Michelle Martinez's Latest Articles
The Entrepreneurial Life (So Far) of Paul Chambers
From IT to popcorn, 29-year-old Paul Chambers has had more than just a kernel of success. This co-founder and CEO of Core3 Solutions and owner of two Dale & Thomas Popcorn franchises has had entrepreneurship running through his veins since age five.
Danotek Knows Which Way The Wind Blows
If you want to know which way the alternative energy market is blowing consider this: wind power installations grew 40% last year. Canton-based Danotek is certainly paying attention. The clean tech company recently recruited a new CEO from Chicago and is aggressively developing, producing, and marketing its cutting edge turbine technology.
Team Detroit
Think of them as a five-headed hydra of creativity and marketing savvy. Dearborn's Team Detroit melded the best and brightest from WPP's top agencies into a single ad shop bent on world domination. Or, at the very least, attracting lots of happy clients. Michelle Martinez gets under their hood and checks out how this engine of ideas operates.
Ignite Ferndale
Every city strives to bring business to its downtown but few know how to attract thousands of Facebook fans. Ferndale's leaders want to add a few entrepreneurs to its mix of funky, artsy, and hip businesses. Actually, a lot of entrepreneurs. So they're using social media and online communication to build real-world opportunities.
Hacking Metro Detroit
It's about innovation and invention, not stealing your credit card info. With a trio of open-source, boundary-pushing hackerspaces opening in the last year, Metro Detroit has joined the international ranks of hackerdom. More than gadget-obsessed misfits, these make-geeks are out to make our world a little bit better... and more interesting.
Back For (and To Do) Good
From Detroit to San Francisco and back again, Andrew Basile is rooting himself in Michigan in ways he never imaged. A successful lawyer, he's not only determined to bring Silicon Valley style-companies to the Motor City, he's established an incubator in Troy to make it happen. And as if that weren't enough, Basile has also become involved with evolving the Woodward Avenue corridor into a successful urban hub.
Y Arts Brings Filmmaking To Metro Detroit Youth
Michigan's blossoming film industry is expanding its reach in ways no one imagined. Case in point: Metro Detroit's Y Arts Program, which teaches at-risk youth media arts and skills while helping to build the next generation of local creative talent.
A Hollywood Education In Metro Detroit
There's no business like show business. With Michigan's ambitious film incentive package, Hollywood has come calling. But sometimes there aren't enough qualified local crews to answer the call. Cue the production boot camps and film training programs. Metromode looks into what's on offer in SE Michigan, chats with those who know best, and lands some tips for how to make yourself ready to work in the 'biz'.
Building An Economy From The Ground Up: Community Enterprise
Metro Detroit might want to look to the Basque region of Spain or Bologna, Italy for ideas on how to rejuvenate our local economy. Both communities have turned community-based enterprise into impressive long term successes.
