Fourth-generation Detroiter Justin Onwenu is taking on a newly-created role in Mayor Mike Duggan’s administration to help entrepreneurs navigate city processes and secure financial support.
The 28-year-old was recently appointed as the city’s first director of entrepreneurship and economic opportunity working under the mayor’s Jobs and Economy team. The position focuses on strategies to support entrepreneurs who may not qualify for traditional funding like the city’s Motor City Match program and collaborations with start-ups to address city policies that hinder business development.
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Research from economic equity groups like Detroit Future City show younger business owners are more optimistic about investing in Detroit compared to peers in Generation X and older. Additionally, a 2024 DFC report found small businesses had a generally positive view of the business environment, but accessing capital is a top challenge.
The majority of small businesses in the metro region are Black-owned. Close to half reported revenue of $10,000, and only a quarter said financial resources were readily available to support them.
Duggan said the city is becoming a “magnet for innovative startups” in a press release announcing Onwenu’s hiring. The city highlighted new investments, including Newlab at Michigan Central and the University of Michigan’s downtown innovation center.
Onwenu has a thick resume. The Columbia Law School graduate has been an advocate for workers rights with One Fair Wage, a legal researcher for the Service Employee International Union and the United Auto Workers. He also served as the youngest member of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Black Leadership Council and was a senior advisor on the campaign to reform term limits and government ethics.
He has a background in community organizing, including efforts to improve air quality and protect drinking water. Onwenu’s father was a Detroit Public Schools teacher who started a hair care supply business while Onwenu’s mother is a nurse and healthcare administrator.
Onwenu talked with BridgeDetroit at the end of August about his vision for the new position. Currently, he’s in the midst of a citywide listening tour with residents, small businesses and entrepreneurs.
Editor’s note: This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
BridgeDetroit: The idea that this is an entrepreneurial city feels important to Detroit’s image. What is the importance of creating this new position?
Justin Onwenu: Nationally, we talk about Detroit as a city that built the middle class. We’ve been at the forefront of innovation from a business standpoint but also wealth generation.
For a city that cares about work, wages and wealth building, entrepreneurship is a pathway to success on all three of these fronts. Having the city provide support, leadership and harness that initiative is important.
There’s a long history, and a grit, and a determination and a spirit in Detroit that makes for good entrepreneurs. Making sure that the city reflects that and amplifies that spirit, is really exciting and really important.
BD: We’ve often heard criticism that the city’s own regulations and policies can undermine that sometimes. Is your job aimed at working through those issues?
Onwenu: That’s a good way of looking at it. If you’re looking to start a business, there are certain cities that carry a reputation for being a place where you can take a risk and do big things. Detroit has that reputation. We want to make sure the city is nimble and innovative and thoughtful about burdensome regulation and smart regulation.
Having someone in this new role, being empowered by the mayor to wake up every day thinking about how we can make sure Detroit businesses are thriving, will allow us to make progress on some regulations that maybe are outdated, maybe constrain Detroit businesses from succeeding. It’s a big opportunity.
BD: What outdated regulation jumps to the forefront?
Onwenu: My first step as an organizer has always been to listen first. I really want to know in detail how business owners and entrepreneurs have interfaced with the city. What are the good things we want to double down on, what are the things they were frustrated by?
As you were deciding whether to stay in Detroit or whether to relocate, or if you’re from outside of the city, what are some of the factors that went into your decision making?
When people first start a job, they listen, they learn.
BD: You’ve been involved in a lot of things, from environmental advocacy to labor organizing, why is this something you wanted to do?
Onwenu: I was doing community organizing work, and in law school, I was especially focused on economic justice work. I worked for UAW and SEIU around raising the minimum wage. But also in law school, I helped provide pro bono legal services to New York-based businesses and entrepreneurs as a student attorney. I’ve done some work with the state and their Grow Michigan effort.
I want to be a problem solver. I like bringing people together, getting things done and doing organizing work.
During the pandemic especially, I saw how difficult it was for business owners and for workers. The thing that unites everyone in our city and our state is we all want an economy that is growing and inclusive.
BD: How would you describe the state of entrepreneurship in Detroit right now and where do you want to take us?
Onwenu: We’re at a precipice. Detroit ranked as the top location for startup ecosystems in 2022. We have a number of unicorn companies. There’s been a resurgence in development tied to tech and entrepreneurship. We’ve got Newlab and TechTown Detroit. We have so many great assets as a city.
The state of entrepreneurship and small business in the city is strong and we want to make it stronger. I do think Detroit has competed at a national level. We can provide leadership nationally.
BD: There’s been a heavy emphasis on the idea of becoming the next Silicon Valley and an innovation region. There’s a whole creative class going into business for themselves aided with the internet, like fashion, retail, marketing and influencers. Is it tough for government bureaucracy to keep pace with that?
Onwenu: I want the city to not just be an entity that people have to navigate, but a real partner that can take a local business to selling products all over the world. I agree, creatives are not just involved in tech companies.
One of my family members runs an interview podcast Ask Jenn and I’ve seen how much work and time goes into running a business and building your own brand.
Michigan Central has 100 high tech start ups and ecosystems underway.
There are a lot of small businesses who are doing great work that may question if they have to go to one of the coasts to succeed. I hope that answer is no. We want talented people to find the support they need. Sometimes it’s a coordination problem, (we’re not) connecting people with resources and investing in Detroiters that are here. We will get to a point where the question is not even being asked. That’s my hope.
BD: You’re 28 years old. You could take your career to a lot of places, why was it important to be here in Detroit?
Onwenu: My law school friends would frequently laugh at me, like ‘yes we know you’re not accepting the job in New York City to do corporate law, you’re going back to Detroit.’
I wanted to make sure to continue doing public service-oriented work. I’m really grateful that the mayor placed his trust and confidence in me to take on such a big role. There are a lot of young people who want to roll up their sleeves. Some may not be in the city but are looking to move back. My message to them is: Move back, we’ll figure it out from there.
There are a lot of opportunities to plug in and to do great work. Young people in Detroit have to be a part of that.
I’ve gotten questions about why I don’t take opportunities in New York and Chicago and then come back after I’ve made a lot of money to do public service work I’m passionate about.
I don’t feel distant from the challenges and complex problems that need to be solved. A lot of other young Detroiters feel a part of the solution. It’s not something that we have to sit on the sideline and wait for someone to figure out.
If he actually listens and acts, and is allowed to act, on what he hears, many good things can happen. There is no lack of entrepreneurial spirit here in the City, but between street level crime and the onerous, unfair, anti-business ordinances, regulations, etc, coming from City Council, BSEED and every other organ of government here, that spirit is quickly snuffed out unless you find a sugar daddy somewhere along the line to get you through the hoops.
Good luck to him and I fervently hope he succeeds!
Excellent interview.