FUNDERS, FOUNDERS & FRIENDS
September 21 & 22
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TWO DAYS. ONE GOAL.
Where Southwest Michigan's startup ecosystem shows up
The Southwest Michigan Entrepreneurship Summit is a two-day gathering for the people building, backing, and supporting the region’s next generation of companies, September 21–22 at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts.
It takes more than a great idea to build a company. It takes capital, mentorship, infrastructure, and a community that shows up for founders at every stage. This Summit brings that full ecosystem into one room: founders in the trenches, funders writing the checks, and the accelerators, nonprofits, and support organizations doing the work in between.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Jewel Burks Solomon serves as Managing Partner at Collab Capital, an alternative investment fund she launched to close the funding gap for Black entrepreneurs. Jewel’s work and mission are about creating more access to the technology innovation ecosystem.
Before leading Collab Capital, Jewel served as the Head of Google for Startups in the US. In this role, Jewel worked to level the playing field for underrepresented startup founders and communities by connecting them with the best of Google’s products, people, and platforms.
Prior to leading Collab Capital and Google for Startups, Jewel was Founder/CEO of Partpic, a startup that was acquired by Amazon in 2016, which streamlined the purchase of maintenance and repair parts using computer vision technology. After the acquisition of Partpic, Jewel became a product leader at Amazon’s Visual Search and AR team. She led the integration of Partpic’s technology and launched it as Amazon PartFinder in 2018 to the over 150M users of Amazon’s Mobile Shopping App.
SAVE YOUR SPOT
What To Expect
Pitch Night
Five founders take the stage. Five minutes each to pitch the judges.
One founder goes home with $10,000.
Mon, Sept 21, 2026
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
SWMIE Summit
Founders, funders, and ecosystem partners convene for a full day of programming on what it takes to fund, grow, and sustain Michigan’s next major companies.
From curating your network to raising capital, you can look forward to founder and funder panels with startup spotlights throughout the day.
Keynote Speaker
Jewel Burks Soloman • Managing Partner at Collab Capital
Tues, Sept 22, 2026
9:00 AM to 4:00 PM
PitchMI Semifinal Event: AI & Software
Join the MSU Research Foundation and Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) for the PitchMI AI and Software Semifinal, where five of Michigan’s most promising startups will compete live for $250,000 in prize funding and the opportunity to advance to the PitchMI Championship for an additional $1 million. Register to see one startup earn the $250,000 in prize funding and secure its place in the PitchMI Championship.
Tues, Sept 22, 2026
4:30 PM to 7:00 PM
See You There!
From bold first-time founders to seasoned investors, this Summit brings together the people building what’s next in Southwest Michigan. Over two days, you’ll hear from the entrepreneurs, funders, and ecosystem leaders driving growth across the region and leave with the relationships and resources to move your own work forward.