University of Michigan - Stephen M. Ross School of Business

Building tech community in Detroit

I'm a Detroit-based artist using fun, interactive design to remind busy adults to pause and play. Check out my portfolio on Instagram (@mazysuzan) and my web store at mazysuzan.com.

MazySuzan, LLC

Owner & Visual Artist

I launched and run Collider, a community of tech innovators working together to level up skills while solving meaningful challenges. The project is focused on building community, cultivating talent, and catalyzing innovation within the Detroit tech ecosystem and beyond. Collider is powered by Altimetrik, a leading digital transformation company. 

In my role as Community Director, my primary responsibilities are driving growth strategy (establishing partnerships, developing scalable processes, etc.), space activation (driving marketing strategy, planning/hosting multiple events per week, etc.), and business development (selling Altimetrik's suite of innovation services to local technology companies).

Altimetrik

Community Director, Collider

As VFA Director of Detroit, I ran all Detroit operations, including local company partnerships, Fellow programming, and fundraising.

Venture for America

Director of Detroit

Focused on expanding Castle throughout Detroit and surrounding areas.

Castle Co.

Detroit Head of Business Development

Ambassador - Referral Marketing Software

Sales Operations

Enterprise Sales Consultant

- Drove an effort to shift sales strategy from inefficient outbound cold-calling to an SEO-focused inbound strategy that drove 7,000 active customers in 18 months.
- Created a marketing automation system using behavior-triggered email campaigns that greatly increased user engagement with an average email open rate of 35%.
- Implemented a new customer support process that yielded a 10x increase in account management capacity and a 4-star rating in the App Store and Play Store.

UpTo

Director of Business Development

- Led dozens of marketing campaigns, generating leads, building relationships, and closing sales with 465 unique customers (at an average of nearly $650 per customer)
- Raised $55,000 in start-up funds, growing business from sales of $20,000 in 2010 to over $300,000 annually in 2012.

Jacob Evan Smith