c/detroit-tech-and-biz

Remember when the only tech meetup was in that one coffee shop basement?

Had a week last fall where we landed three roofing jobs from a local business app we built for contractors. The best part was seeing a client use it on an iPad, right there on a roof in Corktown. Anyone else miss when the scene felt that small and connected?

Heads up if you're looking at office space in Midtown right now

I was setting up my new app dev shop and had to pick between a cheap spot in an old building on Cass with no fiber and a pricier, newer place on Woodward. The old place was about $800 a month less, which was a huge deal for my startup budget. But after talking to three other tech founders who'd been in that building, they all said the internet was a constant problem, with drops during client calls. I went with the Woodward spot, and yeah, my rent is higher, but I haven't lost a single minute of uptime in six months. That reliability has already saved two client deals where we needed solid video demos. Has anyone else faced a similar choice with infrastructure versus cost, and how did you work it out?

Pro tip: double check your venue's wifi before you book a tech meetup in Corktown

Last Thursday, I was trying to run a small networking event for local app developers at a spot on Michigan Avenue. We had about 25 people show up, which was great. The problem was, the place's public wifi capped out at 5 Mbps. I found this out when the first person tried to demo their new Detroit-based food delivery app and the whole thing just froze. You could hear the groans. I ended up using my phone as a hotspot for the rest of the night, which burned through my data plan and cost me an extra $30. It totally killed the flow we had going. Has anyone else had a tech event fall apart because of bad internet? What's a good backup plan?

Rant: My pitch got torn apart at a startup mixer in Midtown last month

I was at that Founders and Funders event at the TechTown space, and an investor basically said my whole business model was wrong for the Detroit market. It stung, but he was right about the local supply chain issues. Has anyone else had their plan totally flipped by local feedback like that?

Showerthought: My pitch deck got roasted by a guy at a Corktown coffee shop

Honestly, I was showing my startup idea to a friend at Astro Coffee last month and this older guy at the next table leaned over. He said, 'Kid, your deck has more buzzwords than a Gilbert press release, but I still don't know what you actually sell.' Tbh, he was right. I had 'synergy' and 'disrupt' in there like five times each. I went home and rewrote the whole thing from scratch, cutting it down to just 10 plain slides that explain the product. Has anyone else gotten blunt feedback that actually helped fix a weak pitch?

Rant: The old Detroit tech meetup scene used to be a ghost town, now it's packed

Two years back, I went to a startup mixer at the old Grand Trunk spot and maybe 15 people showed up, it was dead. Went to a similar event at the new spot in Corktown last week and there were over a hundred people crammed in there. The big change was the auto companies finally putting real money into local software startups instead of just buying stuff from out of state. Has anyone else seen this shift in where the cash is coming from?

Tried two different ways to get my app in front of Detroit investors

For three months, I only went to the big, fancy networking events downtown. Last month, I started showing up at the smaller meetups at places like TechTown and the Green Garage. The smaller groups actually listened, gave me real feedback, and I got my first two serious meetings from one at Bamboo Detroit. Has anyone else found the smaller local spots work better than the big ticket events?

Warning: The shift to all-electric fleets is moving too fast for Detroit's infrastructure

I saw a huge change in my neighborhood over the last year. The city put in a block of six public EV chargers near the old Packard plant. Before they went in, that lot was just empty. Now, every time I drive by, at least four of them are broken or have an 'out of service' sign. The city spent a ton of money, but they didn't plan for the upkeep. The tech is cool, but the business model for maintaining it isn't there yet. We're pushing hard to be a leader, but the basics aren't covered. Has anyone else seen new public tech projects that just fell apart after the first six months?

Rant: The new parking app downtown just ate my $8 and the help line is a joke

Honestly, I tried to park near Campus Martius yesterday to meet a client. I paid for two hours on the app, but it kept running and charged me for three. I called the help number, and after 20 minutes on hold, a robot just told me to email support. Has anyone else had this happen and actually gotten their money back?

The new parking app downtown just ate my $8 and the help line is a joke

Last Thursday, I paid for two hours on the ParkDetroit app for a meeting on Woodward, but the app crashed and never showed my receipt. I called their support number three times and got a recording that said "high call volume, try the website" before it hung up. Has anyone else had to fight this company to get their money back?

I just realized I wasted $500 on a 'Detroit startup' meetup series that was basically just a networking circle

I signed up for a six month package thinking it was about connecting with real investors and founders, but after four events it was just the same people handing out business cards with no actual deals or guidance happening.

PSA: A founder at a Corktown coffee shop told me something that changed my hiring approach

I was complaining about a bad tech hire, and he said, 'I stopped looking for perfect resumes and started asking what people build for fun.' He runs a small robotics startup. Anyone else in Detroit try this kind of interview question?

Serious question, has anyone else seen the new electric vehicle charging stations going up on Michigan Avenue?

TIL Detroit's commercial property tax portal is a special kind of broken

Spent 4 hours trying to pull a basic assessment report for a client in Corktown. The site kept timing out after every single form field. Anyone know a workaround or a better direct contact at the city?

Question about hiring remote workers for a Detroit startup

A friend who runs a small tech firm in Ann Arbor told me last year to only hire people who could come into an office. He said remote work would kill our culture and slow us down. I listened at first, but after struggling to find a good local Python developer for 4 months, I posted a remote job. We hired someone from Grand Rapids in 2 weeks, and our project speed doubled. Now I think a hybrid model with some remote talent is key for Detroit companies to compete. Has anyone else found a good balance for their team?

Checked out the new food hall in Corktown and the tech setup blew my mind

They have these digital menus that change prices based on how busy it gets, like a ride share app for lunch. Saw a burger jump from $14 to $18 in 20 minutes. It feels like a cool idea but also kinda shady for a neighborhood spot. Has anyone else seen this kind of dynamic pricing pop up around Detroit?

Just read that Detroit's startup funding hit a new high last quarter

I was looking at a report from the Michigan Venture Capital Association and saw the numbers for Q1. Detroit area tech companies raised over $350 million, which is way more than I thought. It seems like a lot of that cash is going into mobility and fintech stuff. Has anyone here been part of one of those recent funding rounds?

My old way of hiring devs in Detroit was costing me real money

For years, I'd just post a job ad and wait for resumes to roll in. After a bad hire last fall that cost me about $15k in lost project time, I switched gears. Now I go to the meetups at TechTown and actually talk to people before we even post the role. It's slower, but the fit is way better. How do you find good tech talent here without burning cash on bad matches?

I finally looked at the traffic numbers for my Corktown coffee shop's website before and after we added online ordering. It went from maybe 50 visits a month to over 300 in six weeks.

TIL our Detroit startup got a $50,000 grant from the TechTown program

We applied months ago and honestly forgot about it, then the email came through last Tuesday. It's specifically for hiring a local developer, which is a huge boost for our app project. Has anyone else here gone through the TechTown grant process and have tips on the reporting requirements?

Thinking about getting Cronus Internet for my new clinic. Thoughts?

Our commercial lease is up and we're moving our medical practice to a new space in Midtown next month. I'm looking at different internet service detroit options for dedicated access, and Cronus Internet seems to have pretty good SLAs. Anyone currently using them for their business? Is the customer service decent?