Entrepreneurship Takes Center Stage During Discussion on Detroit Revitalization

Can entrepreneurship thrive in an economy formerly dominated by industrial muscle?  That was the question posed to Matt Cullen, Rock Ventures Chief Operating Officer; Randal Charlton, executive director, TechTown; and Chanell Scott, CEO, Guffly.com during a roundtable discussion held Nov. 6 at the “Time Project Detroit House,” located near Detroit’s Indian Village community.   

The event, videotaped and slated to air in the next few weeks on CNNMoney.com, focused on whether entrepreneurialism is the key to a revived Detroit.  Panel members discussed the role that Detroit once played and the future role it can play through the creation of new economy jobs, agreeing that the brain drain can only be stopped by developing and growing high-tech, scalable companies in the region, and by creating an attractive, vibrant downtown area where young innovators will be willing to base their businesses.

While at General Motors, Cullen was instrumental in bringing the automaker to the Renaissance Center, and he talked about the importance of attracting new business, and its employees, to Detroit. The relocation of Quicken Loans headquarters to the City next spring will help, he said, however there is no “one” answer. “ A vital Detroit is important to the region, and we’re making progress,” said Cullen, noting the “reclaiming” of Detroit’s waterfront and the investment of private funds to create a light-rail line on Woodward Avenue. 

In the photo above, Matt Cullen (Rock Ventures), Randal Charlton (TechTown) and Chanell Scott (Guffly) join moderator Jessica Brudder in a panel discussion about entrepreneurship and the revival of Detroit.

Quicken Loans helps the Parade Company Shine-Up Floats for the Thanksgiving Day Parade

By W Kemp

 

 

 

 

Have you ever wondered who gets all the floats ready for America’s Thanksgiving Parade in Detroit? Well, this year it was the Quicken Loans, Title Source and Fathead Community DIFF Makers, who worked hard making sure every float in this year’s parade is clean, shiny and looking sharp for their big day.

 

Our team spent an entire day washing, scrubbing, and primping floats in preparation for the parade.  Our team even worked on the guest of honors sleigh – a project that is sure to get us a spot on Santa’s "good" list. J In addition, we watched designers go over the new floats in the

 

 

Parade and I even took a couple of my team members over to get fitted for their parade costumes.

 

You can’t help but smile when going into the Parade Company -- there is a ton of stuff going on, everyone is busy and there are always sounds of laughter from adults and children.

The Detroit Thanksgiving Day parade is a long standing tradition in Detroit that has given families all over the metro area wonderful memories and has brought cheers and smiles to many faces.

 

Be sure to look for Quicken Loans DIFF Makers on Thanksgiving morning as we wrestle the big guy, the clown of all clowns, Clownie (the Parade Mascot) down Woodward Avenue.

 

Thank you Detroit Parade Company for allowing us to be the DIFF with you this year.

 

Quicken Loans Holds Breast Cancer Awareness Day

By: Victoria Araj

In the United States, breast cancer occurs in one out of eight women and affects men as well.  In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Quicken Loans held a special Awareness Day on Oct. 29 in the Michigan and Cleveland offices.

Team members were able to purchase pink ribbons and pins with all proceeds going to the American Cancer Society.  In addition, the Human Resources Team created an internal Web site giving team members access to information about cancer clinical trials, statistics and resource materials from assistance groups in both Michigan and Ohio.

Quicken Loans Raises More Than $120,000 for the ALS Association

By: Victoria Araj

On Saturday, Oct. 3, the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Association held its annual Walk to Defeat ALS on Belle Isle and more than 500 people, including Detroit Mayor Dave Bing, braved rainy weather to raise awareness for the disease that affects someone every 90 minutes.  ALS, (also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that attacks the cells that aid in muscle control.

This year, Quicken Loans CEO Bill Emerson served as the Corporate Chairman for the Walk and he challenged all Quicken Loans team members and its sister companies to raise $75,000 for the disease that affected both his brother-in-law and a close friend.  Through individual team member contributions, internal auctions for unique prizes, creative team competitions such as raffles, themed lunches and even valet parking for a day, the goal was surpassed and more than $120,000 was raised.  Of the total that was donated, the Cleveland office raised $9,000 and the Scottsdale office raised over $10,000 for their respective chapters.

The week preceding the walk, the Quicken Loans marketing team launched a one-day, online national Tweet-for-ALS campaign through the popular social media site Twitter.   The team created a unique Web site (tweetforals.com) and added a new twist by encouraging people to reach the collective goal of $10,000 with 10,000 individual $1 donations.  The team was able to generate more than $5,000 in just 10 hours using only social media to spread the word. 

“It was important for us to take our message to a broader audience and we were pleased to see that the power of social media could be used to do something good,” said Stuart Davis, Chief Marketing Officer, Quicken Loans.  “In just a matter of hours, thousands of people from across the country were able to donate a small amount that will have a big impact on improving the lives of those affected with ALS.”

Brick and Wood Were No Match for Quicken Loans and Blight Busters

By Victoria Araj

 

On a cool, overcast morning, team members from Quicken Loans teamed up with the Motor City Blight Busters to demolish a home about 2 blocks from the organization’s hub on Lahser in Detroit.  Volunteers from other organizations were on hand and teams quickly came together to separate brick, wood and other materials into piles that could be salvaged or disposed. 

 

While breaking up cement, cleaning out the inside of the home and making it a skeletal structure to demolish, we uncovered some interesting artifacts.  We found stuffed toys, postcards from 1945, an old typewriter and an original 1931 copy of the Detroit Free Press.  This home definitely had a story to tell!  It put up a good fight too!  After stripping the house down to a basic structure, John George, the founder of Blight Busters harnessed a strong chain around the home and tied it to his truck.  He turned on the ignition, pressed play on his CD player and Michael Jackson served as the soundtrack for the pedal to the metal.  The truck launched forward and only part of the house came down.  We realized this would need another attempt to bring it down.  The chain was then wrapped around the upper part of the home and the accelerator was kicked into high gear.  More of the house came down, but still, it would not give up!  We had to manually have a tug-of-war with the remains of the structure and together we brought the final pieces of the house down. 

 

We continued to organize items into piles and within a few hours, the team felt a sense of accomplishment by removing a blighted home and improving the community.  “What made this special was that we were making a neighborhood safer for those families and children who call it home,” said Kristin Broadley, Loss Mitigation Director at Quicken Loans.

 

All of the volunteers put in a lot of hard work and muscle into the demolition and we were proud to contribute to the growing list of homes that Blight Busters eradicated this year.