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Techtown's 20th Anniversary

Toast of the Town 2024

Featuring Our Salute Award Winners

Get ready to raise a glass for TechTown Detroit’s 2024 Salute Award winners! Four outstanding local entrepreneurs are set to receive TechTown’s highest honor for their embodiment of the entrepreneurial spirit and leveraging the many resources found at TechTown and across Detroit’s small business community: Brittni Abiolu, founder and managing director of VentureHue; James McKissic, owner of Mac Galleries; and Jose Manuel and Teresa Vargas, owners of La Jalisciense Supermercado and Taqueria.

Alexa and Johnnie Turnage, founders of Black Tech Saturdays and EvenScore, will receive the Marlowe Stoudamire Small Business Champion Award for exemplifying Stoudamire’s legacy of building community to create opportunities for all Detroiters.
Marlowe Soudamire Small Business Champion

Alexa and Johnnie Turnage

Founders of Black Tech Saturdays and EvenScore
Alexa and Johnnie Turnage are fostering an inclusive environment for Black tech founders and entrepreneurs to network and thrive through their community-led initiative Black Tech Saturdays (BTS). What began as a small gathering for local Black tech founders and entrepreneurs has become a heavily-attended, popular event in Detroit. BTS engages industry experts from across the region to speak and attendees have ample time to connect and network with fellow innovators. BTS will be hosting its inaugural three-day Digital Empowerment Summit in early October of 2024, during which the Turnages hope to equip Detroiters with the skills necessary to succeed within the tech landscape.

TechTown has been proud to witness the growth of BTS and see many of its program alumni and team members connect with the Turnages and continually attend the event. And through TechTown’s Capital programs, the Turnages have received support and capital for their startup EvenScore, a platform aiming to revolutionize donors’ experiences and help individuals support the causes and candidates they care about. As Detroit’s tech and entrepreneurial ecosystems continue to assert their positions on the national stage, the Turnages play a significant role to their growth and to building connections.

Jose Manuel Vargas and Teresa Lopez,
The Vargas Lopez Family

Owners of La Jalisciense Supermercado and Taqueria
Jose Manuel Vargas and Teresa Lopez have created a dynamic restaurant and market through La Jalisciense Supermercado and Taqueria, offering authentic Mexican food and products to the Southwest Detroit community. Their children, Leslie, Jose Manuel, Jr., Juan and Nico, have followed in their footsteps to drive the business’ success. In addition to offering authentic Mexican cuisine and a wide array of fresh, locally sourced groceries and specialty items, the Vargas Lopezes are deeply rooted in their neighborhood and have supported and organized other endeavors, including Southwest Detroit Restaurant Week and last year’s inaugural Día de loss Muertos Festival. La Jalisciense will also be expanding with a new location on East Warren Avenue in Detroit and another location in Taylor.

The Vargas Lopezes enrolled in TechTown Detroit’s 313 STRONG program in 2020 during the pandemic and have utilized its resources to grow their business to what it is today. With La Jalisciense’s expansion and the family’s continued involvement in their community, the Vargas Lopezes are truly a pillar of not only Mexican culture in Detroit but of strong, multigenerational family businesses in the city.

Brittni Abiolu

Founder and Managing Director of VentureHue
With Black entrepreneurs, founders and angel investors making an ever-growing impact in the tech and entrepreneurial ecosystems, it’s individuals like Brittni Abiolu who are helping those innovators level up in their ventures. As founder and managing director of VentureHue, Abiolu provides programs and services to help underserved entrepreneurs scale their businesses. This includes VentureHue ACCESS Lab, a capital readiness accelerator, and VentureHue Startup Studio, a program designed to help founders build their startups.

Abiolu also provides expert advice through TechTown’s Ask an Expert program and has increased her knowledge of investing through the organization’s Catalyst Angel Program. With nearly two decades of experience, Abiolu serves her clients with compassion and is determined to help them grow and succeed.

James McKissic

Owner of Mac Galleries
James McKissic is the owner of Mac Galleries, a Detroit-based art gallery and shop that provides custom art framing and installation services. Mac Galleries opened in 1991, born from James and his late father’s mutual love for art and photography. In October 2023, Mac Galleries celebrated the opening of its permanent location on Detroit’s historic Livernois Avenue. The gallery has become a place that highlights work by African American artists from around the world, and McKissic has continued his father’s legacy of bringing art and quality framing to Detroit, while consistently evolving the business to meet the needs of today’s artists and community.

McKissic has done that, in part, by participating in TechTown’s Retail Boot Camp and receiving coaching from our retail strategists through the organization’s 313 STRONG program. With McKissic at the helm, Mac Galleries continues to be space that cultivates art and community, while preserving a multigenerational family legacy.

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