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26 December 11 • 2014
Arthur Horwitz, Margaret Winters and
Robert Forsythe of WSU, and Martin
Manna
JN
M
ore than 50 Chaldean
and Jewish entrepreneurs
attended the Building
Community Entrepreneurship Forum
at Wayne State University's McGregor
Memorial Conference Center in
Detroit on Nov. 19.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan was a
last-minute cancellation, but the evening
was still deemed a success.
Martin Manna, co-publisher of the
Chaldean News, and Arthur Horwitz, pub-
lisher and executive editor of the Detroit
Jewish News, shared opening remarks.
"This has been a special time for us,"
Manna said about Chaldean Americans'
efforts regarding the horrific attacks on
Christians in Iraq. "It's eerily reminiscent
of what happened to the Jews at the time
of Nazi rule and now both of our com-
munities have been collaborating more
than ever:'
Horwitz reminisced about more than
a decade ago when he met Manna and
Michael Sarafa, who were looking to
start a contemporary news vehicle for the
Chaldean community.
"It started to show the potential for how
the Chaldean and Jewish communities
could work together and how we share
such similarities:' Horwitz said.
"So you all being here is not a culmina-
tion but one more fiber in the connective
tissue:'
Dean Robert Forsythe of the WSU
School of Business commented on the
presence of both communities at the
university — at least half of the attendees
either graduated from Wayne State or had
close family members who did. Forsythe
spoke about entrepreneurship being a
component of the school's vision and
discussed initiatives being implemented
for its students, including a portfolio com-
petition.
Among the attendees were entre-
preneurs Ronnie Babbie, 27, and Brad
Kifferstein, 35. Each started his own busi-
ness with a personal vision in mind.
"I never wanted to work for any-
body:' said Babbie, who started Apex
Productions, an event-planning company,
when he was 19. He admitting learning a
quick lesson when only 10 people attend-
ed his first event. But he examined his
mistakes and asked successful people in
the business for advice. His second event
attracted 2,000 people.
The venture lasted three years until
he went to work with his brother, Ed, in
informational technologies. That led him
to partner with SolutionsPal, a market-
ing and website development company.
Now he is launching a real estate business
called Cobble & Kindling.
Kifferstein's vision to "smart your cof-
fee" led him to develop Vita-Perk, a vita-
min and mineral coffee boost in a stick
packet. Targeted at coffee drinkers who
want to live a healthy lifestyle, it is not
meant to replace multivitamins, but is just
a way to "perk the world one coffee cup at
a time he said.
The longtime vegetarian did his
research and found that 500 million coffee
cups are consumed per day. "I saw it as
an opportunity to capture at least a small
percentage," he said.
A full launch is expected in January
2015, and Kifferstein already has commit-
ments from local stores such as Holiday
Market and Market Square.
Both men found the networking event
to be a terrific chance to meet new people.
"I think it's awesome how our com-
munities work together," Kifferstein said.
"The synergy is very exciting:'
Horwitz said that bringing business to
Detroit was a generational opportunity.
"You could look at your rearview mir-
ror 20 years from now and say, 'Wow, I
was a part of it!"
❑
Event sponsors were Bank of Michigan,
Henry Ford Health System, Lawrence Tech
University, Meijer, Oakland Community
College, Walled Lake Consolidated Schools
and Wayne State University School of
Business.