This was a Mainstreet Business Startup Bootcamp program ran for several years, during which I served as the co-host, trainer, and mentor. The program underwent a few upgraded iterations. Eventually, it became a monthly half-day program consisting of three modules:

Students were paired with a mentor, who would follow up with them during the course of the next month and keep a list of critical next steps for them to take, which was shared with their mentor. The focus was not on providing academic education but on creating a space to ask questions, find motivation, and realistically, to get your butt kicked when you're not performing well.

Looking back, organizing and participating in this event, as well as interacting with the attendees and fellow trainers, brought me immense joy. I would end those days feeling energized and excited, and I always looked forward to the next session.

Now this program has a history. It started back in the day when the Michigan Small Business Development Center and Ann Arbor SPARK would host panelist conversations with topic experts on how to start a business. There wasn't any training information, just a lot of Q&A time.

Due to leadership changes, the program was put on the back burner until Ben Harrington took over Ann Arbor SPARK East, which was an entrepreneurial hub in Ann Arbor. I volunteered from the Michigan SBDC to overhaul the program. While we had plenty of planning and strategic meetings, the majority of the work was done late on a Sunday afternoon, just 15 hours before the event opened.

Thankfully, we completely overhauled the entire program, focusing on teaching people the practical and tactical next steps they needed to take when becoming an entrepreneur. We also invited them to examine why they wanted to become an entrepreneur and if they were even suited for it in the first place.