EntryPoint Releases 2020 Detroit Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Report

Michigan-based EntryPoint has just released their 2020 Detroit Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Report, two months ahead of schedule to provide extra data to aid in the development of business support programs to address the COVID-19 outbreak in Michigan. The report consists of comprehensive analysis of Detroit’s high-tech entrepreneurial community over the last six years, along with notes on how businesses are handling the current coronavirus outbreak in a city that has just recovered from municipal bankruptcy only to be hit by another economic downturn.

"A big part of the reason we are releasing the report now versus in June when we normally publish," EntryPoint founder and managing director Emily Heintz tells Cronicle, "is that we are getting a lot of requests for data by foundations, government, and economic development organizations so they are able to craft programs to help support small businesses and startups during this time." Also, she adds, there is a bit of good news in this report, which is nice to hear.

The report provides important insights into Detroit’s entrepreneurial ecosystem to inform the development of entrepreneurial support programs as small businesses and startups navigate the changing economic climate.

The 2020 Detroit Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Report is relatively short, so we present it to you here for your own review without comment. We hope that this overview of Detroit's recent startup and entrepreneurial growth helps you in shaping your own response to the COVID epidemic in Michigan and wish you the very best during this difficult time, especially for hard-hit Detroiters.

View Or Download the Detroit Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Report Here

“While the report shows promising data of the steady growth of startups in Detroit, there is no denying the COVID-19 pandemic will heavily impact small businesses and startups,” Heintz says. “Detroit has weathered economic downturns in the past, and while we are in uncharted territory, it’s now more important than ever to use our understanding of the economic landscape to adapt to the shifting terrain and continue Detroit’s record of growth and success.”

Highlights From Detroit's 2020 Startup Scene

• There are 38 active venture-backed startups in Wayne County that have raised an aggregate of $485 million, a 58 percent increase in the number of high-growth companies over the last six years.
• Over 26 percent of the venture-backed startups in Michigan are located in Detroit.
• Dominant sectors are information technology companies and mobility companies. Of the 38 active-venture backed startups in Wayne County, 47 percent are information technology companies and 19 percent are mobility-related.
• In 2019, 19 venture-backed startups in the Detroit area attracted more than $63.8 million from venture capital firms. Of the 19 startups that received venture capital investment last year, 47 percent are information technology companies and 21 percent are life science/healthcare companies with the remaining companies divided among the mobility and consumer products sectors.
• Of the 38 active venture-backed startups in Wayne County, eight of them are led by someone who is a racial minority, three of them are led by a woman and none of them are led by someone who has identified themselves as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
• In Detroit, seven active venture-backed startups are led by a CEO who is a racial minority. These companies raised eight percent of the total venture capital raised by startups in Detroit in 2019.

EntryPoint will soon be releasing research reports on the economic and minority-led startup scene in other locations across Michigan, including Washtenaw County and mid-Michigan. We will bring you highlights and links to those reports as they become available.