Daily Detroit News Byte

Black women entrepreneurs are the fastest growing group of business owners in the nation, but they're also starting with the least amount of capital. That's especially important in a city like Detroit that is about 80% black, although our entrepreneurial sector - especially those who get venture funding - does not reflect that. This conversation with Dr. Courtney McCluney, assistant professor at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University was recorded a few days ago, but to me is especially poignant to share now in light of a recent article in MLive featuring a 19-year old entrepreneur. Who is a University of Michigan student. Who said they started their million dollar firm, Zuplift, from nothing two years ago. It seems at first like the typical young guy business success story we've read a thousand times. But that entrepreneur is AJ Gilbert, the 19-year-old son of one of America's richest men, Dan Gilbert. And here's the passage that is full of usually ignored business speak that caug