From Side Hustle to Full Time: Entrepreneurship after Ross

Maria Thompson

Maria Thompson is Entrepreneur-In- Residence for Arsenal Venture Partners. Ms. Thompson was President and CEO of T/J Technologies, Inc., a nationally recognized Michigan company for proprietary alternative energy technologies that she and her husband, Dr. Levi Thompson, co-founded in 1991. T/J Technologies was acquired by A123Systems, Inc. in 2006. Combined, the organizations represented the largest lithium-ion R&D team in North America, with global manufacturing operations. A123Systems had a successful IPO in September 2009. Maria A. Thompson ran the Government Solutions Group of A123Systems, Inc after the acquisition until she retired from A123 in 2010. She and her team worked with the DOD, DOE, the MEDC, Senators Levin and Stabenow, Congressman Dingell, Governor Granholm and Wayne County to secure over $249M in DOE grants, a $9M TARDEC contract, and $139M from the state of Michigan to build battery plants in Michigan.

Under Ms. ThompsonÔÇÖs leadership, T/J Technologies attracted national and regional recognition. In 2008, she was honored by the Washington DC based Minority Enterprise Executive Council as one of 25 Powerful Minority Women in Business. The Small Business Foundation of Michigan honored Ms. Thompson as a Small Business Entrepreneur Extraordinaire 2008. She was chosen as one of CrainÔÇÖs Detroit Business Most Influential Women for 2007. NASA Headquarters honored T/J Technologies with a ÔÇ£Special Recognition AwardÔÇØ. T/J Technologies was also named one of ÔÇ£50 Companies to Watch in MichiganÔÇØ and CrainÔÇÖs Detroit Business chose the company as one of the┬áÔÇ£20 Largest Technology-Based CompaniesÔÇØ.┬á Ms. Thompson was invited to speak to the U.S. House Committee on Small Business as part of the Small Business AdministrationÔÇÖs 50th Anniversary. T/J Technologies received the Nunn/Perry Award from the Department of Defense for its ultracapacitor development with Lockheed Martin. In 2000, Ms. Thompson was named one of Metro DetroitÔÇÖs Innovators by CrainÔÇÖs Detroit Business.

Ms. Thompson is Chairman of NextEnergyÔÇÖs Board of Directors, and a member of the University of Michigan Technology Transfer National Advisory Board, the University of Michigan Ross School of Business Zell Lurie Institute Advisory Board, Old National BankÔÇÖs Michigan Market Board and the Reko International Group, a Canadian public company. She served for 6 years on the Advanced Technology Advisory Board for the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), and is a former member of several non-profit organization boards. Ms. Thompson earned a Masters of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan Business School. Prior to starting T/J Technologies, Ms. Thompson worked at Steelcase and IBM, where she earned numerous company awards. Maria and her husband, Dr. Levi Thompson, have two daughters, Marissa and Sabrina.

Maria is life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, a life member of Jack and Jill of America and a member of the Ann Arbor Chapter of the Links, Inc.

Nydia Cardenas

Nydia graduated from Ross with her MBA in 2015. She is founder of Play to Own, a Detroit-based platform for current and former professional athletes to leverage their social and financial capital to improve their communities and is a consultant for social impact organizations such as Mission Throttle and ProsperUS. Prior to business school, Nydia was a senior analyst at the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) focusing on the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program. During her MBA summer, Nydia pursued her passion for working with small businesses by participating in the inaugural class of MBAs Across America and supported the creation of the Ross Open Road social entrepreneurship program.

Meiko Drew

Self taught interactive media artist and chef, Meiko Drew, describes herself as a Corporate America retiree turned Full-time Foodie. Her business, meikoandthedish.com, was born out of a passion project to create food media at the intersection of pop culture, fashion and technology. On her blog she shares provocative anecdotes, flavor packed recipes and time saving tips for sassy working-class millennial females.

MeikoAndTheDish.com has quickly attracted a legion of supporters that have propelled her as an emerging leader in e-commerce with her viral foodie apparel line, Dish Rags. Her creative, yet edgy digital voice has helped her stand out as a unique influencer and garner partnerships with brands like Coca-Cola, Newell-Rubbermaid, Dole and CampbellÔÇÖs in just her first year, in addition to features with Essence, Blavity and Food52.
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Meiko is a published author, public speaker, social media and marketing consultant and proud alumna of San Diego State University (BS) and the University of Michigan (MBA, 2013).

Nicaila Matthews

Nicaila Matthews is the Creator and Host of Side Hustle Pro, the first and only podcast to spotlight bold, black women entrepreneurs who have scaled from side hustle to full time entrepreneurs. Named one of the Black Voices in Business by iTunes, Nicaila has generated over 100,000 downloads in the span of six months and amassed a loyal community of over 30,000 aspiring entrepreneurs.

A career long Digital Marketing Strategist and alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the University of Michigan (MBA, 2015), her professional experience spans digital marketing, ad sales and social media strategy for NPR, Google, MTV Networks and Georgetown McDonough.

Find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @sidehustlepro or visit SideHustlePro.co.