NextUP 313

The NextUp 313 program defines a young Detroiter as “a Detroit resident with a documented age between 18 and 30 years.” NextUp 313 will educate Detroit’s young adult residents in the fundamentals of innovation, value creation, business development, and risk-taking.

A submission of a program application response is required for participation in the program’s online course, networking events, or one of the seven microinternships. Individuals who do not apply or are not selected to participate in the program are welcome to register for our June 5 conference.

No, there is currently no grant funding or any other form of financial assistance available to individual participants or their company through NextUp 313. The support and assistance provided to program participants comprised of virtual training through an online self-guided course, virtual office hours with a registered volunteer, in-person events and seminars, and outbound service referrals to external business resources. 

Business owners who are seeking sources of financial assistance are encouraged to visit the Detroit Means Business website for more information.

Our inaugural spring program and cohort is taking place April 16 kickoff event until our June 20 closing reception.

Microinterships are reserved for program participants who are operating a Detroit-headquartered company with proof of revenue. One microinternship is available for each of Detroit’s seven council districts.

Detroit’s for profit and nonprofit companies can partner with NextUP 313 by one or more of the following ways: 

1. Hosting a networking event that provides a tour of your business location, introducing participants to your company’s leadership and/or staff, and allows for the facilitation of a brief workshop for NextUP 313 participants. 

2. Welcoming an intern, in-person, at your company’s workplace for 3-5 days, pairing the young entrepreneur with various staff members for the purpose of observation-based learning, activity-based learning, and general professional development. 

3. Registering members of your company’s staff to serve as virtual mentors for the duration of the program or as in-person advisers during our June 5 conference 

4. Co-branding or sponsoring video content within our online course and on social media channels 

5. OR Serving as a financial or in-kind sponsor during our June 5 conference: 

• Connect with attendees through a branded company booth. Increase awareness among emerging entrepreneurs of your company’s product or service
• Enjoy logo placement on program print material and venue décor during the conference

Yes, our June 5 conference registration will be open to the general public, program partners, and young Detroiters who are not participating in the program’s online course or networking events.

In the spirit of NextUP 313’s mission to integrate talented young people from Detroit into local programs and to encourage them to create and grow successful companies in each of Detroit’s seven council districts, all program participants will receive at least one outbound referral to an existing entrepreneurship development program that operates within the city of Detroit. 

Referrals will initially be tracked for business entity legal formation, subsequent program participation and completion, revenue generation, part-time or full-time job creation, internship creation, subsequent business organization memberships and the status of a business’s operations.

Email our planning team at [email protected] in order to have us make a virtual or in-person presentation to the young people in your program or organization. We would love to connect with them.