Heintz launched EntryPoint last year to help economic development organizations and others understand startup ecosystem growth through numbers. As part of that work, it compiles a look at the successes and challenges of the sector in Detroit — and Wayne County as a whole, though the vast majority are in the most populous city.

Wayne County had 37 active venture capital-backed tech startups as of 2018 — a 54 percent increase over the past five years. Four are based outside Detroit. EntryPoint also measured 37 startups in 2017, but Heintz said that stagnance isn't cause for concern.

"The great thing is that the number didn't go down in just the last year," said Heintz, a Crain's 2016 40 Under 40 honoree. "The staying power is a little more what we look for. And that as those companies are growing they're continuing to attract capital, which speaks to the quality of companies in Detroit ... We really are seeing this really sustained effort and momentum, and the number of companies starting and staying in Detroit, and that is really promising."

Factors the report cites as positioning Detroit for growth include its increasing ability to draw in funders, talent, "strong local community" and lower cost of living than places such as San Francisco, New York and Boston.

Those 37 startups have raised a total of $358 million, according to the report. Forty-one percent of them are information technology companies and 19 percent are mobility-related. The rest are in advanced materials and manufacturing, business services, consumer products, life science and health care and other industries.

However, in a city in which nearly 80 percent of residents are black, representation in the startup community doesn't match. Six of Detroit's tech startups are led by racial minority founders, and they raised about 19 percent of venture capital in Wayne County in 2018. Three in Wayne County as a whole are led by women and none identify as LGBT.

In 2018, a dozen Wayne County tech startups raked in a total of $109 million from venture capital firms, up from $41 million to 18 startups in 2017 and $62 million to 14 startups in 2016.