The Holiday Inn Gateway was the setting December 1 for Boost Mid-Michigan, a regional conference of business entrepreneurs. The consortium connects university- and business community-based ventures with support resources and capital, and is funded by the C.S. Mott Foundation. In these gatherings throughout Mid-Michigan, local entrepreneurs are prepared to successfully present their ventures to investor audiences. Consultants, coaches and entrepreneurial support professionals help participants prepare a three-minute investor pitch, and a few will be selected to present  to private investors from BlueWater Angels and Great Lakes Angels in January.

Investors listened to 20 presentations, including those by Flint-based student entrepreneurs Suyash Joshi of www.pricechecklist.com, Jose Aliaga of Aliaga Development, and Casey Schaaf of Ecodev Engineering. These entrepreneurs also participated in Moving On Up, a business concept competition hosted by Launch at the University of Michigan-Flint. Student entrepreneurs used short videos to present their ideas to investors. The competition was funded by the C. S. Mott Foundation, the Michigan Initiative for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Michigan University Commercialization Initiative.

The winners of the Moving On Up Video Pitch competition:

Overall Winner: $2,000

EcoDev Engineering, Casey Schaaf – Moving On Up Grand Champion

 

Campus Winners: $250

Easy Saver Card, The CEO Club – Lawrence Tech Campus Champion

PC Power, Tyler Farrar & Mike Ellenbaas – Kettering Campus Champion

Epic Technology Solutions, Paul Knific & Eric Knific – UM-Flint Campus Champion

Student Business Concept, Ryan Robinson – Baker College Campus Champion

Capto Video, Jon Chema – Mott Community College Campus Champion

 

Category Winners: $100

FCC Program, GASC Entrepreneur Class – K-12 Class Social Entrepreneurship Champion

BMP Landscaping, Matt Patterson – K-12 Student Business Champion

FlintCollegeConnection.com, GASC III – K-12 Class Business Concept Champion

LivLuxMag, Corey Stokes & Donyale Walton – Creative Economy Business Champion

Special Needs Day Care Concept, Renee Barnes – Service Economy Business Champion

The Stand-Up Economist, UM-Flint Economics Club – Collegiate Club Champion

Aliaga Development, Jose Aliaga – International Business Concept Champion

Youth of Tomorrow, Marc Alexander – Social Entrepreneurship Champion

Change Your World, Angela Simone – On-Line Social Entrepreneurship Champion

UM-Flint Women’s Flat Track Roller Derby – Special Judges Award

Both Boost Mid-Michigan and Moving On Up were designed to nurture an entrepreneurial culture in mid-Michigan.  Launch received dozens of videos from aspiring entrepreneurs with some very good ideas. The angel investors who viewed these videos and heard other business pitches are serious about helping these creative people thrive here in mid-Michigan.