Impact Michigan

Ryan Landau is a serial entrepreneur, having started his first company at the ripe age of 14 years old, ran it during his high school and college years with his brother before eventually selling it to a competitor. A Michigan State alum who got his professional start post-graduation at IBM in our nation’s capital, Washington D.C., he felt the call to move back to Michigan and start a tech company of his own. With his brother, he started Chalkfly, an e-commerce platform for janitorial and office supplies. After selling the company in 2014, he worked at Detroit-based Ambassador before heading back to the entrepreneur life to start re:purpose, where he wants to create a world where everyone pursues their passions and is a part of something greater than themselves.

re:purpose website: http://bit.ly/repurposeashe

re:purpose Twitter: @repurposeHQ

Ryan’s Email: [email protected]

Ryan’s Twitter: @RyanKLandau

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

Bill Mayer is one of Ann Arbor’s leaders in entrepreneurial community building on the show today. He is the Vice President of Entrepreneurial Services at Ann Arbor SPARK, which is the engine for Ann Arbor’s economic development and growth. A serial entrepreneur, Bill is dedicating his time, expertise, and connections to support Michigan entrepreneurship, specializing in Ann Arbor. Once quoted to say, “Ignorance and blind optimism are an entrepreneur's best friends,” you can tell that this man has had his fair share of startup pains. But none of those pains held him back, as his career is inundated with wins. He’s founded and exited multiple startups in technology and finance, taking several companies to IPO. He’s worked with Fortune 500 companies, managed over $125M in client assets, and has held multiple securities broker licenses for over 10 years. His superpower is taking a startup, analyzing it, and positioning it to maximize its ability to receive funding.

Check out Detroit Startup Week here: http://bit.ly/DetroitStartupWeek18

Danny Ellis is a self-proclaimed accidental entrepreneur, who set out on a path to automate aerial robots as a research project and stumbled into creating a business, eventually going on to raise over $11M in venture capital without moving his business out of Michigan. He’s part of the Forbes 30 Under 30 2016 class, he’s an Endeavour entrepreneur, and a Crain’s Detroit 20 in their 20’s awardee. He’s a mentor for Techstars Mobility in Detroit, an avid book reader, and one of the cofounders of the Michigan Autonomous Aerial Vehicles group at the University of Michigan.

Check out Detroit Startup Week here: http://bit.ly/DetroitStartupWeek18

Rob Burnett is a true Renaissance man. Having lived life as a Venture Capitalist, Lawyer, Business Developer, Community and Economic Development attorney, Nepali Tea Trader, and elite cyclist having completed two of the world’s toughest mountain bike races, he is one of my top contenders for the most interesting man in the world. We met last year on a trip to San Francisco, and I can honestly say he was impressive from the start, being one of only two volunteers to pitch live to real venture capitalists (I was the other volunteer by the way). Currently, he spends his time traveling around the country representing Netcapital, a fundraising platform that helps entrepreneurs and investors buy and sell shares in early stage companies.

Check out Detroit Startup Week here: http://bit.ly/DetroitStartupWeek18

Fares Ksebati is the Cofounder and CEO of MySwimPro. A native of Detroit and Wayne State University alum, he's an entrepreneur, swim coach, and mentor. He's also a 3-time US Masters Swimming National Champion. MySwimPro was named the Apple Watch App of the Year, coaching over half a million swimmers in over 150 countries so far.