<- Back to ideas page

East Meets West Business Bus

A field trip for grownups. A dedicated bus route that connects SE Michigan (Detroit/A2) to the west side (GR, Kzoo, BC) and beyond.
Log in to vote
trytripslip.com
About this idea
Michigan is growing and two of the most exciting cities that sit at the intersection of tech and talent are separated by 160 miles; a two+ hour drive that too many founders, operators and innovators never make. TripSlip has solidified location partnerships with all FIVE Bamboo locations and Newlab, to establish a monthly route to Grand Rapids via Detroit & Ann Arbor to Start Garden at Bamboo Grand Rapids. We're also in active conversations with Black Tech Saturdays, TechTown Detroit, Operations School, ProsperUs Detroit, the University of Michigan Center for Innovation, and Eastern Michigan University to bring their communities along for the ride. TripSlip is best known for powering field trips for kids, but this is founder centered car pooling at its finest because this route repurposes the bus to serve the adults building Michigan's next chapter.
Impact
Michigan has a retention problem. Too many founders, creatives, and operators don't know what's happening 160 miles away and they don't go find out because the friction is too high. East Meets West eliminates that friction. By creating a recurring, affordable, community-centered route between Southeast Michigan and the west side, TripSlip builds the connective tissue that keeps Michigan talent in Michigan. A founder in Detroit who meets their future co-founder in Grand Rapids on a Wednesday bus ride isn't moving to Austin. A Grand Rapids operator who gets introduced to the Detroit ecosystem at a pitch night dinner isn't looking to Chicago for partnerships. The impact is relational, economic, and regional. Every route builds cross-pollination between ecosystems that are too strong to stay siloed. Over time, East Meets West becomes the informal infrastructure that makes Michigan feel smaller, tighter, and more worth staying in.
What I'll do with $5,000
The $5000 will go directly into getting the bus on the road by covering the cost of the vehicle ($3750), registration, plates, insurance ($1000) and a month's worth of storage ($250).
Quick Bio
Am entrepreneur since 2007, Achsha is a lifelong/intentional Detroiter and CEO of TripSlip.3M miles,thousands of field trips, hundreds of curated experiences stitching Michigan's communities together.
Links
WebsiteInstagram

  • This Registration is for voting only.

  • Use this form to register to vote. In order to submit, you'll need to follow the process starting here.
  •  
    Strength indicator
  •  
  •  

This will close in 0 seconds