Newlab launched its first Founder Fellowship program in Detroit in collaboration with the State of Michigan and Michigan Central. The Fellowship supports a cohort of 5 climate tech founders from underrepresented backgrounds with the resources they need to scale their companies.
In addition to Newlab, Michigan Central, and the State of Michigan; Newlab’s ‘Community Builders in Residence’ have played a pivotal role in building the Founder Fellowship program. They include Johnnie Turnage, with a focus on Black Founders, and Meagan Ward, with a focus on Women Founders. Both Johnnie and Meagan are founders themselves and passionate about building equity in tech. (source)
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Andrea Corey, Director of Community and Meagan Ward, Community Builder in Residence invited me to Detroit, Michigan to teach a storytelling workshop. The purpose of my session was to education the group of founders about how to master their brand message and successfully pitch to the media with the end goal of securing capital to help scale their companies. Following this session, we packed up and made our way down to the cafeteria where we joined a larger group of business leaders for a fireside chat. My long-time friend, Meagan, interviewed me about my purpose portfolio and we also explored topics like team building, infrastructure, systems and processes, sales and negotiations, mental health best practices and more. It was a very long day, but one I’ll never forget.
