News

NEF is happy to present an engaging fireside chat featuring Doron York from Birmingham Angels and Jeff Ponders II from ID Ventures as they discuss what it takes for early-stage startups to be truly investment-ready.

This fireside chat delivers key lessons for founders on fundraising, investor relations, and startup success. Learn how to validate your idea, stand out in a competitive market, and choose the right investors. Discover why conviction, execution, and transparency matter - and how smart fundraising can fuel long-term growth.

At our March 2025 event, we honored Alexa and Johnnie Turnage, Co-Founders of Black Tech Saturdays, with the 2024 NEF Community Champion Award for their transformative impact on the startup ecosystem. BTS has grown from a single event into a nationwide movement, empowering Black, Brown, and underestimated founders while driving over $30 million in economic impact. Recognized by the Governor, the Mayor of Detroit, and industry leaders, Alexa and Johnnie are reshaping Michigan’s innovation economy.

Watch the interview with Tim Moore

As a startup founder, how do you master the balancing act between retaining control of your company versus raising the needed capital to allow your company to grow? As startups scale, every leadership transition impacts the company culture and how decisions are made. During this dynamic panel discussion, we’ll hear firsthand from two Founder/CEOs who have navigated the trade-off of the Founder’s Dilemma: to be rich or to be king. We’ll also get the perspectives of two investors who will assess founder fit and alignment, and a non-founder CEO who has navigated a leadership transition to drive growth while honoring the founder’s original vision.

Join us for this expert panel discussion as we unpack the high-stakes choices that shape the growth trajectory of new ventures.

Electric Outdoors shares its progress and news since being the Showcase Presenter at NEF’s October 2023 meeting.

A strong team is the key to any successful business, and start-ups are no exception. A strong team is equipped to lead, learn, pivot, listen, and make tough decisions that drive a business forward, regardless of the business offering. So how do you ensure you build a strong team as a start-up? How do you know when you need a new person on your team? Or a new advisor? And how do you do it right?

 Join us for this expert panel discussion for insights on when to hire, how to hire, who you’re looking for, and what things to avoid as you look to grow your team! Hosted by Jen Laidlaw, owner of TeamWerks Talent Development and Consulting.

Angel investors look at dozens of deals every year and only invest in a few. This panel explores the investors’ perspective and successful strategies that have worked for startups that have gotten deals done. Hear how these angel investors are building their portfolios and what it takes to become one of their investments. Diane Durance, a leading expert in Michigan’s startup community, is the moderator.

As a startup company evolves from its first customers, to its first hundreds of customers, to having customers at scale, its marketing needs and wants also change. This panel explores the different objectives and tactics for those various stages of growth. April Christian-Davis, President of Breakout Marketing Group, is the moderator.

At our February 15, 2024 New Enterprise Forum event, we recognized and celebrated the accomplishments of three entrepreneurs who are propelling the entire startup ecosystem forward in a way where we all prosper from what they are doing. Enjoy their comments as they accepted their awards.

NEF Startup Community Champion: Dug Song

NEF Rising Star of the Year: Darren Riley

NEF Entrepreneur of the Year: Edwin Olson

Foreign entrepreneurs are an untapped resource that can help grow our startup ecosystems. However, the barrier to entry is higher given the unique challenges foreign entrepreneurs face not only when they pursue building a startup from scratch but also when established startups want to recruit them. This panel will shed light on some of those challenges, resources available and success stories.

Moderator: Soosmita Sinha

Experts: Ernestine Lyons,

Moderator: Stefan Sysko

Experts: Alison Accavitti, Jen Baird, and Lindsey Kilbride

Whether you are pitching to investors, recruiting potential partners or employees, or introducing your startup to potential customers, how you present your message can have a huge difference on your success.

 In this brief talk, you’ll discover tips and tricks that will help you present with confidence including the keys to powerful posture, making consistent eye contact, gesturing intentionally to bring your pitch to life and communicating confidence with your voice. 

Practicing good presentation delivery skills will help you connect with your audience and turn a positive first impression into opportunities. Join us for 20 minutes of valuable input you can use to immediately up your presentation game and take your entrepreneurial journey to the next level.

 Many entrepreneurial CEOs/ Founders start with a great idea, full of passion and possibility, but as the company grows in people and revenue the chaos begins and what once was passion can become a burden. Our panel of experts discussed strategies for helping early stage companies manage the chaos, focus on what’s important, and avoid burnout.

New Enterprise Forum (NEF) has announced the names of the five Michigan entrepreneurs who have won awards in recognition of their achievements during the past year. The awards will be presented to the winners at the NEF Annual Awards Event on February 17, 2022. The online event is open to the public with free registration.

The winner of the Entrepreneur of the Year award is Mike Vichich, Co-founder and CEO of Wisely. His company was acquired by Olo in November 2021 for $187 million. Based in Ann Arbor, Wisely is a leading customer intelligence platform that enables restaurant brands to personalize the guest experience to maximize customer lifetime value. In 2021 Wisely was ranked #300 on the Inc. 5000 fastest growing companies in America list. Vichich is now Vice President &

In November 2021, a panel of experts explored ways to fund growth without using outside investors or alternative equity sources. Depending upon the business plan, growth focus and the founder’s wishes, companies of all types can find different ways to fund their growth. Not all businesses require angel or venture capital funding to be successful. 

Watch the video to hear our panelists address the question: “DO YOU EVEN NEED TO IMPRESS INVESTORS IN TODAY’S FUNDRAISING WORLD?”

Moderator

Gerry Roston, NEF member,  publishes an article in The Chronicle Tech News pointing Michigan Entrepreneurs  to the resources to assist in their start up journey. 

Workit Health cofounders and co-CEOs Lisa McLaughlin (L) and Robin McIntosh (R)

• Workit was  an NEF  Showcase Presenter in 2015, winning best presentation award that year.
• In 2018 - Lisa McLaughlin won the NEF Rising Star of the Year award
• Earlier this year, Lisa McLaughlin won the NEF 2020 Award Entrepreneur of the Year Award

The approach and the opportunity to help treat the more than 20 million Americans with alcohol and opioid use disorders (not counting gambling, smoking and other addictions that Workit offers to help) has garnered investment from top tier firms. On Thursday Workit announced a $118 million Series C led by Insight Partners ($90 million in equity and the rest in debt). CVS Health Ventures, FirstMark Capital, BCBS

NEF is proud to congratulate Jason Yaeger, CEO of Tenacity and graduate of NEF’s entrepreneur coaching process on a successful raise. Tenacity, a SaaS platform that empowers businesses to thrive in a secure public cloud, announced that it has raised $3 million. The round was led by Hyde Park Angels, with participation from Sandalphon Capital, Base Investments UK, and others. This funding will enable Tenacity to drive its go-to-market strategy further and enhance product roadmap development.

This exciting news signals the next phase of Tenacity’s journey, following an impressive 30% month-over-month growth rate since January 2021 and the integration of Microsoft Azure into the platform.

At our September Forum, a panel of experts addressed several critical questions - What are the elements of a strong team that will truly stand-out to investors? What are investors looking for in a team? 

Moderator

Jen Laidlaw is the owner of TeamWerks Talent Development and Consulting; President of the Ann Arbor chapter of the Association for Talent Development; a

During the June 2021 Forum, a panel of seasoned entrepreneurs and other experts provided their perspectives on this critical topic for early-stage startups. 

During the April 2021 Forum, a panel of seasoned entrepreneurs and other experts provided their perspectives on this critical topic for early-stage startups. (The first couple of minutes are missing from the video due to a technical glitch.)

Jack Miner Chief Investment Officer, TEDCO. At TEDCO, Jack stewards diligence and investment processes, leads the Builder, Seed and Maryland Venture Funds and investment portfolios to maximize the financial return, and ensures a lasting impact for the State of Maryland. He reports to the CEO providing insi

RIZZARR Founder, Ashley Williams gave a heartfelt thanks to her NEF coaches after receiving the award for 2020 Presentation of the Year.

Ashley’s coaching team included April Christian-Davis, Jennifer Laidlaw, David Maas, Bill McPherson and Scott Taylor.

RIZZARR is a tech-enabled content marketplace for brands to work with Millennial and Gen Z content creators worldwide. RIZZARR acts as an intermediary marketing platform for brands to find, connect, and collaborate with  over 5,300 content creators from around the world. RIZZARR helps Millennial and Gen Z nano-influencers and mi

SpellBound, an Ann Arbor-based augmented reality company, has received an $1.8 million fast track grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse to study opioid use in pediatric cancer patients. Details of the award were covered in a recent story published online by WDIV.

As reported, the study will measure the effects of SpellBound’s augmented reality scavenger hunt, ARISE, on the length of hospital stay and opioid use by pediatric cancer patients after surgery. The fast track grant allows SpellBound to accelerate the study by combining phase 1 and phase

The New Enterprise Forum is carrying on its mission to support Michigan entrepreneurs, even as the state is afflicted with the COVID-19 pandemic. Since mid-March, the non-profit organization’s volunteers have been conducting pitch coaching sessions with startup entrepreneurs via videoconference from their homes. The group’s monthly Forum has also shifted to an online venue. The group’s next Forum event, which is open to the public, will be held online on Thursday April 16 and will include a discussion of resources available to small businesses to deal with the financial impacts of the pandemic and Michigan’s ‘stay-at-home’ orders.

Explaining the rapid shift in how the organization conducts its operations, NEF President Vic Havele said &ld

Mercy Education Project team, comprised of high school girls won funding for their pilot project Rock City Mobility Stations.

When the 11th grade girls of Mercy Education Project were asked about mobility in their neighborhood, Southwest Detroit, they identified two key concerns: Getting around safely and feeling isolated from the greater city. Because Detroit is so geographically large and lacks an all-encompassing and dynamic transportation and communication system, these young residents feel disconnected. Rock City Mobility Stations look at mobility through the eyes of youth who are not able to utilize a car, but still need to get around their city, while also contributing to a quality visitor, tourist and worke