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In Seen Magazine: BUILD Institute Expands to Help Detroit Entrepreneurs Grow

By Mary Meldrum // April 3, 2019

“Thanks to April Boyle and her vision to support microenterprises and diverse startups, over 350 businesses have opened in Metro Detroit since 2012. And now, it’s BUILD’s turn to open a new headquarters in Corktown.

Boyle, 45, of Pleasant Ridge founded the BUILD Institute as a nonprofit entrepreneurial incubator. BUILD has graduated over 1,700 entrepreneurs from classes and has helped launch businesses that have created over 500 jobs. Partnering with powerhouses such as the Knight Foundation, New Economy Initiative and Downtown Detroit Partnership, BUILD has flowered into an organization that delivers programs that position Detroit as a global leader in equitable entrepreneurship. With classes in Detroit and Ferndale, BUILD Institute has expanded its offerings to Pontiac and a new headquarters expected to open at The Corner in Corktown by June.”

To the BUILD Institute Community,

On behalf of the BUILD Institute Board of Directors, we want to share that the Board has made the decision to pause operations at the end of 2025.

We recognize that we are living in a time of great uncertainty for small business support organizations across Michigan. This moment offers us an opportunity to reassess how BUILD delivers on its mission, retool our programming, and evaluate new partnership opportunities and our overall business model to ensure long-term sustainability and impact.

In the coming months, we will continue all scheduled programming through December to ensure that all commitments to entrepreneurs and partners are honored. During this time, we will also explore new ways to align our work with the evolving needs of our community, including our network of over 3,000 alums.

Please join us in showing appreciation for the team members and facilitators who have served Detroit’s entrepreneurs and supported BUILD’s mission since our founding in 2012.

If you have any questions about this decision or what it means in the near term, please email us at [email protected].

Thank you for your continued support and for being part of BUILD’s legacy of inclusive entrepreneurship.

With gratitude,
The BUILD Institute Board of Directors