This month, we had the fortunate opportunity to dive into the energy of Michigan’s thriving tech scene at Michigan Tech Week. For the uninitiated, MTW is all about bringing the state’s tech community together to collaborate, grow, and celebrate the rich history of innovation and industry. If you’ll indulge me for a moment, this spirit is why I’m such a Detroit super fan (you might have seen this on my LinkedIn profile tagline!). Detroit has been my adopted home for nearly 20 years, and I’ve really come to love its grit, pride, and resilience. The city’s recent redemption arc has only deepened my respect for what’s happened during that same timeframe. In fact, according to the 2024 Global Startup Ecosystem Report (GSER), “Between our 2019 and 2024 GSER reports, the Detroit region maintained an impressive upward trajectory. The city nearly broke into the Top 40 Global Startup Ecosystems and achieved the #1 position among Emerging Ecosystems in 2022—a 13-spot jump from the previous year.” This is the very same city that in 2013 had the largest municipal bankruptcy filing in US history, which makes this all the more impressive.
So the net of it is this: this is why MTW is such an exciting annual event —its sessions focus on connecting founders, investors, and tech talent, shining a light on Michigan’s startup scene, and offering plenty of chances to network, learn, and innovate to continue to build a stronger, more connected ecosystem.
That brings me to the event we co-hosted with Bamboo Detroit! One of the common challenges our clients face is knowing how, when, and why to bring on their early executive leaders and partners as they scale. And, as anyone who’s tried to make friends as an adult knows, making those meaningful connections isn’t always easy. So, this event was all about creating a curated environment for founders, potential co-founders, and early hires to meet and connect in a meaningful way.
We teamed up with Bamboo’s CEO Amanda Lewan to bring the idea of Founder Speed Dating to life. Our goal was to create a curated experience where founders could not only identify their strengths but also find partners with complementary skills and values. For example, a technical CEO might need a sales expert to drive revenue, or founders might align on core values like bootstrapping or fundraising to form dynamic partnerships. We believe this step is so important that in our next post, we’ll dive deeper into the power of complementary skills. Stay tuned for Co-Founder Chemistry: Why Complementary Skills Matter!
Let’s start with some event highlights from Linus Coy:
High Energy Atmosphere: Attendees wasted no time upon entry and began introducing themselves organically and discussing what brought them to the event and where they were on their journey. Name tags with color-coded stickers helped break the ice, showing whether someone was a founder, aspiring co-founder, investor/advisor, or there to network with a like-minded community.
Diversity of Participants: We had over 10 industries represented, from EdTech to Consumer Packaged Goods, B2B CPA Tech, and even 3D drones. It was an amazing mix of innovation!
Connections Made: Four attendees expressed they felt that their match was exactly who they were looking for. Stay tuned as we follow these success stories.
Takeaways
Value of Networking: Most attendees cited how the event was filling a noticeable gap of presenting a focused opportunity for organizational leaders to meet. Many attendees asked when and where future events with similar scope would be held, and everyone expressed gratitude for the opportunity to join in on this inaugural event.
Speed Dating Format: This event was more fluid and cultivated than typical speed dating events. Attendees who submitted the pre-event questionnaire were given two matches upon arrival that met criteria of interest expressed in the survey. While there were no forced conversations, the pre-matching provided a more efficient format for engaging within the group.
Diverse Skillsets: The event had a great balance of experience and skillsets. There were a similar number of founders and aspiring co-founders, most of which brought different skills and expertise to provide to interested persons.
Lessons Learned
Tailored Matchmaking: The pre-matching was a hit! It was one of the event’s biggest advantages and will be even more valuable as the event scales.
Follow-Up Matters: Many attendees wanted ongoing connection opportunities, including access to those who couldn’t make it. Based on feedback, we’re planning to create a Slack community, share LinkedIn and email info, and make it easy to stay connected long after the event.
Future Plans: Supporting the Startup Ecosystem
Looking ahead, we’re excited to build on the success of our first Founder Speed Dating event. Our goal is to continue to focus on curated matchmaking, scaling up to support even more founders from diverse industries.
In addition to Founder Speed Dating, we’re also aiming to launch an Emerging Talent Program to connect founders with early-career, local talent—helping them scale without the high costs of seasoned hires. It’s all part of our mission to drive Michigan’s startup ecosystem by matching founders with the right people at every stage of growth.
At Sproutwise, our focus is helping founders build strong, scalable teams and the HR infrastructure they need to succeed. In these events, we’re both advisors and facilitators, guiding founders through the critical steps of identifying talent and creating sustainable people programs.
Stay with us as we continue driving innovation and growth within the community!
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