By Seun Oyewole, Analyst, Invest Detroit
The Michigan entrepreneurial and investment climate has certainly found its beat over the last few years with $328.4M invested into 54 deals in 2015. Despite such investment growth, Michigan tech companies face a huge hurdle: finding strong tech talent to grow their companies.
Hacker Fellows, an Invest Detroit program, offers great talent to startups by recruiting and training top developers that have recently graduated from elite universities.
In short, Hacker Fellows serves as a pipeline for Michigan tech start-ups to hire junior development talent at a subsidized salary. The program commits $15,000+ to hiring companies over the course of the one-year fellowship to supplement the salaries of the Hacker Fellows.
Our 2015 Hacker Fellows landed jobs at Duo Security, ArborMetrix and Seelio to name a few. All the companies have been more than impressed with their fellow’s work ethic and compatibility, but you don’t have to take my word for it, here’s what one of the CEO’s had to say:
The entire process yielded positive results for my company. From finding qualified candidates, placement, education, and the salary subsidy – all helped the company in this strong growth phase. I’d be happy to participate in the program anytime there is another class of candidates. We are always hiring digital talent. –Craig Jablonski, CEO of Career Now Brands
Looking forward to getting your company a Hacker Fellow, please feel free to reach out to the team through [email protected] or contact me directly at [email protected]!
Invest Detroit prides itself on providing more than capital. Our team is committed to supporting the entrepreneurial ecosystem through on-going mentorship and community engagement. We implement targeted venture development programs to help build and promote scalable businesses in the region. Our team is committed to helping build a diverse tech community in Detroit and throughout the region. We are collectively focused on implementing an investment strategy that is inclusive of minority, immigrant, and women entrepreneurs. Our work is based on the philosophy that while we cannot invest in every entrepreneur we meet, we can provide some level of assistance to every one of them.