Warren Buffett: Detroit has 'huge potential,' might invest himself -Detroit Free Press
Warren Buffett: Detroit has 'huge potential,' might invest himself
7:07 PM, November 26, 2013 |
Warren Buffett brings small biz loans to Detroit: Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, investor Warren Buffett, Detroit Mayor Dave Bing & others talk about the 10,000 Small Businesses Initiative coming to Detroit. Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press
By John Gallagher
Detroit Free Press Business Writer
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Warren Buffett, left, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and Gov. Rick Snyder were among speakers at the launch of Goldman Sachs' 10,000 Small Businesses program in Detroit on Tuesday. / Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press
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Entrepreneurs who want training and cash assistance under Goldman Sachs’s 10,000 Small Businesses program in Detroit have until Jan. 6 to apply for the first round of educational training.
Go to www.10ksbdetroit.com to download an application. Classes at three metro Detroit colleges are free to business owners who are accepted through a competitive screening process.
Once through the multi-week educational classes on growing a business, the graduate business owners can apply for financial help from a $15-million loan pool funded by Goldman Sachs.
An all-star lineup of business and political leaders pitched entrepreneurship as the key to Detroit’s comeback today at the rollout of Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program in the city.
Speaking at a Ford Field news event were famed investor Warren Buffett, Gov. Rick Snyder, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Mayor Dave Bing and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., plus three Michigan congressmen and assorted others.
The message: Detroit’s past industrial greatness is the base upon which a new generation of entrepreneurs will build a new economy.
“The resources are here to have a great, great city,” Buffett told the news conference. He added that Detroit is an underutilized resource, much like the auto industry was a few years ago, and that creates a huge potential for growth.
Snyder echoed that.
“Small businesses are vitally important to Michigan’s continued economic comeback and Detroit’s turnaround,” he said.
Bing agreed. “Our city is quickly becoming the home base for a number of innovative and cutting-edge companies that are bringing jobs and people back to Detroit,” he said.
And Blankfein added, “With practical business education and capital, small-business owners in Detroit have a much better chance of growing their businesses and contributing to the economic recovery of the city.”
Peppered with questions at the news conference, Buffett, an adviser to the Goldman Sachs program, agreed that he’s ready to invest his own money in Detroit if he finds companies worth buying here. He urged his listeners to contact his organization Berkshire Hathaway with tips on which companies to buy.
The event marked the rollout of the Detroit version of Goldman Sach’s innovative program to support the creation of thousands of small businesses in America. Detroit is the latest in a list of cities, including New York and Chicago, that have been chosen to participate.
Under the program, Goldman Sachs contributes $15 million to support small businesses through two local lending funds, the Invest Detroit Foundation and the Detroit Development Fund. Another $5 million supports an education component to help entrepreneurs learn the basics of growing and managing a business.
About 20 local businesses have been accepted for the first classes, including the popular Russell Street Deli in Eastern Market and Sweet Potato Sensations in the city’s Old Redford district. The colleges offering classes are Wayne State University, Macomb County Community College and Oakland County Community College.
Buffett predicted that hundreds of small-business owners in metro Detroit will go through the program over time.
Entrepreneurs who want training and cash assistance under Goldman Sachs’s 10,000 Small Businesses program in Detroit have until Jan. 6 to apply for the first round of educational training.
Go to www.10ksbdetroit.com to download an application. Classes at three metro Detroit colleges are free to business owners who are accepted through a competitive screening process.
Once through the multi-week educational classes on growing a business, the graduate business owners can apply for financial help from a $15-million loan pool funded by Goldman Sachs.
Go to www.10ksbdetroit.com to download an application. Classes at three metro Detroit colleges are free to business owners who are accepted through a competitive screening process.
Once through the multi-week educational classes on growing a business, the graduate business owners can apply for financial help from a $15-million loan pool funded by Goldman Sachs.
An all-star lineup of business and political leaders pitched entrepreneurship as the key to Detroit’s comeback today at the rollout of Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program in the city.
Speaking at a Ford Field news event were famed investor Warren Buffett, Gov. Rick Snyder, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein, Mayor Dave Bing and U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., plus three Michigan congressmen and assorted others.
The message: Detroit’s past industrial greatness is the base upon which a new generation of entrepreneurs will build a new economy.
“The resources are here to have a great, great city,” Buffett told the news conference. He added that Detroit is an underutilized resource, much like the auto industry was a few years ago, and that creates a huge potential for growth.
Snyder echoed that.
“Small businesses are vitally important to Michigan’s continued economic comeback and Detroit’s turnaround,” he said.
Bing agreed. “Our city is quickly becoming the home base for a number of innovative and cutting-edge companies that are bringing jobs and people back to Detroit,” he said.
And Blankfein added, “With practical business education and capital, small-business owners in Detroit have a much better chance of growing their businesses and contributing to the economic recovery of the city.”
Peppered with questions at the news conference, Buffett, an adviser to the Goldman Sachs program, agreed that he’s ready to invest his own money in Detroit if he finds companies worth buying here. He urged his listeners to contact his organization Berkshire Hathaway with tips on which companies to buy.
The event marked the rollout of the Detroit version of Goldman Sach’s innovative program to support the creation of thousands of small businesses in America. Detroit is the latest in a list of cities, including New York and Chicago, that have been chosen to participate.
Under the program, Goldman Sachs contributes $15 million to support small businesses through two local lending funds, the Invest Detroit Foundation and the Detroit Development Fund. Another $5 million supports an education component to help entrepreneurs learn the basics of growing and managing a business.
About 20 local businesses have been accepted for the first classes, including the popular Russell Street Deli in Eastern Market and Sweet Potato Sensations in the city’s Old Redford district. The colleges offering classes are Wayne State University, Macomb County Community College and Oakland County Community College.
Buffett predicted that hundreds of small-business owners in metro Detroit will go through the program over time.
