One of the first priorities of the Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition when it launched in 2010 was to connect local entrepreneurs with investors from near and far. Now that the $1 million business plan competition is entering its third year, it's starting to collect a roster of investment relationships.
Accelerate Michigan offers a $500,000 cash prize for the event's winner, along with a number of smaller prizes that usually clock in at the five-figure mark. It has attracted top tier Great Lakes State tech start-ups, as well as firms from across the U.S. interested in moving to Michigan. Organizers also use the competition as a platform to showcase the state's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem to both local and out-of-state investors and strategic partners.
Last year organizers were able to make a particularly significant connection: Alex Wong, a tech venture capitalist with roots in Ann Arbor and one of the top people at
D.E. Shaw Group, a $27 billion fund based in Silicon Valley. Accelerate Michigan organizers were able to schedule a day of meetings with Wong and potential partners (both entrepreneurial and investor) during the competition.
"Everybody from that meet-up found it really valuable," says Lauren Bigelow, executive director of
Accelerate Michigan.
The competition has also helped move the pens on some significant term sheets. Last year's winner,
DeNovo Sciences, leveraged the $500,000 prize in last year's competition to a $1.75 million seed capital round this year. The Plymouth-based start-up is developing a platform for early detection of cancer from blood as an alternative to painful biopsies.
DeNovo Sciences is hoping to land a $6 million Series A round next year.
Accelerate Michigan moved from Ann Arbor to downtown Detroit this year. It will be held at the Book-Cadillac Hotel, Guardian Building and Orchestra Hall over Nov 13-15. For information, click
here.
Source: Lauren Bigelow, executive director of Accelerate Michigan
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
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