Recognizing the shutdown’s immense financial impact on the state’s small businesses, Josh Botkin, a faculty member at the Ross School of Business and entrepreneur-in-residence at the Zell Lurie Institute, created an easy way for patrons to support their favorite local establishments. Save MI Faves is a not-for-profit website that allows users to easily find and purchase gift cards to nearly 400 restaurants, bookstores, salons, and other shops across Michigan.
Botkin, MBA ‘06, said he was initially motivated to take action when he began hearing that Ann Arbor restaurants were being hit hard by the shutdown.
“I was inspired by a site created by Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger and his wife to save restaurants in the Bay Area (of California),” Botkin explained. “Gift cards seemed like the best, quickest way to get cash to these struggling businesses quickly. Our mission is to help as many businesses as possible stay afloat and reopen their doors once the shutdown ends.”
