FLINT, Michigan – CEO of 100K Ideas Brandee Cooke was among 30 speakers featured at TEDxDetroit 2021 that took place on November 10, 2021. UWM It was held at The Icon Detroit located along the Riverfront in Detroit.
The Lansing native took to the stage in the spacious setting where she explained to a TEDxDetroit audience how 100,000 ideas emerged and the “Think. Make. Market Model” that guides entrepreneurs through the process of bringing their ideas to life. She also touched on the early days of 100,000 when the organization was growing and trying to find a foothold in downtown Flint.
“We were a startup just like the people we were helping, so we were building a plane and flying it at the same time and we didn’t even take a second to really stop and say, ‘Are we doing the job we’re hoping to hit?” Cook said. ? “
Cooke also shared a moment of weakness with the audience when she thought about the time she felt “called” sharing a lecture for not building a presence in Flint’s neighborhoods.
“That’s what we didn’t do, we weren’t in the neighborhoods,” she explained. We didn’t go to Flint residents because we were like, “Hey, we’re opening our doors, people are coming to see us. We’ve got all this momentum, and we’ve left some people behind. So what do we do now?”
Cook went on to explain how she and the 100K team took a step back to rethink the reach of the organization to the community. What resulted was a slew of community-focused initiatives, including monthly workshops, quarterly community engagement, and a working hours initiative that placed 100,000 idea workers in several community sites on the north and east sides of Flint in an effort to support neighborhood organizations.
The new strategy also spawned a $100K Pitch for $K competition that gives local entrepreneurs the opportunity to pitch their business ideas for a chance to win thousands of dollars in prize money as well as mentorship from business leaders.
Before ending her talk, Cook touched on the importance of feedback and how it can help the organization’s growth and structure.
“The main thing I want people to leave out is no matter how you enter, how much hype you get, how much you are there, the feedback you get is essential and is essential to help keep you on track for what you want we need to know going forward. It has done miracles. for us and make our mark even stronger in the community we are incredibly proud of.”
To learn more about 100,000 ideas, visit the website: 100kides.org