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Forbes 30 Under 30 honors former Wayne State swimmer for his app

By Veronica Meadows
Published  December 10, 2019 5:45pm EST
Detroit
FOX 2 Detroit

DETROIT (FOX 2) - When you think Forbes 30 Under 30 you often think about companies in Silicon Valley or New York. You might not always think Detroit, but right now a couple of entrepreneurs are working to change that. 

Former Wayne State University swimmer Fares Kseabti practically grew up in the water. 

Forbes Thirty Under Thirty picks another from Detroit

When you think Forbes you often think about companies in Silicon Valley or New York and might not always think Detroit

"I started coaching swimming and every day I would have swimmers asking me to send them workouts and I partnered with my two co-founders and we decided we could solve this problem," he said.

Their solution started an app called MySwimPro in 2015. The mobile and wearable apps help coach swimmers and triathletes. 
 
"So far the idea has really taken off," he said 

Now with more than a million downloads in 150 countries, MySwimPro is celebrating another milestone. It recently landed on Forbes 30 Under 30. 

"To have that association with some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the world is super humbling and an exciting opportunity for us," he said.

The MySwimPro team aren't the only entrepreneurs representing Detroit on the Forbes list. Last year, men’s clothing company Ash and Erie also made the cut. If you are a guy 5 feet 8 and under - their clothes are for you. 

"I would go to the mall and I wouldn't be able to find anything," said Steven Mazur. "It's just frustrating. I would pick something out, go to the tailor. It didn't quite work, my then-girlfriend, now-wife, was the one who helped come up with the idea. (She said) 'I hate shopping with you.' And that was the lightbulb moment where I realized this isn't how it should go."

Ash and Erie makes their clothes from scratch for guys who normally might not have the best luck. 

"We look at every little detail so the length is one of the first steps," he said. "The correct inseam, correct waist on the pants, but it's the smaller details too: the shape of the pocket, the height of the rise where everything is placed."

While their companies couldn't be more different. Their reasons for choosing Detroit are the same and that's doing their part to help with Detroit's come back. 

"It's giving exposure to a city like Detroit where you don't have as much entrepreneurship as the bigger markets, but it's a way to say look there are a lot of great entrepreneurs here," Mazur said.

"You can come to Detroit you can make an impact you can stand out but you can also play a part on a global scale and that's something that's only unique to Detroit," said Kseabti.