TechTown, Wayne State's business incubator, held it's monthly First Friday networking event Feb. 5 in its newly acquired Dalgleish Cadillac building on Cass Avenue between Burroughs and Amsterdam streets.
First Friday, held the first Friday of every month, began as a small event in 2004 among a handful of colleagues who wanted to discuss their entrepreneurial ventures, according to Allison Lumb, TechTown's marketing coordinator.
“The event began very causally with colleagues gathering in the lobby at the end of the week to share their stories of success and challenges they faced,” she said. “It was a social event where they shared their business wisdom with each other.”
The event, she said, began with around 30 or 40 individuals. Feb. 5, however, there were hundreds of registered attendees.
“In the last year and a half, the event has grown considerably,” Lumb said. “Today, we had well over 300 people register.” First Friday has taken place in a number of locations. It used to be held in the TechOne building, but because of its growth in the last few years, new accommodations have been made, according to TechTown Executive Director Randal Charlton.
“Once we got over 200 attendees, we had to change the venue,” Charlton said.
The former Dalgleish Cadillac building, was recently purchased by WSU and will be transformed into what is called TechTwo, according to Charlton.
“This building was bought by WSU for TechTown,” he said. “They bought it in December, and we're taking it over shortly, in the next week or two. And then we're going to build it out for entrepreneurs and new businesses, including student businesses.”
Normally, Charlton said, First Friday schedules a speaker to share what it's like to start a business and how to write a business plan. This time, however, there was a panel of five entrepreneurs from TechTown's business accelerator program, SmartStart, who answered questions about their companies.
The panelists were Michael O'Neil of Detroit Logistics Company, Carole Johnson of CYJ Enterprises, Emma Hammond of Allen Hammond Trucking and Transport Services, Paul Angott of Angott Medical Products and Oliver Baer of Clean Emission Fluids.
Johnson, who has attended First Friday several times, said she started CYJ Enterprises with the help of SmartStart about three years ago. Her company, she said, has created a product called e-CYREN, which is emergency management software for childcare providers. SmartStart, she said, has helped her find resources, meet with investors and learn the “entrepreneurial landscape.”
“The resources have been great,” she said.
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