MACKINAC ISLAND – The mindset of the state is changing and more people are looking to stay in Michigan and start their own business, and because of that, so too is the perception people around the world have of Detroit and the state as a whole.

During a panel discussion titled, “Innovation: Entrepreneurship as the Catalyst for Economic Recovery in Michigan,” four successful entrepreneurs said they are seeing more interest and excitement than ever before.

Josh Linkner, CEO and managing partner of Detroit Venture Partners said several years ago there were no venture capital firms in Detroit and now there are more than a dozen. And he said his phones are ringing off the hook.

Angel Gambino, senior vice president for digital innovations at Westfield Shoppingtowns and co-founder of nonopoly, said when she travels around the world and tells people she is from Detroit, the first reaction now isn’t always one about bad news or hearing an apology.

“What I’m finding now is that there’s intrigue,” she said.

After making millions in technology companies, Gambino said she made the decision to bring investment and jobs back to Detroit.

For the whole state to be vibrant and vital, Detroit has to be a thriving urban center again, and even bigger than it was during its automotive heyday, she said.

“I am a cheerleader for Detroit,” she said.

She said she will soon be bringing four convoys of people to the state, each containing several dozen millionaires, billionaires, property developers and artists to tour and see what Michigan has to offer.

Rick DeVos is known for starting Art Prize, but he is also CEO of Start Garden, which invests $5,000 in two ideas each week, to help those wanting to start a business to be able to get off the ground.

He said the biggest hindrance to entrepreneurship is culture of business relating to startups, but it is changing.

“We were the Silicon Valley of mobility 100 years ago,” he said. “That built incredible industry.”

But that industry also moved the state away from focusing on startups and new ideas.

Gambino said if she were governor for a day, she would create more incentives for investment into businesses, and new startups that stay in Michigan or maintain a presence here.

She also said she would propose disincentives for people that own big buildings and are just keeping them up to code, or are not keeping them up to code because it benefits them to do so.

“There are some property owners that are just sitting on them, making our city look like crap,” she said.

Those property owners are contributing to blight and perpetuating the idea that Detroit is a scary place.

This story was provided by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on Gongwer.Com

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