Inspiring Businesses and Entrepreneurs in Detroit

Adam Kidan

Emily Thornhill – Homeslice

• Homeslice is an environmentally conscious women’s clothing label

• All of their fabric comes from the United States

• Every article of clothing made in their Detroit headquarters

Kimo Fredriksen – True Body Fitness

• A fitness studio in Detroit’s historic neighborhood Corktown• Offers services such as metabolic testing• Their blog offers motivational advice• Offers awards to people who win any of the company’s regular fitness

challenges

Jay Rayford – Social Sushi• A catering company made for networking and

fundraising events• Serves as a great medium for people to meet people

and exchange exciting new ideas• Rayford currently hosts around four events each

month

Sheri Crawley – Pretty Brown Girl

• Founded to combat negative body images in the media, and remind children that dark skin is beautiful

• Sells dolls, backpacks and clothing labeled “Pretty Brown Girl”

Bob Marsh – LevelEleven

• Built to properly motivate sales employees• Integrates with other sales sites to incentivize

employees’ work and boost sales

Andrew & Ryan Landau – Chalkfly

• Office and school supply site

• Intent on giving back to the community of Detroit

• Customer service is one of the main tenets of business strategy

• Donate 5% of every sale to teachers

Victor Nemirovsky – iRule

• Universal remotes for mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets

• Has products in over 12,000 homes and businesses

• 269 dealers in 49 countries

Veronika Scott – The Empowerment Project

• A coat designed to keep its owner warm while also doubling as a sleeping bag

• Made for the homeless of Detroit, and relies exclusively on donations

• Around 4,000 coats distributed this past year

Henry Balanon – The Glass Company

• Working to manufacture an electronic glass card that can act as any of your credit or debit card

• The card will be called “Echo”

• Currently working on fundraising to develop and release Echo

Jay Gierak & Nathan Labenz – Stik

• Professional review/referral site• Pairs consumers up with contractors, doctors

and other professionals, using social media sites such as Facebook

Hajj Flemings – Gokit

• Synthesizes all of your social media profiles into one single profile

• Launched on a napkin at South By Southwest

• Still in development

Amy Kaherl – Detroit SOUP

• Hosts a monthly dinner where entrepreneurs can pitch their business ideas

• Cost of entry is $5• The best idea receives all of

the food and drink proceeds from the night

• In less than 4 years, raised over $55,000 for businesses throughout Detroit.