+Impact Studio for Local Business The +Impact Studio for Local Business was co-created by Business+Impact and the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project, with funding from the Applebaum Family Philanthropy and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. During the summer of 2020, 37 interns from the Ross School of Business and the Ford School of Public Policy engaged with small businesses in Detroit and SE Michigan to create solutions to business’ COVID-related problems. Calculators, decision guides, videos, and other tools are free and available at impactstudioforlocalbusiness.org. In 2021, after more than a year of pivoting and innovating, Detroit business owners told us they needed action, not advice. Through the +Impact Studio for Local Business (+ISLB), 31 students from four U-M schools piloted an interdisciplinary student consulting agency, where students implemented solutions to branding, e-commerce, marketing, operations, product enhancement, and point of sale system issues.
Blue Conduit and the +Impact Studio An early contribution of the +Impact Studio came out of its work with Professor Eric Schwartz and his startup Blue Conduit. The company is based on machine learning technology created by Schwartz and his collaborator, Jake Abernathy, to help locate and remediate lead service lines in Flint, Michigan. Students in the +Impact Studio helped the pair think through alternative ways to get their technology into the hands of those who need it most, and the company is now providing a cost-effective method of getting lead out of the water supply in dozens of cities across America. In 2021 Blue Conduit was recognized by Time Magazine as one of the “Best Inventions of 2021.”
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