Grand Rapids Tech Week 2022 Deemed Big Success
It’s been an exciting year for the City of Grand Rapids’ entrepreneurial ecosystem. Inspiring founders, innovative businesses and strong communities offer opportunities for startups of all shapes and sizes. In response, Grand Rapids recently held its first annual Tech Week and it was an event that didn’t disappoint.
Tech Week hosted a series of events that coincide with established events such as Demo Day and Confluence to celebrate the innovation community in Grand Rapids and provide panel discussions, pitch competitions and networking opportunities for the tech community. The week kicked off with Demo Day, an opportunity for entrepreneurs to join a community of like-minded mentors, advisors and friends while also having a chance at $20,000 to continue incubating their projects.
On Thursday, techni/color/ and West Michigan Tech Talent held a brunch for young, diverse professionals and The Right Place hosted a happy hour focused on digital innovation and forging connections between tech leaders and startups in Grand Rapids. The events were all well-attended and provided extensive resources for entrepreneurs.
To highlight the week of festivities, Michigan State University Foundation’s subsidiary, Spartan Innovations hosted a tech brunch and panel, focused on managing relationships between founders and funders. The panel featured Kyle McGregor, Ph.D., director of health innovations at Spartan Innovations, Prem Bodagala, director of Red Cedar Ventures and Michigan Rise, and Darren Riley, cofounder and CEO of Just Air Solutions and co-founder of Commune Angels.
“Grand Rapids Tech Week was an incredible opportunity for the city’s brightest minds to come together and learn from one another. Spartan Innovations couldn’t have been more thrilled to help lead this celebration,” said McGregor. “During our panel, Darren and Prem brought insights into the start-up/funder relationship. They were the perfect pair to talk with this mixed group of new & seasoned entrepreneurs.”
One of the biggest takeaways from the panel was that the relationship between founders and funders should not end when a check is presented. Instead, Prem and Darren highly encouraged entrepreneurs to stay in touch, whether it’s arranging a call and having a conversation or sending a monthly email with updated progress.
“It’s always good to see people with similar passions have the opportunity to share insights and engage in great discussions,” McGregor added. “So many people stayed at our event until the very end, exchanging ideas and asking follow-up questions. Tech Week has proven that we need more connections like this year ‘round, especially as we look to grow west Michigan’s impact as a tech hub.”
Tech Week concluded with Confluence showcases and expos meant to highlight regional companies and leaders.
What’s next for Spartan Innovations? In November, the team will be hosting the Michigan Hospital Innovation Symposium, engaging with health innovation groups around the state to find new ways to connect startups and health systems. This event is put on by Spartan Innovations and focuses on shortening the distance between private-sector innovations and health system adoption. One of the best ways to improve health outcomes, reduce health disparities, and reduce the burnout/compassion fatigue of healthcare providers, is to identify and intuitively deploy new products and services where the health system needs them. This is a delicate balancing act to ensure we’re not just burdening care providers with another process, but finding solutions to the known issues in health care in this post COVID world.
If you’d like to connect with Spartan Innovations, please visit msufoundation.org/spartaninnovations