Lawrence Price | The PLLUS Group

25 minutes

Advisory Services | Accounting Systems | Financial Statement Prep | Tax Prep | Budget Dev/Analysis | Strategic Planning | Year-End Closing

With over 25 years of professional and educational experience, Lawrence Price, Jr has a wealth of knowledge and experience in consulting, finance, accounting, and education. Mr. Price is currently the principal consultant of The PLLUS Group, which launched in 2009, and provides
a host of business consulting services for small to medium-sized businesses and non-profit

Diamond Reynolds I Diamond Reynolds, CPA

25 minutes

Accounting Systems I Consulting Services I Tax Prep I Financial Statement Prep I Internal Controls

As a native Detroiter, Diamond earned both her Bachelor's in Accounting and Master of Science in Accounting from Wayne State University. She began her career in public accounting in 2013 and became a Certified Public Accountant in the State of Michigan in 2016. Diamond has an extensive background in for-profit accounting, taxes, employee benefits plans, and is also certified in Blockchain Technology.

Margo Dalal | Detroit Community Wealth Fund

25 minutes

Community Capital | Character-Based Lending | Worker-Ownership, Democratic Ownership, Shared Ownership

Margo Dalal is the co-founder and Executive Director of the Detroit Community Wealth Fund, a non-extractive loan fund that develops and finances worker-owned cooperatives. Raised in Virginia, Margo holds a BA from Hampshire College and an MSW from the U of M. Margo has experience in starting cooperatives, supporting worker and owner equity, and democratic management practices.

Keith Instone I Dexterity User Experience

25 minutes

Digital Design I Software I User Experience

Keith is a user experience consultant that specializes in supporting startups with UX activities. He has expertise in customer journey map creation, usability testing, and science-based user interface design. With over 10 years of experience, Keith is passionate about helping entrepreneurs understand human behavior as it relates to technology.

Jonah Bailey | Atomic Object

25 minutes

Digital Design | Organizational Design + Team | Product Development | Sales | Strategy + Business Development

As a Managing Partner, Jonah works closely with the rest of Atomic Object's global team to further the firm's reach in SE Michigan. As a designer by trade, he aims to create processes and practices that empower Atoms to excel in project work while representing Atomic in the best possible way. He focuses on interaction design because of the limitless possibilities inherent in interactive products.

Nafis Azad | Waker

25 minutes

Software Development I User Experience Design I Tech Product Development I Data + Analytics (Video Meetings)

Nafis Azad is a passionate tech entrepreneur and product strategist dedicated to using innovation and design to help build great tech companies. The founder of Waker, a company specializing in user experience design and software development, he supports clients as they bring their startups to life. Nafis has led development and UX for numerous startups and mobile apps over the past 5+ years.

Shane Trexler | Seraph Biosciences, Inc.

25 minutes

Manufacturing / Distribution | Operations | Space Design | Strategy + Business Development

Shane serves as Director of Engineering for Seraph Biosciences, Inc. drawing upon 10+ years of laboratory research, engineering design, + business management. As the founder + president of the Sustainable Consulting Group, Shane successfully managed engineering design efforts for both startup companies + established medical device + engineering clients throughout the United States as well as Eastern Africa.

Minito Reasor | Minito HR Solutions

25 minutes

Human Resources | Organizational Design + Team

With over 12 years of Human Resources experience, Minito has a strong background in succession planning, recruitment strategies, workforce development, quality improvement, and organizational development. She believes in customer growth and satisfaction by leveraging team engagement to produce desired outcomes. She navigates change by analyzing processes to remove waste, reduce cost and improve productivity.

Lauren Haggerty I Nervy Mise, PLLC

25 minutes

Legal I Contract Attorney I Cybersecurity I Software I Risk Assessment

Lauren is the owner of Nervy Mise PLLC, a legal consulting firm specializing in technology contracts and transactions. A native Detroiter, she has expertise in providing legal services to technology-based companies, ensuring that products, services, and intellectual property are protected.

Jonathan Schwartz | Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C.

25 minutes

Legal | IP | Real Estate | Business

Jonathan represents clients in a variety of entertainment, intellectual property, business, employment, and real estate legal matters. Helping clients: form + grow tech-related businesses; register + protect intellectual property; launch TV shows (including a recently Emmy-nominated program); draft and enforce contracts; negotiate and close deals; structure, sell and acquire businesses, real estate + assets; defend reputations + collect debts; and solve legal problems.

David Steinberg | David L. Steinberg, P.C.

25 minutes

Legal | Corporate | Franchising + Licensing | Distribution

David specializes in assisting startups as well as mature companies in creating licensing and distribution systems for their products and services. He has 37 years of experience in creating franchise and licensing systems as well as serving as general business advisor and counselor. David L. Steinberg has formed an Of Counsel relationship with Jaffe Raitt Heuer & Weiss, P.C.

Michael "Max" Sneyd | Kerr, Russell and Weber, PLC

25 minutes

Cybersecurity | Contracts + Negotiation | Tech Transfer | Copyright | Trademarks

Max focuses his practice on intellectual property protection + litigation, entertainment law, and commercial contracts, including drafting + negotiation of contracts + licenses. He has extensive experience prosecuting trademark applications with the US Patent and Trademark Office, as well as litigating trademark disputes. Max appears before state, federal + appellate courts related to all aspects of civil business litigation

Becky Riess | Thumbprint Fulfillment

25 minutes

Wholesale | E-Commerce

After a 25+ year career in sales and marketing with Kimberly-Clark Corporation, I co-founded a company six years ago, Thumbprint Artifacts. We import handcrafted items from South Africa and distribute to the US market - both wholesale and e-commerce. Four years ago when we had distribution with 200+ retailers, my home could no longer hold the inventory. So, in 2018 we opened our own fulfillment center in Detroit to service Thumbprint Artifacts + the needs of other small businesses.

Juan Carlos Dueweke-Pérez I Featherstone Moments

25 minutes

Diversity + Inclusion I Social Media Marketing I Branding I Public Relations I Digital Design I Strategy + Business Development

Juan Carlos Dueweke-Pérez is an immigrant, social entrepreneur, photographer, and futurist. The founder of Featherstone Moments, a multicultural marketing agency, his expertise ranges from content development and strategy to public relations for minority-owned businesses. Juan Carlos believes his biggest impact is providing trust and resourcefulness in working relationships.

Kelsey Fish I Hour Media

25 minutes

Marketing + Advertising I Branding I Digital Marketing I Publishing

Kelsey is a marketing and branding enthusiast with an appreciation for people who follow their passions. Her background includes digital marketing, advertising, publishing and even a few entrepreneurial ventures of her own. Kelsey holds a B.S. in Marketing from Miami University's Farmer School of Business and has experience working with a variety of industries.

Tiana Starks | TS2 Digital

25 minutes

Marketing + Advertising | Digital Design | Public Relations | Strategy + Business Development

As the Founder and CEO of TS2 Digital, Tiana operates a digital marketing consultancy that makes big agency strategy, solutions and talent accessible to small businesses. Known to be diligent and resourceful, Tiana is keen on using data to inform each area of marketing strategy and tactical project execution. She has more than 12 years’ experience leading high-profile marketing initiatives.

Antonio + Nat Bushell | Bushell Media, Inc.

25 minutes

Digital Design | Marketing + Advertising | Digital Media | Videography

Bushell Media is a family of creators, filmmakers, designers, writers, strategists, and adventurers, on a mission to provide our clients and their audiences stories with heart, passion, and authenticity. Lead by husband and wife team, Bushell Media believes that we are defined by the human journey and it’s our job to instill wonder, inspire creativity and create empathic doorways that help us better understand each other.

Jodie Kennedy | Standby Marketing

25 minutes

Art | Marketing + Advertising | Branding | Public Relations | Digital Design

Jodie first started consulting with small businesses as a Peace Corps in Nicaragua. She later joined corporate America and managed multi-faceted marketing strategy and implementation for large brands in the travel industry. Now, as the Principal of Standby Marketing, Jodie works with a variety of business types to create and refine their marketing approach.

Lydia Michael | Blended Collective

25 minutes

Diversity + Inclusion | Art | Branding | Marketing + Advertising | Music | Public Relations | Strategy + Business Development

Lydia Michael is the President and Founder of Blended Collective, a multicultural marketing and brand consultancy. Her experience spans from the entertainment and music industry to international project work with Deloitte and L’Oréal. Lydia’s experience also includes cross-cultural trainings, workshops and webinars for automotive expatriates and other business professionals.

Carrie Vestrand I TechTown (Retail)

50 minutes

Retail I Brick + Mortar Operations I Retail Pop-Up Support I Visual Merchandising I Customer Service

Carrie has been on the front lines of retail operations having been a small business owner for twelve years. She enjoys mentoring and supporting others, and has a strong background in merchandising, product selection, customer service, promotions, shopping trade shows, store events, and pop-ups.

Christina Devlin I TechTown (Retail)

50 minutes

Retail I Operations I Visual Merchandising I Business Strategy I Brick & Mortar Operations I Pop-Up Support

Christina provides support to small business owners as they strengthen business concepts, open brick and mortar locations, and continue to grow. She has over 20 years experience in retail management, operations, product development and non-profit leadership. Her areas of speciality include creating standardized operating procedures, training staff, and optimizing inventory management.

Warren Galloway I Mack Ave

50 minutes

Areas of Specialty: Microlending | Banking Financing | Start-up Support + Brick and Mortar | Business Plans

Warren Galloway is a strong advocate of microlending, and has taken the lead in promoting it as an important resource for small businesses throughout Michigan. He is an author of four books and the founder of the National Microloan Conference—an annual conference for microlending industry professionals (lenders, entrepreneurs, bankers, and service providers).

Heather Levine I Grandmont Rosedale

50 minutes

Areas of Specialty: Start-up Support + Brick and Mortar (especially restaurants and retail) | Operational Support for Restaurants

As the owner of 2 local businesses, Heather enjoys helping neighborhood businesses work through their challenges, from obtaining a liquor license to hiring their first employee to implementing operational processes and procedures. Heather gained considerable experience through her 10+ years negotiating leases and other agreement for large commercial property owners.

Micah Loucks I Dexter-Linwood

50 minutes

Areas of Specialty: Start-up Support + Brick and Mortar | Food Manufacturing | Food Product Development

Micah became passionate about small business after being tasked with creating a culinary training and catering social enterprise. After creating a sustainable business and moving to Detroit, he has provided technical and strategic consulting to hundreds of local food businesses throughout SE Michigan. Micah enjoys helping entrepreneurs develop products, understand their costs, and brand their company.

Lawrence Jackson I East Warren

50 minutes

Areas of Specialty: Finance + Accounting | Financial Projections | Business Plans | Start-up Support + Brick and Mortar

Lawrence has been an advisor and business advocate to profit and nonprofit businesses for over 20 years. His strength is the development and implementation of solid action plans by analyzing the financial profiles of the enterprise. His customer service orientation is the basis for his knowledge and expertise in: Banking Products; Analysis and Problem Solving; and seminars and workshops

Mayté Penman | Southwest Detroit

50 minutes

Areas of Specialty: Bilingual | Community Resources | Event Planning + Outreach

A native of Durango, Mexico, Mayté has lived in Michigan for over 25 years. Mayté brings a tremendous network to TechTown from over 20 years of service to Southwest Detroit communities through a mix of community and economic development. Her background allows for an understanding of the unique bicultural/bilingual circumstances of the SW community. Because of this, she is able to personally connect with entrepreneurs.

Heather Levine | University District

50 minutes

Areas of Specialty: Start-up Support + Brick and Mortar (especially restaurants and retail) | Operational Support for Restaurants

As the owner of 2 local businesses, Heather enjoys helping neighborhood businesses work through their challenges, from obtaining a liquor license to hiring their first employee to implementing operational processes and procedures. Heather gained considerable experience through her 10+ years negotiating leases and other agreement for large commercial property owners.

David Webber | TechTown (Tech)

50 minutes

Areas of Specialty: Web/Mobile Apps | Growth | Strategy

David has a rich background in tech with a deep focus on software. Over the last 20 years, he has helped small businesses to Fortune 100 companies build and maintain critical software apps on various platforms. In 2008, he realized his dream of entrepreneurship + started a B2B consulting firm servicing small to medium-sized businesses in Web and iOS product development. In March of 2015, David became the 4th employee at StockX.

Warren Galloway | East Jefferson

50 minutes

Areas of Specialty: Microlending | Banking Financing | Start-up Support + Brick and Mortar | Business Plans

Warren Galloway is a strong advocate of microlending, and has taken the lead in promoting it as an important resource for small businesses throughout Michigan. He is an author of four books and the founder of the National Microloan Conference—an annual conference for microlending industry professionals (lenders, entrepreneurs, bankers, and service providers).

Micah Loucks | TechTown

50 minutes

Areas of Specialty: Start-up Support + Brick and Mortar | Food Manufacturing | Food Product Development

Micah became passionate about small business after being tasked with creating a culinary training and catering social enterprise. After creating a sustainable business and moving to Detroit, he has provided technical and strategic consulting to hundreds of local food businesses throughout SE Michigan. Micah enjoys helping entrepreneurs develop products, understand their costs, and brand their company.

Fathi Abdelsalam | TechTown (Tech)

50 minutes

Areas of Specialty: Strategy | Intellectual Property | Fundraising | Hardware

Fathi is a tech entrepreneur based out of San Jose and Detroit. He is very passionate about developing solutions that have substantial social and economic impact and is a member of several entrepreneurial communities, including TechStars, Sprint Accelerator, Jumpstart Foundry, Startup Weekend, and Seamless IoT. He has also served as a mentor and entrepreneur-in-residence within several economic development orgs around the world

Lawrence Jackson | Osborn

50 minutes

Areas of Specialty: Finance + Accounting | Financial Projections | Business Plans | Start-up Support + Brick and Mortar

Lawrence has been an advisor and business advocate to profit and nonprofit businesses for over 20 years. His strength is the development and implementation of solid action plans by analyzing the financial profiles of the enterprise. His customer service orientation is the basis for his knowledge and expertise in: Banking Products; Analysis and Problem Solving; and seminars and workshops

Jeff Ponders | TechTown (Tech)

50 minutes

Areas of Specialty: Product Launch | Marketing | Customer Discovery | Business Models

Jeff Ponders II is a modern-day Batman. By day, he leverages experience as an exec with agencies like Leo Burnett and Digitas to develop marketing & innovation strategies for ambitious brands. By night, he performs as a jazz saxophonist. In between, the serial tech entrepreneur coaches startups and helps orgs achieve peak performance as a keynote speaker. Jeff holds a degree in Entrepreneurship from the Wharton Scho

Darraugh Collins | Food Rescue US - Detroit

25 minutes

Retail Store Management | Visual Merchandising | Merchandising + Display | Food | Space Design | Art | Public Relations

Darraugh is a creative leader with 20 years of experience in visual merchandising, brand strategy, management and sales, within the retail industry, along with an Executive MBA, culinary education, and experience in the hospitality and food industry. Currently, introducing a food rescue program to the Detroit community.

Rob Streeter | Amazon

25 minutes

E-Commerce | Online Marketplace | Strategy | Retail Marketing + Advertising | Product Marketing + Development | Strategy + Business Dev | User Experience

Rob is the product owner for a big data platform that powers Amazon's analytics + production data pipelines. Previously at Amazon, Rob lead product + design teams that facilitated 200+ teams' ability to launch projects on Seller Central. Prior to Amazon, Rob spent 15+ years working in eCommerce business + technology at several large scale companies.

Glenn Nixon I BlueWater Sales Advisors LLC

25 minutes

Sales I Software Development

Glenn is the founder of BlueWater Sales Advisors LLC, bringing nearly 30 years of sales expertise to small businesses in Metro Detroit. He has an extensive background in sales leadership and engineering. Glenn specializes in the platform Sales Xceleration to bring increased sales, efficiency, and effectiveness to tech-based businesses.

PSN Orientation

1 hour 30 minutes