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Week 6 - Saagar Jain

7/15/2019

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​The news article I read this week is titled “Tech start-ups coming to Detroit to accelerate their growth.” Published just two days ago, this article highlights some of the entrepreneurs that are bringing their businesses to Detroit, as they see the city as an ideal location for growth. These companies are coming from all over the world, including California, Israel, and Spain. Teporto, a start-up from Israel, is a shuttle service that allows commuters to influence the shuttle’s routing. The founder of Teporto, Sergio Lupu, “sees Michigan and Detroit as a growing ecosystem that is specifically smart mobility and the automotive industry.” If you had asked people just five or six years ago whether they saw Detroit as a “growing ecosystem,” most would likely laugh off the question and deny any possibility of growth for Detroit. This goes to shows how quickly Detroit has been able to push itself back from its economic downturn.
 
These businesses are coming here as part of Techstars Detroit’s “13-week program that will hone their business plans and connect them with industry leaders from Ford Motor Co.'s incubator Ford X, Honda Innovations, Lear Innovation Ventures and others.” Techstars Detroit is a Colorado-based company which came to Detroit in 2015 and has introduced dozens of tech start-ups to Detroit. One such company is Le Car, started by Detroit native Tamara Warren. Le Car is an app that uses artificial intelligence to ease car shopping through personalized recommendations.
 
Reading this article made me feel so appreciative to be in Detroit during such an important time during the city’s revitalization. It truly amazes me how quickly Detroit has been able to turn itself around after the economic downturn, and it seems like it may bounce back to become even greater than it was before the downturn. Companies are excited to come to Detroit and see it as a great place to grow their businesses.
 
Having spent the last six weeks in Detroit, I can definitely see why the city is able to draw attention from start-up tech companies. While Detroit isn’t exactly Silicon Valley quite yet, there are so many opportunities to meet the community’s needs here, and people seem to be open to innovative solutions that will continue to push the Motor City toward success. Additionally, a great number of investments are being made by people like Dan Gilbert, the founder of Quicken Loans, to support local businesses. Therefore, I have faith that Detroit will continue to grow; I feel a sense of pride in being able to participate in its revitalization.

Link: 
​https://www.detroitnews.com/story/business/2019/07/12/techstars-detroit-startups-detroit-tech-hub/1709294001/
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