Erika Block is an entrepreneur, advisor, investor, and educator who works with startups and community organizations at the intersection of strategy, leadership, and business model development.

With 15 years of experience as a playwright, director, and theater company founder, research for a theater project led to an unexpected customer discovery process that ultimately evolved into Erika's first tech startup. Her expertise includes SaaS, marketplaces, food supply chains, climate/sustainability, local economies, new media, and community development.

She is the principal of Sticky Lab, working with clients to solve sticky problems, tell sticky stories, and build organizations that will stick around for the long haul.

Erika is on the faculty of the University of Michigan, with appointments in the Center for Entrepreneurship (College of Engineering) and the Ross School of Business. She also works with climate and energy startups as a Mentor-in-Residence with VentureWell.

Common threads across her work:

• Building collaborative environments that enable creativity, learning and action.
• Facilitating conversations among people who don't usually connect.
• Identifying and developing new business opportunities.
• Unrelenting curiosity.

Erika has an MFA from Columbia and a BGS from Michigan. She has been a PopTech Social Innovation Fellow, an NEA/TCG Directing Fellow, and a Crain's Detroit Business 40 under 40 recipient.