Tech startups in Michigan

Ted Serbinski is an early stage software VC, successful tech entrepreneur, and open source hacker. In 2011, he relocated to Detroit from San Francisco, joining Detroit Venture Partners as vice president, after having sold his company to Lifetime Television in 2008. He is now a partner in DVP.

He has been a founding or first institutional investor in more than a dozen startups, nearly always getting involved at the company inception phase.

Ted is an internationally recognized web architect that has been building websites for 15+ years, including eight years as a lead, open source developer for Drupal.

He is widely regarded as one of the most influential, emerging venture technology partners in the Midwest and a key player leading the startup renaissance in Detroit.

Ted earned a bachelor of science in computer engineering from Cornell University.

I get a lot of inquiries from terrific startup folks around the country. Many mention they will be in Detroit for the day and want to get a good sense of the startup ecosystem. They want to see what Detroit’s entrepreneurial gold rush is all about. To help them, I started sharing a quick guide to Detroit by email and it’s grown over time. Now, I’m expanding this email into a dedicated blog post for all to enjoy and contribute to. If there are any hot startup locations or “If you build it, he will come.” —from "Field of Dreams" In this iconic movie, Kevin Costner’s character hears a voice that tells him to plow part of his cornfield and build a baseball field. Once he builds it, they will come — the people he is supposed to help. And when he builds it, they do come. As a former open source developer, I’m quite familiar with the build mentality. It’s in my DNA to build things. But, unlike the movie, just As a computer engineer and former CTO, I'm often asked by startups “How can I hire an awesome developer?” and “How do I an interview a software engineer?” It can be tough, but it shouldn’t be much harder than hiring a non-technical person to join your team. Here are my four best tips for hiring an awesome software engineer (or developer or hacker) to join your startup.

1. Embrace open source

Hands down, the best way to find incredible Detroit's inaugural Techweek celebration will take place May 19-25 in downtown Detroit. Sign up here and be part of the largest tech conference for entrepreneurs in Detroit. Full disclosure: I am the chairman of Techweek's Detroit Executive Advisory Board. I'll also be speaking at the City of the Future summit. I am super stoked to announce this event. Interested in participating? Contact me!