Building an innovation ecosystem for the next century

Megan: Last year, when the governor of Michigan declared this new initiative and your position, you noticed the need to strengthen this type of innovation culture. We hear that this station is in the context of the company’s cultures. It is interesting to hear in the context of the US State’s economy. I wonder what is your strategy to build this ecosystem, and how do you enhance the culture of innovation in the country?

son: Yes, it is a great point, and I think I previously mentioned that I entered this role with the mentality of this origin. For me, so I am wire to think. This is the way you spent many other companies and founders who spent a lot of time with, and this is what they think about. Thus, this brought to the state government, thinking about Azraq, Jeff Bezos, its slogan, at least the English translation, “step -by -step, severe.” I think about this as an alternative to how to do this within the state government. There is a lot of repetitive work that must happen, a lot of training and storytelling that occurs to help people understand how to think about the mentality of this origin. The wonderful news is that when you start taking this conversation, this is one of those in these complex political times, this is a beautiful thing from the two parties, right?

The idea of ​​how to build small companies that create booming major street societies with high -growth and high -tech startups that can drive prosperity for all, population growth, with the ability to cover companies innovation and technology transfer from universities. All of these things touch every corner of the state.

Michigan is a large and very geographical country. Most of the things we tend to be known outside the state are at a very small corner of southeast Michigan. This is the Motor City part, but we are doing a lot and we have a lot of really interesting centers for innovation and centers for entrepreneurship, as I said, from the mother and small pop manufacturing store or caring for clothes along the way to the crazy life sciences that are directed from the university. The ability to push this culture of innovation ends in all fields, and people really separate when you start talking about this, and they shot in a good way, which I think is really wonderful.

There is this idea of ​​accelerating the talent wheel and ensuring that the state can invest in the cultivation of societies and communications that are truly rich, and the culture of this founder. These things happen organically, in general, and when you talk about building ecological ecosystems, the state does not seem to appear and says: “Now it will be more innovative and this works.” This is not the case.

To be able to develop these things, it is a lot about the concept of building the ecosystem and obtaining ingredients and cutting puzzles in the right place, applying a little financing here and there, or reducing restrictions here or there, and then allowing producers to do what they do better, which is built. Thus, this is what I think I have ended very excited about the country. You can lead the role model in many of these methods, and that the budget web that you mentioned really can go beautifully when it comes out of the mentality of mandatory innovation culture.

Megan: Looking at this role, I wonder what are the prominent landmarks that the campaign witnessed in your first year? Can you share some prominent points and some developing projects that you are really excited?

son: We had a modern one, and I think this was very huge. Just two months ago, the ruler signed the legislation of the two parties called the innovation fund in Michigan. This was a multi -year effort that led to the largest investment in the state in developing the ecosystem for innovation for more than two decades. There is a lot of this funding that will go to early investment capital companies that will be able to support the wide seeds of companies and new ideas, and to maintain talents within the country from some of these research institutions with a higher level, and to collect high -quality companies truly in the early stage, from growth companies from outside the state, then develop some of these environmental institutions for innovation that link these things together. So the guilt tissues that I talked about, and that was an incredible victory for the launch of the year with him.

This has just returned in January, and now we are working to get some of these money during the following month or month so that we can use it. What was really interesting about it, was not just something from top to bottom. This was supported from the top along the way to the ruler and passes. I mentioned support from the two parties in the legislative body in Michigan, then from bottom to all partners of the ecosystems, founders, and investors who defend a full bloc, which I think is really strong. Instead of trying to go for one time, this huge alliance of those who want and defends it, hey, gathered, which is why this is a wonderful moment. This is the time to invest. And the ruler and the legislators, they heard that call, and achieved something, and this is what happened at a relative speed. As I said, the biggest investment in the past two decades, and I think we are ready to achieve some wonderful successes in the next year as well.

Another is really interesting, I haven’t seen other states yet, the ruler has fallen and passes, about a year ago, an executive thing called the innovation infrastructure. Basically, what he does is that it opens the assets of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and an agency to the startups in the name of moving the ball forward in innovation projects. Thus, if you are a startup and you need to reach some difficulty, very expensive, and perhaps like a test facility, you can use something with the country, and all the processes that must be done are simplified so that your head does not hit the wall. Likewise, universities and even federal laboratories and corporate resources cannot, while the executive matter cannot force these people to do so, we have found a huge purchase of stakeholders who want to volunteer by reaching their resources.

This really does a lot of good things, and certainly for the founders, which provide them with the launch platform they need. But for those companies and universities, etc., many of them have these expensive assets sitting around them, and they will be happy for people to come and use them. This also gives them exposure to some of the edge of bleeding that develops many of these emerging companies today. I thought it was a really wonderful example of the state government’s leadership using some of the tools available to a ruler’s position to move things. We have achieved a lot of early victories with startups here, which were able to benefit from what this executive was able to do for them.

Here we are talking about a review of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to link it in the article of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology here, as we started the Michigan team for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is a regional entrepreneurial acceleration program, and this is one of the leaders of global thought on best practices for developing the ecosystem of innovation. Thus, we have a group of about ten main leaders from all different stakeholders who need a seat on the table to develop this ecosystem.

We go to Cambridge twice a year to get a multiple workshop, and we talk about what we learned as best practices, then we also learn from other groups from all over the world as they did, which is great. Then you can also hear some of the best academic practices discovered by faculty members at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as part of this field of experience. Thus this was a very interesting way for us to contact the borders of the state government, if you will. You can go out there and know where the front edge is, then you return and be able to talk about the things we have learned from all these other global groups. So it is always important to focus on best practices when you try to do new things, especially in the government.

Megan: There seem to be some great initiatives that occur. It looks like a very crowded first year.