43North for Detroit - Neil Thanedar

Idea: Invest up to $1M each in the best startups and manufacturers that move to Detroit.

Create a $5M+ per year fund sponsored by the City, State, and/or nonprofits.

Think: 43North for Detroit

43North invests $5M per year in startups that move to Buffalo.
- This accelerator is funded by the State of New York as part of its Buffalo Billion program.
- 43North’s Grand Prize winner gets a $1 million investment.

Why? Create an Arsenal of Progress in Detroit, the original Arsenal of Democracy.

Create thousands of jobs in Detroit.
Manufacture critical supplies in America close to where they’re needed most.

Case Study: 43North

43North invests $5M per year in startups that move their CEO and 50%+ of their staff to Buffalo, NY.

Here’s the story of 43North’s best investment yet — ACV Auctions:

In 2015, ACV Auctions won 43North’s startup competition.

Their prize? A $1 million investment for 5% of their company.
- That’s a $20M valuation.

ACV is now a public company and is Buffalo’s first unicorn with a $1.8B+ market cap.

ACV employs 1,150+ people (with 400+ in Buffalo) and is still headquartered in Buffalo.

43North got a huge return on its ACV investment:

When ACV IPOed at $25/share in 2021, 43North’s 3,014,820 shares were worth $75,370,500.
- That’s enough to >2x their entire $35M fund by itself.

And ACV is not 43North’s only success story:

43North will go down in history as one of the best government funding programs ever.

In a time when governments compete to give away billions in incentives to the largest corporations, we need more 43Norths.

We need one of these public accelerators in every American industrial city.

I want to create the 43North for Detroit!

DM me @neilthanedar or reply to this thread to connect with me about this idea!
Please share this 43North for Detroit post with people who can help us make this happen!

This idea is a work-in-progress. If you’d like to riff on it, hit me up @neilthanedar on Twitter.

Published by Neil Thanedar