A New Orleans native and graduate of Tulane University, Molly McFarland launched her career in Marketing and Business Development at an architectural design firm in Ann Arbor. During her time as Marketing Director at another Ann Arbor startup, she and a coworker started working on a side project that eventually became what is now the company she co-founded with said coworker, AdAdapted. So far, they’ve secured clients such as the Detroit Lions, Nestle, and Proctor and Gamble. They’ve raised over $1M almost solely from Michigan-based investors, and they have some really cool stuff in the pipeline.

AdAdapted Website: http://bit.ly/2Fdg4Hj

AdAdapted Blog Post: http://bit.ly/2Jp1dMp

Detroit Startup Week: http://bit.ly/DetroitStartupWeek18

ASHE Media Website: http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite

M2 FB Page: http://bit.ly/MichiganMakersFB

Amanda Lewan is an award-winning writer and entrepreneur. After getting her Bachelor's in professional writing from Michigan State University and her Masters in English from Wayne State, she launched into the marketing world as a content marketer at Sunny Media Group. Shortly after, she launched Michipreneur, Michigan's only statewide publication on entrepreneurship and innovation. Taking her passion for building entrepreneurial communities, she cofounded Bamboo Detroit, a coworking space for entrepreneurs of all backgrounds. She's a Crain's 20 in their 20's awardee, one of Corp! Magazine's Most Valuable Millennials, and recipient of the City of Detroit Spirit of Detroit & Community Service Award.

Bamboo Website: http://bit.ly/2EWePwd (http://bit.ly/2EWePwd)

Detroit Startup Week: http://bit.ly/DetroitStartupWeek18 (http://bit.ly/DetroitStartupWeek18)

ASHE Media Website: http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite (http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite)

ASHE FB Page: http://bit.ly/ashefacebook

Jason Mendelson has some serious street cred. A 2-time graduate of the University of Michigan, he started out as a software engineer at Accenture, and after realizing he wanted to be a lawyer, got his law degree, became a lawyer in the Bay Area and now he's a venture capitalist (although he really hates that name). Currently, he serves as the Managing Director at Foundry Group, a Venture Capital firm in Boulder, Colorado, and let me tell you, they put out some hilarious music videos.

Blog Post: http://bit.ly/2GRcYhY

Video Version: http://bit.ly/2v45YsC

Jason's song: http://bit.ly/2IJvLYO

 

ASHE Media Website: http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite (http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite)

Paul Riser is a lifelong Detroit native. He started his career at Sun Microsystems at its peak and currently his main gig, among a litany of other commitments, is serving as TechTown Detroit's Managing Director of Tech-Based Entrepreneurship, a role fitting to his expertise of over 20 years in the tech industry. He's the chair of the board of BLAC Detroit, the premiere lifestyle magazine for African Americans in and around Detroit. He is also the Chief Information and Technology Officer of Innovative Health Technologies & Hi-Tech Research Labs.

MedHealth Innovation Website: http://bit.ly/2Gxfq8R

Detroit Startup Week: http://bit.ly/DetroitStartupWeek18 (http://bit.ly/DetroitStartupWeek18)

ASHE Media Website: http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite (http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite)

ASHE FB Page: http://bit.ly/ashefacebook (http://bit.ly/ashefacebook)

Jeanette Pierce is a lifelong native of Detroit proper, and she is what I would call the human encyclopedia of all things Detroit. After studying abroad in Spain, she was inspired to help create the same small-town, know your neighbors across the street feel to Detroit, as she saw fit. Since then, she's worked at building the new narrative of Detroit for over 15 years. In her cofounder and director roles at Inside Detroit, D:hive, and now the Detroit Experience Factory, she has been a huge contributor to the new-age perspective on Detroit. Having toured Senators, Governors, Mayors, Presidents, CEOs, and so many more, she's experienced firsthand, and even been the cause of, the frame shift of what was once seen as a desolate city, to one that is thriving.

 

DXF Website: http://bit.ly/DXFxASHE

Spring Soiree: http://detroitexperiencefactory.org/soiree

ASHE Media Website: http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite (http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite)

ASHE FB Page: http://bit.ly/ashefacebook

This episode is a continuation of "How Venture School Is Reshaping Entrepreneurial Education in Detroit."

(From Venture School website) The mission of VentureSchool is to empower students to become capable, curious, and courageous leaders, innovators, and agents of change in their community through groundbreaking educational opportunities. Equipped with an entrepreneurial mindset, our students will be prepared to develop solutions to the complex challenges that affect our lives today and the world tomorrow.

Our vision is to create unrivaled, community-rooted learning experiences that leverage innovative design and student-centeredness through the lens of entrepreneurial education. Though our work is centered on Detroit's east side, we hope to cement a model that can be replicated across the city and eventually throughout the Midwest to create a region-wide network of young entrepreneurial thinkers ready to tackle the world's greatest challenges.

 

Marvin English is the Founding Hea

Venture School's mission is to empower students to become capable, curious, and courageous leaders, innovators, and agents of change in their community through groundbreaking educational opportunities. Equipped with an entrepreneurial mindset, their students will be prepared to develop solutions to the complex challenges that affect their lives today and the world tomorrow.

 

Marvin English is the Founding Head of School at VentureSchool Detroit. Prior to his role at VentureSchool, Marvin was the Founding School Principal at EAGLE College Prep Fox Park Charter School (https://eagleprep.org/fox-park) in St. Louis, Missouri and a founding leader of Brilla College Prep Charter School (http://www.brillacollegeprep.org/) in the South Bronx of New York City. Marvin also served as the Founding Director of Curriculum and Instruction for a nonprofit organization that worked in conjunction with Detroit Public Schools.

 

Drew Schantz is Founder and Executive Director of VentureSchool, and a f

Deirdre Groves is a self-identified social entrepreneur, having founded multiple nonprofits. A graduate of both Michigan State AND the University of Michigan, she has degrees in both Construction Management and Urban Planning. She’s a Crain’s 40 Under 40 awardee, recipient of the Detroit Young Professionals Vanguard Award, Honoree of the Women and Leadership in the Workplace Award, and she’s been recognized by Governing Magazine as one of the top 10 people that could save Detroit, a list that (for reference) also bears the name of billionaire Dan Gilbert, Cofounder of Quicken Loans and owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Even with all of those accomplishments, she remains cool to the touch and rooted in practicality, having attracted thousands of applicants to the program she currently executively directs - Challenge Detroit. In this episode, she’ll detail why Detroit is the place to move, and, if you’re a new grad or know of one, why Challenge Detroit is the perfect program for you to c

Edi Demaj's story is one that will impact everyone who listens to it. A childhood riddled with hardship, he never had a real education from 1st to 7th grade since his family lived life on the run. Having to dodge bullets most of their life in Kosovo, his family made it to the border of Macedonia and were let in by an Albanian police commander. Considering their options, his parents decided to move to the US, which was a life-changing decision that gave him a chance to exceed all expectations. After getting his Bachelor’s Degree at Oakland University, he started in the real estate game after a mentor of his took a chance on him. He worked his way up the ladder and eventually started working at Bedrock Real Estate in Detroit. He now operates Rocket Fiber: Detroit’s Fastest Internet.

ASHE Media Website: http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite (http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite)

ASHE FB Page: http://bit.ly/ashefacebook

Rocket Fiber Website: http://bit.ly/2EWPXFp

Edi's Twitter: @edidemaj

Shelly Sahi is a first-time founder, yet she’s already been making waves across not only the Michigan startup scene but the global fashion and beauty industry as well. Starting out as a researcher at the Univ. of Michigan hospital, she made a career change and started working at Ford Motor Company as a materials science researcher. Not satisfied, she moved up to the business office and started going to night classes at Michigan to get her MBA. After completing her MBA in two and a half years, she went fully into the company she started during the program, SAHI Cosmetics.

Website: http://bit.ly/SAHIxASHE

Socials: @sahicosmetics

Detroit Startup Week: http://bit.ly/DetroitStartupWeek18

ASHE Media Website: http://bit.ly/ashemediawebsite

ASHE FB Page: http://bit.ly/ashefacebook