DETROIT - By popular demand, Wayne State University's TechTown is launching a second session of its highly popular business conference:"FastTrac to the Future: The First Day of Your Entrepreneurial Adventure."

In June, demand for the "FastTrac to the Future:  The First Day of Your Entrepreneurial Adventure" training surpassed expectations and TechTown is set to host a second session, Saturday, July 25, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at Wayne State's Community Arts Auditorium, Cass at Kirby. Registration for a third and final session, planned for August 18 will be opening soon. Visit www.techtownwsu.org for more information.

FastTrac is the centerpiece of what is expected to become one of the nation's most watched economic turnaround stories: a three-year race to launch 400 successful startup companies across Southeastern Michigan. Through FastTrac, TechTown aims to help Michigan's growing population of underemployed and displaced workers leverage new careers as entrepreneurs and potential employers.

"Our goal is very ambitious," TechTown Executive Director Randal Charlton said. "But if we are successful on this scale, this grand experiment can help lead Detroit and Michigan out of recession and provide an example to the rest of America of the way to rebuild."

Funding for FastTrac is made possible through a $9.24 million alliance between the New Economy Initiative for Southeastern Michigan, one of the nation's most expansive philanthropy partnerships; and the Kansas City-based Marion Ewing Kauffman Foundation, America's leading expert on entrepreneurship education, research and growth.

"As Michigan knows from its rich history, entrepreneurs are the base of our nation's economic recovery during down times," said Lesa Mitchell, Kauffman Foundation vice president for Advancing Innovation. "With the nation's highest unemployment rate, perhaps nowhere is this work more critical than here."

Renowned entrepreneur and best-selling author Christopher Gardner returns as the keynote speaker. Gardner is the owner and CEO of the brokerage firm Gardner Rich LLC with offices in New York, Chicago and San Francisco. Gardner is the author of The Pursuit of Happyness, a New York Times and Washington Post #1 bestseller that has been translated into 14 languages. He recently published his second book, Start Where You Are: Life Lessons in Getting from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be.

"Eventually, the reality that no cavalries are being dispatched to any of us good guys, no matter how deserving of help we are, allowed me to be clear about the choices for all lone heroes,'' Gardner writes in his most recent book. "On the one hand, you can choose to blame the bad guys and feel as down and out as you please-even though that's not going to feed you or your loved ones. The other choice is to rise to the call and become your own cavalry."

This conference will include Curbside Consulting, a highly interactive session where every attendee will have the chance to pitch ideas to an expert in a relaxed, informal setting. Curbside Consulting will be available all day.

Local and national experts will discuss the challenges of starting a new business in 12 different session topics on entrepreneurship. These include:

• Profiting from Social Media

• Intellectual Property Dos and Don'ts

• Organization Expo-Providing introductions to existing entrepreneurial programs in the community, including the SBTDC, TechTown, Ann Arbor SPARK, Automation Alley and more

• What's Your Role in a Startup?

• Pitch & Comment-A facilitated session where people with ideas pitch to the group and get constructive feedback

• Money Tables-Providing information on raising money and grants, plus a roundtable discussion on funding your idea

Attendees will have the opportunity to sign up that day for FastTrac„®, award-winning programs for entrepreneurs designed by the Kauffman Foundation. Three FastTrac„® programs, which will be delivered over several days or weeks, will be available locally immediately following the event:

• First Step FastTrac„ ® -The desired outcome of this program is a written feasibility plan that helps you determine if your idea can be turned into a profitable business, and whether the life of an entrepreneur is right for you.

• FastTrac„® NewVenture„ ™ -Designed specifically for entrepreneurs in the early stages of business development, this program helps you uncover answers and determine which questions to ask.

• FastTrac„® TechVenture„™-Take an analytical look at your business and discover what you need to consider in starting, operating, funding or growing a technology- or life sciences-based company.

"FastTrac to the Future: The First Day of Your Entrepreneurial Adventure" on July 25 includes lunch and is free to the public. Registration is required and early registration is recommended as space is limited.

About TechTown
TechTown is an urban community of entrepreneurs, investors, mentors and corporate partners creating an internationally influential village in Detroit. TechTown brings the resources of Wayne State University to high-technology start-up companies to assist in diversifying and strengthening Michigan's economy in high-growth emerging industries. For more information, visit www.techtownwsu.org.

About the New Economy Initiative for Southeast Michigan
The New Economy Initiative is one of the nation's most expansive philanthropic partnerships dedicated to economic transformation in the region hardest hit by manufacturing job loss and the global economic crisis. NEI includes $100 million in funding commitments from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan (Detroit), the Max M. and Marjorie S. Fisher Foundation (Southfield, Mich.), the Ford Foundation (New York), the Hudson-Webber Foundation (Detroit), the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (Battle Creek, Mich.), the John S. and James L .Knight Foundation (Miami), The Kresge Foundation (Troy, Mich.), the McGregor Fund (Detroit), the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation (Flint, Mich.), and the Skillman Foundation (Detroit).

About the Kauffman Foundation
The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is a private nonpartisan foundation that works to harness the power of entrepreneurship and innovation to grow economies and improve human welfare. Through its research and other initiatives, the Kauffman Foundation aims to open young people's eyes to the possibility of entrepreneurship, promote entrepreneurship education, raise awareness of entrepreneurship-friendly policies, and find alternative pathways for the commercialization of new knowledge and technologies. It also works to prepare students to be innovators, entrepreneurs and skilled workers in the 21st century economy through initiatives designed to improve learning in math, engineering, science and technology. Founded by late entrepreneur and philanthropist Ewing Marion Kauffman, the Foundation is based in Kansas City, Missouri and has an asset base of approximately $2 billion. Find more information by at http://www.kauffman.org.