TechTown is an incubator and accelerator that strives to support tech companies and small businesses across Detroit. This summer Chris and I are working with the Blocks division, the side of TechTown that serves brick-and-mortar businesses. Our project is to create economic impact reports for two of their signature programs: SWOT City and Retail Boot Camp. Although it initially seemed as though our job would be simple, putting together the report has turned out to be quite a challenge. Throughout the years TechTown’s data has been kept in different places and along the way records have been lost. My days with Chris mostly consist of us pulling available data, figuring out the best way to report it, and carefully documented gaps in the data.
Initially, I struggled to see the broader impact of the work we were doing. I knew from the very beginning that the impact report was necessary for TechTown to continue to secure the funding that would enable them to continue their work. However, when I first started working with TechTown I did not fully understand how important the work they did truly was. I began to get a sense of this my first week when I attended the Retail Boot Camp showcase with Chris. The graduates were passionate, pitched extremely well, and had clear plans for how they were going to develop their businesses. At the end of the night, the winners were awarded $5,000 and every business was handed over to SWOT city where they would continue to receive support. Over the next couple of weeks, I began to appreciate the work TechTown does more and mores simply by looking over all the numbers. In the past three years the Blocks program has served over a 100 clients. They have made over 2,000 referrals to over 200 different resources and helped to create 40 full time jobs. However, the moment I fully understood TechTown’s reach was when Lee, Divya, Ajay, and I went to Demo Days. Before the pitch competition, the contestants had set up stands outside the theater hall. I immediately recognized four or five of the businesses’ names from the data we had been working at, and was excited to see Lush Yummy Pie co., one of the recent Retail Boot Camp Graduates, was there. I then watched the owner give a spectacular pitch and win first in the Start category and the People’s Choice award for a total of 125,000 in prize money. Now I clearly see that TechTown supports incredible businesses and equips them with powerful skills and very useful resources. I am excited that I can contribute to this incredible organization and help them secure the funding to continue their work.
Initially, I struggled to see the broader impact of the work we were doing. I knew from the very beginning that the impact report was necessary for TechTown to continue to secure the funding that would enable them to continue their work. However, when I first started working with TechTown I did not fully understand how important the work they did truly was. I began to get a sense of this my first week when I attended the Retail Boot Camp showcase with Chris. The graduates were passionate, pitched extremely well, and had clear plans for how they were going to develop their businesses. At the end of the night, the winners were awarded $5,000 and every business was handed over to SWOT city where they would continue to receive support. Over the next couple of weeks, I began to appreciate the work TechTown does more and mores simply by looking over all the numbers. In the past three years the Blocks program has served over a 100 clients. They have made over 2,000 referrals to over 200 different resources and helped to create 40 full time jobs. However, the moment I fully understood TechTown’s reach was when Lee, Divya, Ajay, and I went to Demo Days. Before the pitch competition, the contestants had set up stands outside the theater hall. I immediately recognized four or five of the businesses’ names from the data we had been working at, and was excited to see Lush Yummy Pie co., one of the recent Retail Boot Camp Graduates, was there. I then watched the owner give a spectacular pitch and win first in the Start category and the People’s Choice award for a total of 125,000 in prize money. Now I clearly see that TechTown supports incredible businesses and equips them with powerful skills and very useful resources. I am excited that I can contribute to this incredible organization and help them secure the funding to continue their work.
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