Unlocking Detroit’s Entrepreneurial Potential

From Detroit Demo Day to Venture 313

In 2017, we made a bet that if we put Detroit’s brightest talent on stage for one day with one million dollars on the line, they would show the world what we’ve always known: Detroit is filled with passionate, talented entrepreneurs who have big, game-changing ideas.

Over five years, Rocket Mortgage Detroit Demo Day deployed more than $5 million in capital to help more than 50 businesses start, grow, and scale businesses – and the results were extraordinary.

A recent study by PwC analyzing the impact of Detroit Demo Day among only a selection of participating businesses showed that our investment added nearly $24 million dollars in value and created 531 new jobs in our community in 2021, the most recent award year.

But we knew there was still more we could do. Despite the incredible impact of Detroit Demo Day, we saw through our continued engagement with winners that there were barriers still holding them back from even greater success. We also thought about the many Detroiters who never made it to the Detroit Demo Day stage, but still wanted to get in the game and show their creativity and passion. This led the Gilbert Family Foundation to launch Venture 313, a new initiative about unlocking the entrepreneurial potential within every Detroit resident.

What is Venture 313?

Venture 313 is a platform that was built by and for the people of Detroit and provides the capital, coaching and community they need to not just start businesses, but to launch ventures.

Venture 313 comprises a three-year, $10 million commitment to three founding partners: TechTown, Invest Detroit, and Detroit Development Fund. Through Venture 313, these partners will invest $500 to $250,000 into Detroit businesses through a mixture of grant funding and equity-like investments, depending on a business’ size, situation and need. Venture 313 will also provide unique programming and networking opportunities for participating Detroit businesses.

To obtain funding and other benefits of Venture 313, interested entrepreneurs will create an account, build their user profile and complete a journey planner. Each entrepreneur’s journey planner will provide them with a Playbook uniquely tailored to their needs. Click here to learn more about how Venture 313 works.

Venture 313 is part of the Gilbert Family Foundation and Rocket Community Fund’s joint $500 million commitment to build economic opportunity in Detroit neighborhoods. Through Venture 313, we are excited to create a mindset shift in the Detroit community that will get more Detroiters in the game and building successful businesses that lead to long-term generational wealth.

Unlocking Detroit’s Entrepreneurial Potential

From Detroit Demo Day to Venture 313

What is Venture 313?

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