Decades of research have shown that entrepreneurs who have the support and capital investment they need to scale, peers and mentors who coach them to dream bigger, and a pay it forward mentality, have an outsized impact on local economies. By scaling high-growth companies that lead to large exits and attracting outside investment into the region, they drive liquidity to their markets and deploy the wealth created by their businesses to create the infrastructure and networks necessary for aspiring entrepreneurs to follow in their footsteps. We know this model of entrepreneur-led economic development works, because for more than 25 years, our organization has researched and seen this impact in startup ecosystems in emerging markets worldwide. In 2019, Endeavor partnered with William Davidson Foundation on research that found U.S. metropolitan areas with the greatest income and productivity share a common trait – they all generate more of a specific type of high-growth business: local, entrepreneur-led, with 50 or more employees, in high-value industries. National data pulled for the study suggests that if Southeast Michigan could create 60 of these high-growth companies, it would increase local GDP by over $5 billion annually. There is tremendous potential for this type of “high-impact” entrepreneurship in Southeast Michigan. With top tier universities, big industry, and driven, entrepreneurially minded talent, the region has made powerful progress and recently was named by Startup Genome as the “#1 Highest Ranked Emerging Ecosystem in the World.” With recent notable exits like Duo, Benzinga, and Wisely, and significant valuations from companies like StockX, Workit Health, and SkySpecs, our entrepreneurs have proven growing and scaling successful scaleups can be done here at home. By all measures, we have momentum, but our success is not a foregone conclusion. While much focus has been placed on attracting large corporate investment and supporting community small business growth, there is still no cohesive strategy for supporting entrepreneurs leading high-growth companies or wide stakeholder acknowledgement of the greater startup ecosystem’s critical role in economic development. Meanwhile, well-supported startup ecosystems are taking root outside strongholds like Silicon Valley, Boston, and New York. Our high-growth companies are increasingly competing for talent and resources in emerging ecosystems like Atlanta, Chicago, Columbus, Miami, and Pittsburgh.