Sesi Midwest to showcase Ypsilanti entrepreneurship

Wednesday, February 10, 2010 | Source: Concentrate

Eastern Michigan University is working to encourage more students to dip their toes into the entrepreneurship pool with it latest offering Sesi Midwest Entrepreneurship Conference. Joe Venuto, one of the conference's speakers, is already swimming laps.

Venuto graduated from Eastern Michigan in 2008 with a degree in communications and a minor in entrepreneurship. He started several small businesses in Ypsilanti, ranging from Mobile Consulting (which saves people money on their cell phone bills) to SoPlat, a start-up that runs social media for Varsity Ford in Ann Arbor and Ferndale.

Venuto, 27, credits Eastern Michigan and Ypsilanti with giving him "the platform to be great" when it comes to running his own business. Those institutions helped him go from a dead broke student with little to direction in life to becoming a business owner with five independent contractors under him.

"There are so many resources in Ypsilanti and Eastern Michigan," Venuto says. "SPARK is over in Ann Arbor. They provided all of the resources I needed to be great as a serial entrepreneur. Everyone had an open door, too."

The conference will spotlight other local entrepreneurs and their successes, including people from well-established firms like Zingerman's to new start-ups run by students, like IMU.

The conference will be held at Friday in the EMU Student Center. Call (734) 487-0902 for more information.

Source: Joe Venuto, serial entrepreneur and recent graduate of Eastern Michigan University
Writer: Jon Zemke