Following our first Techonomy Detroit conference last fall, we profiled Venture for America, a program that places young tech entrepreneurs at start-ups throughout the country, targeting cities like Detroit, New Orleans, and Las Vegas that are still grappling with economic recovery. We also profiled an innovative Detroit startup called Are You a Human, which offers a secure and entertaining alternative to CAPTCHA authentication technology, designed to verify that someone using a website is a real persona and not a robot with bad intentions.
Max Nussenbaum, a Venture for America fellow who was placed by the program at Are You a Human, was among several VFA fellows who attended Techonomy Detroit. He’s now blogging about his experiences in Detroit for The Huffington Post. In his first post, the Wesleyan University grad offers his take on why “Detroit Hustles Harder” is an imperfect slogan for the city. Detroit’s modest cost of living and low saturation make it a greenfield for innovation and experimentation, so it’s actually one of the easiest places in the world to try out new ventures, argues Nussenbaum. Could “Detroit Innovates Easier” become the city’s new slogan? Participants at this year’s Techonomy Detroit, to be held on September 17th at Wayne State University, are likely to make a strong case for the city as a testing ground for America’s economic revitalization.
