Entrepreneurial Services

SmartStart
For someone with an entry level technology or non-technology related business idea, innovation, or IP who wants to start a business. Learn more >

Transformative Technology
This accelerated program is for new high-tech companies, innovations, or ideas that have high-growth potential. Services include one-on-one mentoring, accelerated commercialization and capital raising. Learn more >

Entrepreneurial Resources

Local and State Resources

• Michigan Tech Innovation and Industry Engagement
• Michigan Tech I-Corps Site Program
• Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance (KEDA): Site Selection, Target Market Analysis, Development Tools, Lifestyle Data
• Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC): Reports & Data
• Small Business Development Center (SBDC) 

Pitch Events & Competitions:

• The Bob Mark Elevator Pitch Competition- Michigan Tech Student Pitch Competition [annual]
• 1 Million Cups Copper Country- Local businesses and startups share their ideas [monthly]
• Accelerate Michigan Innovation Competition- Largest competition in Michigan with $1M in prizes [annual]
• GreenLight Michigan Business Model Competition- Early-stage pitch competition [annual]

Crowdfunding

• Michigan Tech Superior Ideas: University research crowdfunding tool
• Kickstarter
• Indiegogo

Market Research Tools

• Conducting Market Research – Tutorial on how to conduct market research
• Think with Google- Culture & Trends, Competitive Analysis, Consumer Insights, Diagnostic Tools & Industry Benchmarks
• American Fact Finder– Census Data, Demographics, Industries, Housing, etc.
• U.S. SBA Business Data and Statistics– A collection of resources providing free access to business and economic statistics collected by the U.S. Government.
• County Business Patterns– CBP is an annual series published by the U.S. Census Bureau that provides subnational economic data by industry.
• CLARITAS MyBestSegments– Powerful market segmentation tool to find out who your best customers are, where they’re located, and how to reach them.
• MakeMyPersona-  Interactive web tool that generates buyer personas for you once you answer a series of questions about your ideal customers.
• Pew Research Center- Free Data Sets 

Digital Marketing Tools

• SurveyMonkey- Highly rated web-based survey tool
• MailChimp- Email marketing tool for small businesses
• HubSpot- Marketing, Sales and CRM software (online)
• Hootsuite- Manage all your social media in one place
• Google Analytics- Track and analyze your web traffic
• Google Ads- Pay Per Click (PPC) online advertising
• Canva- Online content creation tool