D:hive graduated its first BUILD class last week, providing the basic tools for about a dozen new entrepreneurs to get started on their projects.
The BUILD class is a weekly course that provides the basic tools for entrepreneurs to start a business or community activists to launch a project. The class meets for three hours every week for two months, learning everything from creating a business structure, finding and securing financing, marketing and basic accounting.
"The class serves many functions," says April Boyle, director of recruitment for
D:hive. "It's a way to vet your idea whether you want to start a business or launch a project."
The first BUILD class consisted of 13 prospective entrepreneurs and community leaders that plan to launch a variety of businesses ranging from a vegan soul food restaurant to a Detroit-themed product line to a beer garden. The BUILD class differs from similar entrepreneurial education courses like
Bizdom and
TechTown because it specializes in traditional life-style businesses that are more prone to provide a sense of place in their communities than exponential growth.
"That's what we're really focused on at this point," Boyle says.
D:hive, a downtown Detroit-based nonprofit, is currently in the middle of its second class of eight people and expects to launch its newest class (about a dozen people) today. For information, click
here.
Source: April Boyle, director of recruitment for D:hive
Writer: Jon Zemke
Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.