The San Francisco-based NewME Accelerator, a tech startup incubator focused on businesses led by minorities underrepresented in the tech world, is planning a Detroit pop-up accelerator May 29 to May 31. The three-day event is being held in partnership with Google for Entrepreneurs, TechTown, Bizdom, the Mobile Technology Association of Michigan, and Wayne State University.
Angela Benton, founder and CEO of NewME, says the group selected Detroit as the location for its third national pop-up accelerator because of the enthusiasm for entrepreneurship in the city. “There’s a lot of activity going on in Detroit,” Benton notes. “It was definitely on our radar.”
NewME is short for New Media Entrepreneurship, and it launched in Silicon Valley in 2011. During its inaugural season, CNN cameras were on hand to document NewME as part of it’s award-winning “InAmerica” series. Hajj Flemings, a Detroit entrepreneur and founder of Gokit and Brand Camp University, was featured on the show. Rippld, a Detroit startup that Xconomy profiled last year, is also a NewME portfolio company.
NewME’s mission is to mentor startups, connect founders to early-stage capital, and expose young talents to the larger scene in the Valley. Now, through this partnership with Google for Entrepreneurs, NewME is taking that experience on the road and bringing a slice of Silicon Valley to cities like Detroit. Benton says the NewME network will be coming to town to offer coaching and participate in the demo day event that culminates the three-day pop-up. “Our real purpose is to make sure connections are being made,” she adds. “Investment may follow, but we’re just excited to come to Detroit and see what people are working on.”
The NewME Detroit pop-up accelerator is $99 per participant. Interested entrepreneurs can register here.
