Empowering Mentor Matrix

We provide opportunities for low income, un-housed or vulnerably housed residents of Detroit to participate in entrepreneurship through micro-enterprise. Our Purpose is to increase entrepreneurship among individuals who have the desire and possess the capacity–but lack an easy on-ramp or simple opportunity to start.

Our first micro-enterprise is Thrive Detroit Street Newspaper, an independent publication sold by those who are homeless or vulnerably housed in the City of Detroit. As micro- entrepreneurs they purchase the publication for .50 and sell it for $2, retaining the surplus for reinvestment and income. Thrive Detroit provides an initial investment of 10 free newspapers to each participant.

Member of the International Network of Street Papers
https://insp.ngo/
 

The Detroit Revitalization Fellows are talented mid-career leaders stimulating progress within Detroit’s civic, community and economic development landscape. This select group of doers engages in a rigorous two-year leadership development program while serving full time at organizations working to further key programs and projects across Detroit and the region.

The altMBA is an online leadership and management workshop.

Founded in 2015 by bestselling author Seth Godin, the altMBA uses digital tools like Slack, Discourse and Zoom to engage more than 100 students in an intense four-week process. In 2018, students from 74 countries worldwide participated, with more students being added each session.

Each session of the workshop is led by a cadre of coaches, who engage with students in individual and group work. During the workshop, each student publishes the results of the 13 assigned projects on the public altMBA site. Over one session of the workshop, more than 50,000 messages were exchanged between students and coaches in Slack. The program is synchronous, with regular deadlines, group discussions, and face-to-face video calls. It is entirely based online, with students participating from their home or workplace.