Comerica Bank will fund the second year of Hatch Detroit, the retail business competition held for the first time last year.
The contest’s name has been changed to Comerica Hatch Detroit Contest.
The competition awards $50,000 to the best idea for a Detroit retail business. The contest also provides the winner and semi-finalists with in-house support from Hatch staff.
The contest will begin accepting applications June 1.
Ten semi-finalists are picked from a pool of original submissions, which last year totaled in the hundreds.
The 10 then are winnowed down to a winner through a series of voting and judging.
“These guys have to build the business on their own, they have to crunch the numbers on their own,” said Hatch Executive Director Vittoria Katanski. “This is what makes it a viable plan.”
Last year’s winner was Hugh, a home furnishings shop with a classic bachelor pad style. Joe Posch, who came up with the idea, plans to open a permanent location in Midtown this fall.
Posch gained experience in the market with two previous “pop-up” stores.
Hatch Detroit, a nonprofit, was founded by Ted Balowski, an account executive at CareTech Solutions Inc., and Nick Gorga, a lawyer at Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn.
