People keep asking, “Why are you doing a Techonomy conference in Detroit?” David Kirpatrick writes.
We’re known for our invite-only annual retreat in the desert near Tucson. So why, you may wonder, is our first one-day event in a gritty, depressed, financially-troubled city that seems well past its glory?
The group that had the least trouble answering this question were our highest-profile tech speakers—Jack Dorsey, Steve Case, and Tim Draper. Once they heard we were doing a Techonomy event in Detroit they all said they wanted to be part of it—sometimes literally within seconds. With LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, I hadn’t even finished a sentence before he said, “I’m in.” His schedule later prevented him from coming, but he had instant enthusiasm for the idea.
What these guys who are deeply immersed in changing the world all realize is that the time is now to apply technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship to address our urgent national problems. Detroit, for the very fact that it is among the most challenging corners of our economy, is the perfect place to demonstrate the game-changing potential of these tools. I like to say that Detroit, with its infrastructure so decimated, is literally a green field—for farming (which is really happening here) or for innovation.
Techonomy Detroit, hosted by our close partners at the Detroit Economic Club, aims to shine a light on how technology can transform U.S. competitiveness, create jobs, grow our economy, and revitalize our cities.
