IDEA Detroit aims for big thoughts

Innovators, inventors, social entrepreneurs and marketers will headline the first-ever IDEA Detroit conference March 23, sponsored by Crain's Detroit Business and its New York-based sister publication, Advertising Age.

The conference, modeled after Ad Age's IDEA conference held the past five years in Manhattan, will feature 14 speakers talking about a specific product, innovation or trend.

IDEA Detroit is geared for marketers, investors, entrepreneurs, academics and social-change agents from Southeast Michigan and will be promoted by both publications to those groups in the Midwest.

Dale Dougherty, founder of Maker Faire and editor of Make magazine, will be among the featured speakers.

"I always think it's really interesting connecting a lot of different people together who realize the overlap of ideas," Dougherty said. "We're thinking similar ideas, and we can help each other."

Dougherty's Maker Faire -- a two-day festival celebrating the arts and the do-it-yourself mindset -- is held in a handful of U.S. cities and was at The Henry Ford for the first time in 2010. Last July's event drew more than 18,000 visitors and is returning again this year to The Henry Ford.

"Detroit has a heritage and vitality in its people," Dougherty said. "I had wondered, in some ways, whether there would be a challenge doing an event in Detroit and finding creative people in the area. But I found that there are lots of young people doing interesting work and showcasing it."

IDEA Detroit will feature social entrepreneurs like Veronika Scott, a College for Creative Studies student who designed a coat for the homeless that doubles as a sleeping bag/shelter, using products from two Michigan companies -- Tyvek from Midland-based Dow Corning Corp. and fleece from Dearborn-based Carhartt Inc.

Cynthia Koenig, a University of Michigan MBA student, is another social entrepreneur who will be at the conference. Koenig founded Ann Arbor-based Wello, which manufactures and distributes the WaterWheel, a 20-gallon drum that can be pushed like a baby stroller and transports four to five times the amount of fresh water as traditional methods of collecting water in small villages in developing countries.

Other speakers include David Morrow, founder of Warren-based sporting goods firm Warrior Sports Inc.; Eric Ryan, a Grosse Pointe native and co-founder of Method, maker of eco-friendly household and personal care products; and Aaron Dworkin, founder of Sphinx, the classical music competition devoted to placing minority musicians in top orchestras.

Also speaking at the conference will be Josh Linkner, founder of ePrize and fund manager for Quicken Loans Inc. founder and Chairman Dan Gilbert's venture capital fund, Detroit Venture Partners, aimed at seeding early startups in digital technology and digital marketing.

"Detroit is creating some buzz -- a rebounding auto industry, social entrepreneurs who are carving their own paths in the city and innovative ways to attract new residents to Midtown," said Crain's Publisher Mary Kramer. "This is the perfect time for a conference like this."

The event will be at the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Design, at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.


Source: http://www.crainsdetroit.com/article...-big-thoughts#