Join our members and celebrate the accomplishments of the outstanding startup entrepreneurs being recognized by New Enterprise Forum.

This award recognizes an individual who has made a huge positive impact by devoting their time and energy to building a robust startup community in our region and who has directly and indirectly fostered the growth of numerous entrepreneurs. This year, the NEF Startup Community Champion award goes to Dug Song.

Selected entrepreneurs will each give a four-minute pitch of their business plan to a panel of investor judges in a “Shark Tank” format.  PowerPoint slides are not permitted. Think of it as the proverbial “elevator speech.”

After all of the pitches are completed, the judges will give detailed feedback. At the end of the evening, the person with the highest score will receive the opportunity to receive a Business Readiness Assessment coaching session with NEF coaches. Interested in pitching your own idea? Apply here!

Selected entrepreneurs will each give a four-minute pitch of their business plan to a panel of investor judges in a “Shark Tank” format.  PowerPoint slides are not permitted. Think of it as the proverbial “elevator speech.”

After all of the pitches are completed, the judges will give detailed feedback. At the end of the evening, the person with the highest score will receive the opportunity to receive a Business Readiness Assessment coaching session with NEF coaches. Interested in pitching your own idea? Apply here!

New Enterprise Forum is proud to have the September forum meeting be part of a2Tech360, Ann Arbor’s week-long celebration of innovation and entrepreneurship! Click here for more information, and to learn about all that is happening there during the week. 

Selected entrepreneurs will each give a four-minute pitch of their business plan to a panel of investor judges in a “Shark Tank” format.  PowerPoint slides are not permitted. Think of it as the proverbial “elevator speech.”

After all of the pitches are completed, the judges will give detailed feedback. At the end of the evening, the person with the highest score will receive the opportunity to receive a Business Readiness Assessment coaching session with NEF coaches. Interested in pitching your own idea? Apply here!

Several founders who received NEF coaching in past years will rejoin us to share inside stories of their journeys down the path of entrepreneurship. They will share their initial visions for their companies and how those have grown or evolved over the years of interacting with their customers and investors.

Moderator

New Enterprise Forum will be presenting Skip Simms, former Ann Arbor SPARK vice president and Michigan Angel Fund managing member, with a Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his substantial contributions to the startup ecosystem in the state of Michigan. This award will be presented by Rick Snyder, Co-Founder and CEO of SensCy and the former Governor of Michigan. Skip and Rick will share stories about their early days of working together at

Our panel will explore the different kinds of startup accelerator and incubator partners, and how founders and entrepreneurs can identify the right one for their business.

Moderator

Join our members and celebrate the accomplishments of the outstanding startup entrepreneurs being recognized by New Enterprise Forum.

From among the entrepreneurs who were coached by NEF and delivered a Showcase Presentation at a Forum in 2022, we will recognize the best performers in three categories: 

• Best Business Model
• Best Technology
• Best Presentation

Join us to find out who the winners are!

Our Rising Star Awards recognize startup founders who are in the early growth stage but have already demonstrated significant traction and are making a name for themselves in the Michigan entrepreneurial community. Winners this year are Katie Hall and Prashant Salla.

Selected entrepreneurs will each give a four-minute pitch of their business plan to a panel of investor judges in a “Shark Tank” format.  PowerPoint slides are not permitted. Think of it as the proverbial “elevator speech.”

After each pitch, the judges will give detailed feedback and score the business. At the end of the evening, the person with the highest score will receive a $250 cash prize.as well as the opportunity to receive a free Business Readiness Assessment from NEF.

Contestants

• Amika Adams I from Latrenae’ Collection
• Austin Pollock from Reel Free
• Tyler Scott from Scott Labs
• Caleb Smith from

A panel of experts will discuss how founders can find the right investors to help their company grow considering all aspects of the founder-funder relationship.

Moderator

Selected entrepreneurs will each give a four-minute pitch of their business plan to a panel of investor judges in a “Shark Tank” format.  PowerPoint slides are not permitted. Think of it as the proverbial “elevator speech.”

After each pitch, the judges will give detailed feedback and score the business. At the end of the evening, the person with the highest score will receive a $250 cash prize.as well as the opportunity to receive a free Business Readiness Assessment from NEF.

Contestants

• Dan Champoux of GEKOT, providing Comprehensive Alerting Technology for Scooters.
• Austin Chrzanowski of Mind Sprout Box,  providing subscription boxes of creative activities that drive memorable playtime.
• Ayishwariya