebrates emerging entrepreneurs from the Build program and
the Detroit community
·
Open City is a forum for Detroit’s aspiring small business
owners to learn, network and exchange information with each
other.
·
Build Next offers ongoing educational workshops and alumni
networking events.
What differentiates Build
from other such programs around the nation, says Boyle, is
that it relies on a limited amount of donor funds. Build,
says Boyle, is an “entrepreneurial entrepreneurship
program,” raising about 25 percent of its own funds –
practicing, in essence, what it preaches.
Build graduates come from
over 100 zip codes in metro Detroit, are about 55 percent
minority, about 70 percent female and about 85 percent from
low to moderate income households.
At least three Build grads
have finished in the top 10 every year in the Hatch Detroit
Contest – a competition designed to award the most
impressive startup with $50,000 in funds to open a
storefront operation. Build grad Sister Pie won the award in
2014.
Build had eight graduates
in the 2015 NEIdeas $10K competition and Build grad Sweet
Potato Sensation won in 2014.
Notwithstanding these
competitions to win start-up capital, Build, says Boyle,
advocates “bootstrapping – lean start ups.” That’s the
home-as-office approach until the business is up and running
and can qualify for loans to expand. Indeed, Build itself
helps to raise capital for micro-loans through its Kiva Zip
platform.
For more information on
Build Institute, see their website –
www.buildinstitute.org. |
