Ecosystem Building
Connecting founders to mentorship, capital, and opportunity — building the pipelines that turn Detroit talent into thriving, funded companies.
Learn moreDetroit, Michigan
Johnnie TurnageDetroit entrepreneur, ecosystem builder, co-founder of Black Tech Saturdays
Johnnie Turnage grew up doing the work of organizing before he had a name for it — knocking doors on ballot campaigns, learning early that power moves when people move together. That instinct became a career, and in April 2023, it became Black Tech Saturdays: a room of five on Michigan Central's campus that has since grown into a national movement, connecting thousands of founders to mentorship, capital, and each other. He believes community wealth is the trampoline to generational wealth, and he's building it one Saturday at a time.
Co-Founder & CEO, Black Tech Saturdays $3M+ raised for community tech programs Detroit Regional Chamber · GM NeighborHub Grant recipient
The mission
Access, opportunity, and community wealth.
Johnnie Turnage builds the doors — and the pipelines behind them. What started as a small team of five on Michigan Central's campus in Detroit has become Black Tech Saturdays: a national community that has supported thousands of founders, from idea to IPO.
His work is about access and opportunity — connecting people to mentorship, capital, and the greater tech ecosystem, and getting them as many swings at bat as possible. Community wealth, he says, is the trampoline to generational wealth. So the mission is simple, and it's big: help a thousand people win.
$3M+
Raised for community tech programs
1,000+
Free workshops hosted nationwide
Thousands
Founders supported — from idea to IPO
2023
Black Tech Saturdays founded in Detroit
What Johnnie does
Building the doors — and the pipelines behind them
Three connected areas of work, reinforcing one another: an ecosystem for founders, a ladder toward economic mobility, and a runway for the next generation.
Economic Mobility
Treating community wealth as the trampoline to generational wealth, and opening doors that were long closed to Black and Brown founders.
Learn moreYouth & Tech Education
Helping the next generation see themselves in tech — from the Detroit Digital Empowerment Summit to the Youth Golf & Tech Expo.
Learn more“I want a thousand people to win.”Johnnie TurnageCo-Founder & CEO, Black Tech Saturdays
Black Tech Saturdays
A room of five, grown into a national movement
Founded in 2023 with co-founder Alexa Turnage, Black Tech Saturdays started on Michigan Central's campus and has since supported thousands of founders — with $3M+ raised for programs and 1,000+ workshops hosted across the country.
It's a weekly room where founders meet mentors, industry leaders, and the people who can hire them, fund them, or pilot their product — because sharing the game is the fastest path to generational wealth.
In the press
As featured in
Let's build something that lasts.
Whether you're planning an event, exploring a partnership, looking for a speaker, or just want to talk about building an inclusive tech economy — Johnnie would love to hear from you.