Investing in Michigan’s growing economy.
September 30, 2025 | 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Tickets $150 | Vanguard Hotel
Presented by Ann Arbor SPARK.
Curious about how startups raise money—and where the capital is flowing? This summit brings together venture capitalists, angel investors, and founders to explore investment trends and growth strategies. Whether you’re fundraising, investing, or just startup-curious, this event is packed with insights and connections.
Michigan Startup Capital Summit Speakers
Plus more being announced soon!
Peter Hill
Vice President of Strategic Initiatives
Business Leaders For Michigan
Peter Hill is the Vice President of Strategic Initiatives at Business Leaders For Michigan, a statewide organization driven by CEOs from the state’s leading employers, all working toward a shared goal: making Michigan a Top 10 state for jobs, talent and a thriving economy.
Peter is leading the organization’s work around talent, innovation and economic growth.
Peter previously was an associate partner at McKinsey & Company in Detroit, where he was a leader in economic development and government performance, working with states and regions on topics from unemployment to technology strategy to regional growth and innovation.
Prior to McKinsey, Peter was a strategist at the New York City Economic Development Corporation, where his work included resiliency planning, sector development, and managing the creation of the city’s workforce development strategy alongside the Jobs for New Yorkers Task Force. He started his career in the nonprofit sector, consulting for mission-based organizations at Root Cause and running youth leadership programs in Mexico and the U.S. as part of Amigos de las Americas.
Peter has a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
Keynote: Peter Hill
Business Leaders For Michigan
Danny Ellis
Founder,
Side Quest Strategies
Danny is an Ann Arbor based entrepreneur, founder, engineer, mentor, and now strategic consultant focused on energy, robotics, and industrial automation start ups. He is the former CEO and co-founder of SkySpecs, the global leader in automating wind farm asset management with robotics and software. Danny is a two-time graduate of the University of Michigan with degrees in Aerospace Engineering. He has recently joined the board of AssetCool, a UK based company upgrading energy grids for more power throughput. He is also working with other tech start-ups on solar farm asset management, renewable energy coatings, autonomous robotics, and software analytics. Additionally, Danny is working as an EIR in a few early stage start up programs to help the next generation of entrepreneurs. Danny lives in Ann Arbor with his wife, three daughters, and two goldendoodles.
Danny Ellis
Side Quest Strategies
Shane Emmons
Founder & CEO
Swept
Shane Emmons is a Michigan native and serial entrepreneur. Based in Saginaw and a three-time graduate of the University of Michigan, he started his career with a decade in data science at Frankenmuth Insurance before moving into the startup world. Over the past 15 years, Shane has experienced the full spectrum of startup life, from scaling products to tens of millions of users and navigating 9-figure exits to ventures that didn’t make it past their first anniversary. He has coached technical leaders stepping into management for the first time and taught as an CompSci adjunct professor at the University of Michigan. Today, as Founder & CEO of Swept, Shane is building the trust-layer for Agentic AI in Michigan, and proving startups here can scale beyond what is often thought possible.
Shane Emmons
Swept
Jason Harper
Founder & President,
Ready Signal
Managing Director,
RXA @ OneMagnify
Jason Harper is a seasoned data science leader and entrepreneur with over two decades of experience in analytics, machine learning, and AI. Leveraging his MBA from the University of Michigan and economics degrees, Jason advises companies on strategy and ensures the measurable impact of data-driven initiatives.
He founded RXA, Ready Signal, and Weave Workforce—pioneering ventures in consulting, data-as-a-service, and workforce optimization software. With two machine learning patents and contributions to leading data science publications, Jason’s expertise has consistently fueled innovation and business success. At RXA, he delivered an extraordinary 3000% return for investors in just six years, showcasing his rare ability to blend entrepreneurial vision with strategic execution.
Now serving as President of Ready Signal and Managing Director of RXA @ OneMagnify, Jason drives the strategic direction of both organizations, delivering innovative data science solutions to global clients. His leadership fosters growth, operational efficiency, and business transformation, making him a recognized figure in advancing how companies leverage data to compete and win.
If you would like to reach Jason, you can find him on LinkedIn:
Jason Harper
Ready Signal
Jennifer Hayes
Senior Vice President, Public Policy
Invest Detroit
Jennifer joined Invest Detroit in January 2018 and has more than 20 years of experience in organizational management, public policy, external affairs, and economic development. She currently leads the organization’s public policy work. In the past three years, she has successfully led the creation of the Michigan CDFI Coalition and led advocacy efforts that resulted in $189 million total for Michigan’s CDFI and venture ecosystems. Before taking on public policy full time, she was responsible for a variety of areas including technology management, internal process improvements, and management reporting during which she oversaw the implementation of multiple new organizational software platforms.
Prior Experience: Prior to joining Invest Detroit, Ms. Hayes served as director of administration and outreach with Business Leaders for Michigan, a non-profit executive leadership group that represents CEOs of the state’s largest companies in Michigan, and as a senior legislative analyst for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. She began her career in the Michigan Legislature, holding various policy positions in the Michigan House and Senate over eight years and working on a variety of economic development and tax policy public policy initiatives and legislation. Her last position was senior policy advisor with the Michigan House of Representatives’ Republican Policy Office where she led efforts around economic development and tax policy work for two House Speakers.
Professional & Board Affiliations: Ms. Hayes serves as chair of the Detroit CDFI Coalition and its Policy Committee and as treasurer of the Michigan CDFI Coalition and its Policy Committee. She is also a Board member with the Detroit Youth Sports Commission. She has also participated in the Inforum Executive Leadership Program and Detroit Regional Chamber: Leadership Detroit program.
Education: Bachelor of Science, Interdisciplinary Studies in Social Science-Human Resources; Minor in Political Science; Emphasis on Business Administration/Accounting from Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI
Jennifer Hayes
Invest Detroit
Rada Mihalcea
Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
University of Michigan
Rada Mihalcea is the Janice M. Jenkins Professor of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan, the Director of the Michigan Artificial Intelligence Lab, and co-founder of Initium AI. Her research interests are in natural language processing, including LLMs, multilingual natural language processing, and computational social sciences. She is an ACM Fellow, a AAAI Fellow, and a former ACL President. She is the recipient of a Sarah Goddard Power award (2019) for her contributions to diversity in science, an honorary citizen of her hometown of Cluj-Napoca, Romania (2013), and the recipient of a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers awarded by President Obama (2009).
Rada Mihalcea
Initium AI
Alison Todak
Vice President of Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Alison Todak is Vice President of Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), where she leads strategic efforts to strengthen Michigan’s entrepreneurial and innovation landscape. She oversees a portfolio of programs and partnerships designed to support startups, scale-ups, and ecosystem builders across the state, with a focus on inclusivity, access, and economic impact.
Alison brings a strong background in venture capital, community building, and founder support. Before joining MEDC, she was Director of Platform at Plymouth Growth, supporting portfolio companies and leading firm-wide marketing, communications, and ecosystem engagement. Earlier in her career, she helped shape Michigan’s startup scene as Ecosystem Development Manager at Bamboo in Detroit and as Managing Director of Cahoots in Ann Arbor. She also co-founded and ran programming for the Desai Accelerator at the University of Michigan, supporting tech startups with mentorship and pre-seed funding.
A champion for inclusive entrepreneurship, Alison co-founded Shine & Rise in 2019, a support network for women in tech. Her work centers around building communities where entrepreneurs can access the resources and relationships they need to succeed.
Alison Todak
Michigan Economic Development Corporation
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