VFA Detroit

The life and times of the Venture For America Detroit Fellows

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The 2012 Fellows: Where Are They Now?

With the first days of the 2014 Fellows come the last days of the 2012 Fellows with Venture For America. Now that the program is over for them, where are they headed next?

Brentt Baltimore is still with Detroit Venture Partners for now, but has his sights set on San Francisco

Brian Bosche co-founded TernPro in Detroit earlier in the year, and will be here for the foreseeable future

Brian Rudolph founded Banza, also in Detroit, and is sticking around to work on it with his first employee, 2014 Fellow Avery Hairston

Charles Watkins is working for Google in Ann Arbor

Derek Turner continues his work at Grand Circus, training the tech workers of the future

Gabby Bryant moved to Cleveland, also a VFA city, to enter McMaster-Carr's prestigious management training program

Jake L'Ecuyer is the first-ever Fellow Community Manager at Venture For America, working directly with past and present Fellows to make the program even greater

Kathy Cheng has departed for VFA Providence company Teespring, working at their San Francisco branch

Max Nussenbaum co-founded Castle in Detroit in April, and has been working full-time on the company since mid-July

Scott Lowe co-founded Castle and has been working there full-time since June

Tim Dingman co-founded Castle and will be leaving his job at Accio Energy to pursue it full-time in September

Todd Nelson continues his work at NextEnergy, spearheading his I-Corps program and managing the three 2014 Fellows working there with him

Additionally, five of them - Brian, Brian, Max, Scott, and Tim - are living in the Rebirth Realty house, along with 2013 Fellows Sean Jackson and Taylor Sundali.

While the Fellowship lasts two years, the 2012ers will be a part of VFA forever. Best of luck to them in all their pursuits!

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Your 2014 VFA Detroit Fellows

After a long placement process and an intensive five-week startup bootcamp in Providence, the 2014 Fellows are off to their placement cities. Detroit is happy to welcome 15 new Fellows to the Motor City:

Armando Ochoa, Detroit Venture Partners

Austin Mertz, Are You a Human

Avery Hairston, Banza

Brendan Rice, Bizdom

Charlie Molthrop, NextEnergy

Clare, O'Brien, Stik

Danny Allen, NextEnergy

Gabe Cunningham, Fontinalis Partners

Kate Murray, Bedrock Real Estate

Labib Rahman, Mason

Mitch Rubin, BoostUp

Russell Suskind, LevelEleven

Seun Oyewole, Invest Detroit

Swad Komanduri, NextEnergy

T Morris, dPOP!

Through the course of August, the city's new Fellows will trickle in and make Detroit their home, with a little help from the 2012 and 2013 Fellows. Expect great things from them.

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Welcoming Our New Fellows

The placement process is well underway for the 2014 Fellows, and Detroit companies have already landed a few. So far we have:

Brendan Rice at Bizdom

Armando Ochoa at Detroit Venture Partners

Gabe Cunningham at Fontinalis Partners

Charlie Molthrop at NextEnergy

Danny Allen at NextEnergy

Avery Hairston at Banza

With our second Recruitment Weekend just one week away, we'll be adding to this list soon.

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Fellow Ventures VII: VFAOC

Fellow Ventures is a series highlighting Fellow-founded and/or Fellow-run initiatives in Detroit

Who: Brennan Crispin, Kate Catlin, and Taylor Sundali (2013)

What:Venture For America Outdoor Club (VFAOC) is a Detroit-centered outdoor club managed by Brennan, Kate and Taylor. The three Detroit Fellows encourage interested people to get outside and enjoy Michigan. Upcoming events include a weekend camping trip and a bike tour of some Michigan wineries.

When:VFAOC was founded in the fall of 2013 and meets semi-regularly.

Where:The wilderness of Michigan and Canada.

Why:Just because VFA is in a city doesn’t mean the Fellows need to forego their outdoor inclinations. Brennan, Kate and Taylor are self-described outdoor enthusiasts, and recognize the difficulty of experiencing nature in the Motor City. VFAOC exists to channel the adventurous desires of the Detroit Fellows into outdoor expeditions.

Contact Taylor Sundali for information on the next VFAOC adventure.

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Fellow Ventures VI: In Over Our Heads

Fellow Ventures is a series highlighting Fellow-founded and/or Fellow-run initiatives in Detroit

Who: Mike Wilner (2013)

What: In Over Our Heads is a podcast hosted by two 2013 Fellows, Shilpi Kumar and Mike Wilner. Topics include the challenges and insecurities inherent in working at startups, being young professionals, and trying to create a life after college. The podcast includes dialogue between Shilpi and Mike, as well as guests who share their own relevant experiences.

When: The first episode premiered on January 26, 2014 and featured Brian Rudolph, a 2012 Fellow in Detroit and the founder of Banza. There have been six total episodes to date, and the goal is to make it a weekly or bi-weekly podcast.

Where: Shilpi lives in Vegas and Mike lives in Detroit. Though in different time zones, they figure out how to make it work.

Why: When Shilpi and Mike started working at startups fresh out of college, they didn’t know enough to confidently take on all of the challenges they were facing. In fact, they were in over their heads, frequently feeling unsure, inexperienced, and even dumbfounded when presented with certain challenges. But it turns out that's OK. The podcast facilitates dialogue that helps everyone tackle these insecurities and ineptitudes head-on. By openly discussing challenges and learning from others’ experiences, everyone stands a better chance.

Visit inoverourheads.co to check out the latest episodes.

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Fellow Ventures V: Motor Signal

Fellow Ventures is a series highlighting Fellow-founded and/or Fellow-run initiatives in Detroit

Who: Rachel Hyman (2013)

What: Motor Signal, a monthly poetry reading series that invites local, regional, and (eventually!) national poets to read their work. Each event incorporates an interactive portion that brings the audience into closer engagement and play with the space of poetry. For instance, past events have had attendees compose poems communally according to a prompt and read them out loud. The series is put on in conjunction with Literary Detroit, a grassroots organization helping to bolster literary culture in the city.

When: The first reading was in February 2014. It takes place roughly the thirdTuesday of every month at 7 pm. In July it'll move to Thursdays, to tie in with the city-wide 3rd Thursdays art happenings.

Where: Signal Return, a gorgeous letterpress studio in Eastern Market.

Why: Detroit has a storied music history, but "poetry and the other literary arts are a little bit more under the radar in the city, a quieter demographic, more sparse," as a recent article puts it. Motor Signal is about creating another link in the local literary ecosystem; carving out a space in which poetry can flourish in the city; and making contemporary poetry fun and accessible to all.

Visit motorsignal.tumblr.com for information on past and future events.

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Fellow Ventures IV: Startup Effect

Fellow Ventures is a series highlighting Fellow-founded and/or Fellow-run initiatives in Detroit.

Who: Brentt Baltimore, Brian Bosche (2012); Stella Safari, Eric Huang, Steven Mazur (2013)

What: Startup Effect is an enrichment program for middle and high school students in transitioning U.S. cities to gain confidence and skills through action-oriented, entrepreneurial activities and challenges. This spring, Startup Effect is sponsoring a two-day conference - Start Detroit - introducing and inspiring high school students from Metro Detroit to opportunities in entrepreneurship.

When: Brentt and Brian, along with two 2012 Fellows in New Orleans, founded Startup Effect as part of the final challenge at VFA Training Camp in July 2012. After hosting several workshops over the course of 2013, the four founders handed over the reins to Stella, the current CEO.

Where: Currently operating in Detroit and New Orleans, Startup Effect will expand to other VFA cities in the near future.

Why: Startup Effect's mission is to build entrepreneurship into the culture of American cities by empowering youth with the necessary tools to think independently, proactively, and creatively, resulting in innovation and value creation.​

Visit startupeffect.org to learn more about the organization, and keep up with the latest news on Twitter.

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Fellow Ventures III: Banza

Fellow Ventures is a series highlighting Fellow-founded and/or Fellow-run initiatives in Detroit.

Who: Brian Rudolph (2012)

What: Banza is the first pasta made from chickpeas. Pasta as we know it has little to no nutritional value; it is filler. On the other hand, one serving of Banza has 15g of protein and 7g of fiber. It is gluten free, grain free, sustainable, high in antioxidants, non-GMO and has an extremely low glycemic index.

Banza is the next generation of pasta, similar to how Greek yogurt was the next generation of yogurt.

When: Brian and his brother Scott founded Banza in February 2014. However, Brian has been making the pasta in his kitchen for the last six months.

Where: Detroit, MI. Banza prides itself on being a part of Detroit's comeback story!

Why: Nutrition matters. A lot. Brian knows from personal experience. He dealt with recurring sinus infections throughout college. They were so severe that his doctor said he would need surgery. One year later and, for the first time since high school, he is sinus infection-free. The difference? His diet.

He knows he's not the only one. There are many people out there who would drastically benefit from an improved diet. Banza's mission is to improve people's lives through great taste and better nutrition.

Visit banza.co to learn about the new pasta and to receive notice on Banza's availability.

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Fellow Ventures II: TernPro

Fellow Ventures is a series highlighting Fellow-founded and/or Fellow-run initiatives in Detroit.

Who: Brian Bosche, Dan Bloom, Brentt Baltimore (2012)

What: TernPro is a better way for organizations to capture and create video content. We work with organizations to create videos from the point of view of the people participating in their trips, events, programs, or leagues. We do this by capturing the experiences of the participant with wearable cameras and mounts, and creating an immersive video story of their experience. TernPro videos are optimized for digital media viewing and sharing.

When: Brian, Dan, and Brentt co-founded the company in November 2013, and brought their first full-time employees on at the start of the Bizdom Accelerator in March 2014.

Where: 1528 Woodward Avenue, Floor 3, Detroit, MI 48226, The Bizdom Accelerator Space!

Why: TernPro was founded with an adventurous spirit and a crazy goal: to empower individuals and organizations to capture and share their stories in a unique way.

Visit ternpro.com for examples of video packages and previous work.

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Fellow Ventures I: Rebirth Realty

Fellow Ventures is a series highlighting Fellow-founded and/or Fellow-run initiatives in Detroit.

Who: Max Nussenbaum, Scott Lowe, Tim Dingman (2012); Sean Jackson (2013)

What: Rebirth Realty is an initiative to purchase and restore a previously abandoned Detroit home for future Fellow housing.

When: Max, Scott, and Tim started Rebirth Realty to participate in the first found of the Innovation Fund, which ran from May to July of 2013.

Where: 760 Virginia Park Street, in the New Center neighborhood of Detroit.

Why: The opportunity in Detroit for such a project is tremendous; with the $16,000 from the Innovation Fund, Rebirth Realty was able to acquire a house in the tax auction ($8,200) and start renovation. The Rebirth Realty house will also be an unofficial headquarters for VFA Detroit for as long as the program remains.

Visit rebirthrealty.com for the full backstory, progress updates, and more.

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Welcome to Detroit

We are the Venture For America Detroit Fellows. We live, work, and play in the Motor City. We are builders, doers, designers, dreamers. Follow us as we journey into entrepreneurship at ground zero of the new American economy.