Entrepreneurs win investments at City’s first-ever Night of Innovation
Published May 14, 2025
Three local entrepreneurs received up to $25,000 at the City of Dearborn and American Arab Chamber of Commerce’s inaugural Night of Innovation on Tuesday, May 13, 2025. The event is a new addition to the City’s annual Bet on Dearborn Expo, which kicks off its second day of programming on May 14, from 4 - 8 p.m. at the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center, 15801 Michigan Ave.
Five Dearborn-based entrepreneurs showcased their businesses in a pitch competition modeled after the television program, “Shark Tank”. A panel of judges from area organizations scored presentations and business models from the five contestants: Tribal Remedy, Badr Incubator, Marwa Hashem Fine Arts Studio, ExpressLane, and Maraseel.
The pitch competition was emceed by Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud and longtime Fox 2 talk show personality Roop Raj. Pitches were judged by:
- Skylar Bennethum, Song United, Private Investments
- Meghan Storey, Comerica Bank, Vice President and Director of Small Business Banking
- Hilary Ferencak, Tejara, Director of Innovation & Impact
- Wafa Dinaro, New Economy Initiative, Executive Director
- Devon O'Reilly, Detroit Regional Chamber, Senior Director, Community Engagement and Leadership Development
Awards were presented as follows:
- Tribal Remedy was awarded $25,000 as First Place winner.
- Maraseel was awarded $10,000 in second place.
- ExpressLane won a $5,000 third place prize, as well as the People’s Choice Award for a total of $7,000.
Learn more about all five pitch competition finalists and their business ideas here.
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