Hitsville Next will house The Pop Shop, an Entrepreneur in Residence Program, providing high school students aged 13 to 18 with unique opportunities to experiment with business concepts; explore career paths adjacent and connected to the music industry; receive mentoring from accomplished executives, entrepreneurs, artists, and network with peers.
The Pop Shop will perpetuate the greatest entrepreneurship success story and business model of our lifetime – Motown Records. A process started by Berry Gordy’s parents to encourage entrepreneurship among their eight children; siblings would pair up, pitch a venture and the winning team would be given a six-month residency at the family businesses. This allowed all the Gordy children an opportunity to conceptualize, launch, and operate their own businesses. Portions of revenues earned from the companies were reinvested to start a family fund, Ber-Berry Co-operative. The brainchild of the eldest sister and Museum founder Esther Gordy, Ber-Berry provided seed money to establish Tamla Records, Berry Gordy’s first record company.
In its first year, the Pop Shop will bring together a cohort of four young entrepreneurs aged 13 to 18 for a five-month entrepreneurial incubator program. Through two months of in-person and virtual workshops, one-on-one mentoring and networking with entrepreneurial and social media experts, web-based and social media coaching, and two months of varied opportunities to test their ideas live on our campus- entrepreneurs will be equipped with resources, mentorship, and peer support to establish a lifelong commitment to their entrepreneurial development.
Build YOUR Enterprise! Learn more and apply HERE!
The Pop Shop is presented by AT&T and proudly supported by JPMorgan Chase, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Michigan Arts and Culture Council.