Top stories for you

By Lauren Zyber
Tech workers are choosing Milwaukee as their home. Here’s why.
I’ll be honest: I’ve always had a soft spot for Milwaukee. My sister and brother-in-law live there, and visiting them is always the best. Fun things t[...]

By Ryan Vaughn
Why most 'culture work' actually hurts your company
And the simple way to ensure your culture eats strategy for lunch. A quick story to set the stage: About six years ago I scaled my company from 15-emp[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Detroit startup Guardhat raises Series B, brings funding over $40 MM
Detroit startup Guardhat just announced on January 5, 2021 that they raised Series B funding. The amount is undisclosed, but this new round will bring[...]

By Lauren Zyber
The Top Columbus Startups and Tech Companies To Watch in 2021
Columbus is one of the best cities for tech jobs, and 2020 proved that. This Midwest city was in some major headlines last year for startup jobs, star[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Top Ann Arbor Tech Companies to Watch in 2021
Ann Arbor is perfectly positioned to be one of the best cities for tech jobs. Not just in the Midwest, but in the country. It’s home to a world-class[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Top venture capital funding for Midwest tech startups in 2020
2020 certainly was a challenging year for startups across the board. And fundraising, though it fared better than many thought it would, was still no [...]

By Ryan Vaughn
The dark side of 'Crushing It': when looking good leads to bad results
This blog is adapted from a two-part examination of leadership, published on Second Mountain Startup. As entrepreneurs, we’re inherently vulnerable t[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Top Detroit Startups and Tech Companies to Watch in 2021
It's a myth that only the top startups and the best startup jobs are in Silicon Valley or New York City. As a Midwest company built for Midwest startu[...]

By Lauren Zyber
How this Detroit startup is growing their team by putting people first
“Our technology isn’t the only reason people come and work with us. It’s all about relationships.” Patrick Kelly, CEO and co-founder of Signal Advisor[...]

By Ryan Landau
Meet The Winners of the 2020 Purpose Awards
There’s no doubt that 2020 will go down in the history books. A once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, a national reckoning with racial injustice, record unempl[...]

By Lauren Zyber
The Midwest’s Top Female Founders to Watch in 2021
“We always say unapologetically: we're here to win, we're here to win big, and our opportunity is big." That was Lori Coulter, CEO and co-founder of S[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Ann Arbor software company uses data to empower communities—and their employees
Figuring out how to get the pilot light to turn on—and how to continue to fuel it—has been a long term goal for “Rust Belt economist” Nigel Griswold. [...]

By Ryan Vaughn
For leaders, meditation is more useful than business school
Meditation makes people better leaders, and when done consistently can be more effective than any knowledge on leadership one could acquire. Hard stop[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Ann Arbor tech company Llamasoft gets acquired for $1.5 billion
Coupa Software Inc. just announced they're acquiring Llamasoft Inc., an Ann Arbor supply-chain tech company, for $1.5 billion. Llamasoft has been a t[...]

By Ryan Landau
The State of The Midwest Startup Community 2020
What makes the Midwest the next opportunity area when it comes to startups and tech? Four startup leaders from across the region would all agree that [...]

Not Just Flyover Country: Why the Midwest is Home to the Next Big Tech Scene
When the Great Recession hit in 2010, lifelong entrepreneur Dana Todd’s San Diego startup failed. It wasn’t an easy time to find a new job, and Todd’s[...]

How to Balance Having Fun and Saving Money When You’re on a Tight Budget
Do I pay off my student loans or save for my retirement? The answer is both! While it's totally fine to have debt, you'll want to make a plan to pay i[...]

Hiring for Tech Jobs has Increased More than 100% in These Midwestern Cities
When people think tech jobs, they tend to think Silicon Valley or New York City. They don’t think about the Midwest, which is better known for rolling[...]

By Ryan Landau
Low cost, high reward: new report shows Midwest tech jobs pay off
There are so many reasons why we love living and working in the Midwest—booming tech hubs, tight communities, laid-back lifestyles… It’s something man[...]

6 Traits Every Successful Remote Employee Has
Looking for a new position in the COVID job economy? Interested in upping your game as a remote worker? If you answered “yes” to either of these quest[...]

By Ryan Landau
These 8 startups are among the top in the Midwest—and the U.S.
Why were there only two Midwest startups on LinkedIn’s recent list of the top 50 startups on the rise? Cameo, based in Chicago (as well as remotely),[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Cahoots launches diversity scholarship, offers more than desk space
Created by founders for founders, Cahoots is a coworking tech hub that’s fostering a community for Ann Arbor tech companies and entrepreneurs. And now[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Columbus startup Olive raises $106MM to expand AI healthcare workforce
AI healthcare startup Olive just announced they raised $106 million in funding, led by an equity investment from General Catalyst and Drive Capital, a[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Top Midwest Companies Hiring Marketing Roles Right Now
If you work in marketing, you know it can be a funny field. Us marketers wear a lot of hats, and it can be hard to find a position that fits your skil[...]

By Lauren Zyber
AaDya Security raises $2.7 million, continues upward trend in security funding
AaDya Security just announced that they’ve closed a $2.7 million funding round, led by Firebrand Ventures (Kansas City, Mo.), 645 Ventures (NYC), and [...]

By Lauren Zyber
Skip the Trip: What to do in Detroit this Labor Day Weekend
Labor Day weekend is coming up, and while that might bring the sadness that comes with the end of summer, fear not. We’re bringing you some of the bes[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Now hiring: virtual career fair hosts top Midwest startups, tech companies
On August 25th, purpose.jobs and the Midwest Tech Banking team at Silicon Valley Bank hosted the Midwest’s largest virtual career fair. Within 60 minu[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Top Midwest Tech Companies Hiring Software Engineers Right Now
Yes. You read that title right. Top tech companies are hiring—right now. Woot woot, cue the happy dance. If you’re looking for a software engineering[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Reasons Why You’ll Love Working Remotely
Many of us have experienced that work from home life at least a little bit. And while it may have been tough at first (especially under such unusual a[...]

By Lauren Zyber
How to Write a Job Description that Brings in the Right Candidates
“It’s just a job description. It’s not a big deal.” That’s the first mistake companies make when it comes to writing job descriptions. Because the tru[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Top 5 Midwest Venture Capital Firms in 2020
Ever wonder what powers the top Midwest startups and tech scene? Well, it’s a whole lot of good ideas, smart people to execute them, and, of course, c[...]

By Brian Hough
Taking a Page from the Midwest Playbook: What Tech Giants Could Learn as they Move Inland
After so many years of this myth that nothing’s going on in the Midwest, the secret’s out, and people are finally taking notice of the Heartland. Wit[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Meet Tandem, the Columbus startup creating a free marketplace for childcare
Even though Tandem has only been around for about ten months, CEO and co-founder Olivia Weinstock has been connecting families and babysitters for qui[...]

By Lauren Zyber
8 Reasons You’ll Love Working and Living in the Midwest
With the rise of remote work becoming more and more common, even at coastal tech giants like Facebook and Twitter, people are looking at the Midwest i[...]

By Lauren Zyber
The Duo Blueprint: How Ann Arbor's Duo Security is Changing the Midwest Startup Scene
“Our small city of freaks and geeks, fast learners, and team players has been a crucible for startups,” said Dug Song, Co-founder & General Manager of[...]

By Ryan Landau
Culture contribution: why we no longer say ‘culture fit’
We’ll be the first to say that we are always learning. That’s what we do at startups—we listen, learn, think, embrace new ideas, and make changes. An[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Becoming Better Allies: How Tech Companies can Build More Inclusive Cultures
When it comes to inclusion initiatives, Daniel Young says he learned from one of the best. Before founding Circadian Risk in Ann Arbor, Daniel worked [...]

By Lauren Zyber
Keep That Same Energy: What We Learned at the Diversity and Inclusion Panel
On June 23rd, purpose.jobs and DVP hosted a virtual panel discussion on diversity and inclusion. We had nearly 200 people join us on Zoom from various[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Dynatrace Detroit: a Software Company Growing on and off the Field
“Normally you walk into a lobby. But for us, our “lobby” is the field.” Ford Field, that is. You know, home of the Lions—and the #DynatraceDetroit tea[...]

By Ryan Landau
Big News: purpose.jobs Expands to Columbus, OH
Three years ago we started purpose.jobs to help people find jobs they love in the Midwest. We started in Detroit because Detroit is our home, and it’[...]

By Lauren Zyber
Anti-Racist Actions Every Startup Founder Can Take Right Now
There’s no doubt that companies, big and small, can have a huge influence on a community. And being a founder, a CEO, a “boss,” and a leader comes wit[...]

By Ryan Landau
5 Job Hunting Tips for Finding a Purposeful Career
Finding a job can often be frustrating and challenging—and it only gets harder during a pandemic. There’s record unemployment right now, which makes t[...]