Winter 2023: Designing the Green Business Transition

BA 670 Winter ‘23 Objectives

In Winter 2023 Business+Impact at the University of Michigan offered a graduate course on designing the equitable enterprise. The course aimed to help entrepreneurs in Detroit create economically sustainable business models in green energy. It brought together 40 students from across the university to work in academically diverse teams, including business, information technology, human services, and more. Students learned from faculty and outside experts about recent innovations in the building blocks of enterprise – and how to access capital, labor, supply, distribution, legal structures, and organizational structures. They used design methods to combine these building blocks into equitable business models that pay fair wages and serve community needs.

“Enterprises for the green energy transition” can be a broad category, and could include themes like neighborhood solar microgrids, geothermal, high efficiency insulation, solar rooftop installation, water cisterns, or other enterprises aimed at uplifting their communities and enhancing neighborhood self-sufficiency.

+Impact Studio Green Business Transition

Mid-semester, students of the BA670 +Impact Studio course delivered a How-To site for entrepreneurs seeking to “green” their businesses. This resource includes over 30 How-To guides for easy download, printing, and sharing, and was created for new and existing enterprises creatively adopting green technologies. You can browse through the list of How-To's to find the answers you need in the areas of Business Strategy, Funding, HR Benefits, Investment, and Supplier Resources.

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BA 670 Winter ‘23 Final Projects

Wednesday, April 12, 2023, the students of the +Impact Studio class (BA 670) gathered for a Demo Day in Ross’ Taube Colloquium. Teams of grad students from Ross, UMSI, SEAS, Ford, Engineering and Social Work presented proposed products to help entrepreneurs in Detroit create economically sustainable business models in green energy. A panel of honored guests from the industry and the area joined in person to ask questions and generate further ideas. The second half of the class was an in-person tabling event for an even broader group of VIPs to come and dig further with the student teams. See photos of the class in Flickr, or read about each team project, below:

  • CLIPPY

    Grant Alper, MBA/MS
    Haley Goodman, MBA
    Kate Hoffmire, MSI
    Yuqi Shi, MBA
    Joss Woodhead, MBA

    CLIPPY stands for Community Led Initiatives Powering Progressively (for) You. The goal is to reduce the workload and mental burden for business owners to make the green energy transition seamless. Ease of access and direct information reigns supreme. This vision drives our short and simple survey that points business owners to personalized recommendations for transitioning to green energy and the option of appointments to discuss choices with a green energy consultant.

    Download Blueprint

  • Community Co-Pilots

    Rebecca Epstein, MBA
    Anna Norman, MBA/MS
    Aki Sato, MSW
    Madeline Sumida, MSW

    Co-Pilot service for clean energy programs with local governments and community-based organizations. Our outreach specialists trained in participatory facilitation go to Detroit communities to educate on energy issues and pilot programs, help community members sign up for projects and fill out documents, and collect feedback from community members. This process enables easier access to clean energy options, and also serves to collect their perspectives and feedback to inform future green energy pilots, offerings and policies.

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  • Detroit Green

    Alyson Grine, MBA
    Stella Han, MBA
    Zach Nerod, MBA/MS
    Prarthana Shevatekar, MSI
    Rob Squiers, MBA/MS

    Our mission is to provide equitable funding, resources, support, and access for green energy in a community-centered, personalized, and tangibly interactive way. We do this through low interest loans for the under-banked, physical space for those seeking guidance, a community presence for creating a sense of support, and local roots employing local Detroiters contributing to local neighborhoods.

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  • D-Green Hub

    Vinicius Briganti, MS/MBA
    Maianh Phan, MBA
    Brian Plamondon, MBA
    Yi Zhang, MEng

    In 2026, d-Green Hub would open a 15,000 sq. ft facility in the Detroit Metro Area powered by renewable energy and rent spaces out to small and medium sized business owners that utilize light industrial machinery to run their businesses. The power will be guaranteed to be clean, reliable, and constant. D-Green Hub will also provide resources on energy efficiency for all Hubbers.

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  • Empower

    Alexis Black, MBA
    Jessica Drossner, MBA
    Jeremiah Easton, MBA/MS
    Bailey White, MBA
    Kyle Xu, MSI

    Small business owners in Detroit will be able to connect with an extensive local knowledge base to save costs on energy though our online community platform. Community ambassadors, local contractors and vendors, and SMB owners will create an efficient market for cost-saving energy technologies and best practices to benefit the Detroit community.

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  • Portable

    Connor Donnelly, MBA/MS
    Chelsea Gaylord, MPP
    Hillary McKenzi, MBA/MS
    Jackson Pilutti, MBA

    Our Mission is to bridge the green energy transition in Detroit and ensure every business has access to clean, reliable, and affordable electricity. Portable creates a rentable marketplace for portable green generators for small businesses that experience energy interruptions and unreliability.Portable will reduce the negative economic impacts to zero for Detroit small businesses that experience power unreliability by 2028.

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  • PowerUP

    Kate Connors, MBA
    Himanshu Dixit, MBA
    Charmaine Kunz, MSW
    Linnet Leon, MBA/MS
    Jiming Song, MSI

    PowerUP utilizes AI to deliver a suite of services, including but not limited to:
    ● Inform users on the likelihood of power outages in their area using predictive analytics
    ● Request temporary power mobile assistance during a power outage in order to borrow tools like batteries, hotspots, and generators
    ● Help users understand how they might improve their business’ energy efficiency and provide tips for lowering energy bills and sourcing alternative energy options

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  • Spark Up

    Patrick Burden, MBA/MS
    Daniela Caetano, MBA
    Quinn Foussianes, MS
    Sai Madhavi, MBA
    Anna Seifert, MPP/MBA

    Spark-Up brings innovative and personalized green energy solutions to key spaces of community gatherings in Detroit. For 6 weeks at a time, local venues in town host Spark-Up as a pop-up experience that showcases a transition to green energy taking place. Customers can experience the impact of cleaner energy solutions, get accurate information about the topic, connect with ambassadors, and establish a reliable network in their communities in order to better understand which energy solutions are best for them.

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