Dan Gilbert and Josh Linkner Will Discuss Digital Business Economy at FutureMidwest Conference in Detroit

Detroit, MI (Vocus/PRWEB) March 25, 2011

Quicken Loans Founder and Chairman, Dan Gilbert, and ePrize Founder and Chairman, Josh Linkner, are serving as keynote speakers at FutureMidwest, southeast Michigan’s largest digital business conference, on April 28-29, 2011. Professionals and students in business, technology and communications will converge on Detroit's Eastern Market for the two-day event to network and explore how the region can thrive in a digital economy.

“The landscape of business and economics in Michigan is changing, led by intelligent and creative minds who see the region’s capacity to serve as a technology core,” said Josh Linkner, CEO of Detroit Venture Partners. “For two days, we will be exchanging ideas, encouraging creative approaches to business operations and igniting passion for an entrepreneurial spirit.”

Now in its third year, FutureMidwest, is designed to help participants positively affect their businesses by sharing tools they can use to connect with clients, and methods for measuring online strategies. Conference sessions will focus on technology trends, their effect on marketing as well as networking for entrepreneurs and venture capital firms.

In addition, a one-day competition, Funded by Night, will take place on April 28 in which 25 startups from around the nation will compete for a $100,000 convertible note from local venture capital firms, Detroit Venture Partners and Ludlow Ventures.

For more information and for tickets, visit http://www.futuremidwest.com/ or http://fundedbynight.com/.

About Quicken Loans Inc:
Quicken Loans Inc. is the nation’s largest online retail mortgage lender and among the five largest overall retail home lenders in the United States. The company closed a record $29 billion in retail home loan volume across all 50 states in 2010, and recently closed its 1 millionth loan. Quicken Loans employs approximately 3,700 team members and generates loan production from five web centers located in Michigan, Ohio and Arizona. The company also operates a centralized loan processing facility in Michigan as well as its San Diego-based One Reverse Mortgage unit. Quicken Loans ranked #1 in customer satisfaction among all home mortgage lenders in the United States by J.D. Power and Associates for 2010. “QuickenLoans.com” has been named “Best of the Web” by Forbes and Money magazines. The company also has been named to FORTUNE magazine’s list of the country’s “100 Best Companies To Work For” eight consecutive years, ranking as high as #2, and named in the Top-15 of Computerworld magazine’s “100 Best Places to Work In Technology” for six years in a row. Quicken Loans ranked #1 in the Detroit Free Press’ ”Top Workplaces of 2010” List. The company recently moved its headquarters and 1,700 of its 3,700 full-time team members to downtown Detroit. For more information about Quicken Loans, please visit http://www.quickenloans.com.

About Rock Holdings Inc:
Rock Holdings Inc. is the parent company for several financial services-related businesses and employs over 4,000 team members. These client-focused and technologically driven companies include Quicken Loans, the nation’s largest online home lender and One Reverse Mortgage unit, the fastest growing reverse mortgage lender in America; Title Source, a nationwide leader of title insurance and settlement services; Quicken Loans Mortgage Services (QLMS), a mortgage origination platform servicing community banks and credit unions across the country; In-House Realty, the preferred real estate partner of Quicken Loans that matches clients with trusted real estate agents in all 50 states; and, Quizzle.com, the online innovator and website where consumers manage their home, money and credit. Rock Holdings, Inc. also recently moved its headquarters to downtown Detroit.

About FutureMidwest
FutureMidwest is the Midwest's largest digital business conference. Initiated in 2009, the two-day conference is designed for executive management and decision makers from corporate, small and midsized businesses, entrepreneurs, brand managers, marketing, communication professionals, students and professionals in the digital/technology spheres, offering advice on implementing digital strategies to engage their audiences and boost the profitability of their companies. FutureMidwest conferences focus on the impact of technology in five areas:
o    Integrated marketing — How to integrate digital platforms into a well-rounded marketing mix
o    User experience — How to create an engaging experience across a variety of digital media
o    Mobile — How it's impacting information exchange and user access and how to utilize it
o    Business Intelligence/Analytics — How to define metrics that matter most and apply them
o    Regional growth — How the Midwest is participating in the Information Age
The conference offers basic and advanced information in separate sessions that incorporate presentations, group breakouts, networking with professionals, and engagements with influencers who are redefining business in the digital age. For more information, please visit: http://www.futuremidwest.com.

About Funded By Night
Part of the FutureMidwest conference, Funded by Night is a one-day competition to fund technology startups, which will compete to win a $100,000 convertible note from two local venture capital firms, Detroit Venture Partners and Ludlow Ventures. While demonstrating products, the startup companies will have an opportunity to schedule one-to-one meetings with investors the following day. The entire application process will be administered online. All startups who would like to apply should register at http://www.fundedbynight.com. Companies from around the globe are encouraged to apply.

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