#rpDetroit Speaker Monica Wheat: The exchange of ideas is the basis of all innovation

Monica Wheat is a strategist, educator and venture developer. A staunch advocate of Detroit's entrepreneurial ecosystem for 14+ years, she is the Managing Director of the Backstage Capital, a Detroit tech accelerator investing in scaling startups for underrepresented founders. She is a global advisor and consultant for ecosystems and was selected multiple times as a U.S. Delegate for the Global Entrepreneurship Congress.

What message do you want to share at re:publica Detroit?
Collaboration and connection are where the real work occurs. Effective ecosystems don't just offer opportunities, they define how people can effectively access them. The exchange of ideas is the basis of all innovation and inclusive access is when technology is most powerful and scales easily. This is the movement to define the future.

In one word, what does access mean to you?
Opportunity. Access is from where all ideas and opportunity flow.

What are you looking forward to most at re:publica Detroit?
Seeing how other speakers define access. The best partners and players in this field identify where access is lacking and create solutions. Excited to be such a partner and share amongst other passionate about the same work. I'm a fan of how re:publica has been activated globally and looking forward to bring that perspective to Detroit.

You can find Monica Wheats' session here.