Join us for “Meet the Entrepreneur,” featuring Dora’s Donuts
HFC business instructor MariAnn Apley’s Small Business and Entrepreneurship class and the Entrepreneurship Club are sponsoring the College’s first “Meet the Entrepreneur” event, featuring Dora’s Donuts on Tuesday, April 21, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. near the John McDonald Student and Culinary Arts Center (Building M on the main campus).
Based in Britton, Dora’s Donuts is a family-run mobile donut trailer serving fresh, made-to-order donuts topped with edible messages of kindness and joy called “Dough Notes,” which are “sprinkling smiles one donut at a time.” Entrepreneur Heather Dora Piotter owns Dora’s Donuts, which launched in 2025.
“I’ve worked with Heather. She’s used her resources to launch her successful business, and it’s given her a purpose. She’s a successful entrepreneur who’s done everything right,” said Apley. “My students studied Dora’s Donuts and thought it would be great to share it with the whole College. We’re officially launching the Entrepreneurship Club in the fall, so we wanted to engage students early. We also want our Culinary Arts students at HFC — many of whom have gone on to start their own catering businesses — to see a successful food-focused entrepreneur in action.”
Experiential learning is essential when studying entrepreneurship
Apley, who has worked in higher education for five years, joined the HFC faculty at the start of the Winter 2026 semester. Her Small Business and Entrepreneurship class is offered in person and online. Business majors can earn a certificate in entrepreneurship or take the class as an elective.
Apley is an entrepreneur herself; she owned a customer insight company for more than 20 years called Demand Research. Her company conducted business with Ford Motor Co., AAA Michigan, and DTE Energy, among others. Her current venture is the Apple Truck, an e-commerce platform that ships farm-fresh Michigan apples and apple-related products during the fall apple season. Apley is also working toward her doctorate in leadership and innovation at Purdue University.
This summer, Apley and fellow HFC business instructor Selina Griswold, an entrepreneur who’s been teaching in higher education for more than 26 years, will assist with launching student and community events for those interested in starting a business. These events will include speakers, a business challenge, and a pitch competition.
“Experiential learning is essential when studying entrepreneurship. It brings entrepreneurship to life for students,” said Apley. “They learned so much from Hassan Chami, the owner of The Canteen at Midtown. They also attended the University of Michigan-Dearborn’s Second Annual Small Business Showcase, where they met entrepreneurs and saw several businesses showcasing their goods and services.”
Her students’ final project for this semester is “Creating a Lean Canvas Business Model,” which is a one-page, nine-block framework designed for startups to quickly map out, test, and iterate business ideas, focusing on mitigating risk and uncertainty.
“Tech companies use this model. Because the students don’t have an existing business idea, we’re using this model to help them bring their ideas to life. This model makes it simple to let people know if their business idea can be successful or not,” explained Apley. "The students have been amazing this semester. They’re very interested in owning their own businesses. It has been a pleasure to watch them transform from being curious about entrepreneurship to knowing how they can do it.”
The Dora’s Donuts event is free and open to the HFC community. Meet the entrepreneur, and enjoy free donuts, courtesy of the HFC School of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Professional Development (BEPD).
For questions for more information, contact Apley at 313-317-4136 or mmapley@hfcc.edu.
