By Kayla Sosa An unique pitch competition allows participants to compete for money with a goal of helping others, not just themselves. Four teams will compete for $5,000 in funding at the upcoming Grand Valley State University Laker Effect Challenge.…
By Kayla Sosa This year marks 30 years that a local Grand Rapids organization has been helping women start their own businesses. Grand Rapids Opportunities for Women, or G.R.O.W., is a nonprofit organization that supports business owners at every stage…
By Kayla Sosa Living in Utah, Christina VanDam developed an interest in aerial silks and fitness. When she moved to Grand Rapids about four years ago, she couldn’t find a place that supported those areas of fitness on the flexible…
By Kayla Sosa Diana Lawson brings years of international business and business leadership experience to her role as the Dean of the Seidman College of Business at Grand Valley State University. She has led and taught at universities nationally and…
By Kayla Sosa Starting a business was not something Maliesha Pullano always intended to do, but was something that kind of fell into place at the right time. In 2014, Pullano was unemployed and looking for an opportunity. She soon…
By Kayla Sosa We Are LIT is more than just a book shop, it’s a movement within the community to bring more diverse books and reading to everyone. The “shop” is actually online, and offers new, multicultural selections to readers…
What a local advocacy organization is doing to support black entrepreneurs By Kayla Sosa Jamiel Robinson is the founder of GRABB – Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses – an organization that supports and assists black business owners and entrepreneurs in…
By Kayla Sosa Back in November, the Grand Valley State University Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization (CEO) traveled to Kansas City, Missouri to attend the national CEO conference. Club president and GV senior Ben Parsell learned a lot as a leader and…
By Kayla Sosa Calvin Pimpleton is a 16-year-old student at Innovation Central High School with a passion for business. Last winter, he saw a need in his neighborhood for shoveling services and he wanted a little extra cash in his…
By Kayla Sosa In 2015, Ross Bremer and his brothers started a family business selling unwanted produce from local commercial farms that’s still good but not qualified to go to a grocery store - because it’s too small or a…
