By Kayla Sosa A community organization in Grand Rapids is making it easier for entrepreneurs and small business owners who can’t obtain a bank loan through racial bias and inequity, to acquire funds. Rende Progress Capital was co-founded by Eric…
Read More Rende Progress Capital: Creating equity in lending and investments
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…
Read More Student entrepreneur club president’s five takeaways from national conference
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 A local man is hoping to change society’s view of masculinity through a new non-profit he’s calling ACES. Awareness, Compassion, Equity, Strength. That’s what ACES stands for, and what Trey Sumner is looking to for the foundation…
Read More Spotlight: Local veteran hopes to redefine masculinity for a younger generation of men
By Kayla Sosa A community survey in Grand Rapids showed that residents feel there is a need for a free, non-judgmental space for the LGBTQ community. After learning this, Audrey Hutchinson created Liberate GR – a community center for those…
"I didn't really take a traditional educational route in regards to starting a business." Like so many successful entrepreneurs before him, Jason Mascari came up with his big idea while brainstorming with a friend. “We were constantly throwing ideas around…
Business incubation is increasingly becoming a common practice throughout the country. While incubators are continuously popping up in major entrepreneurial hubs, they are also forming in smaller communities, where the cost of retail space is an impediment to developing businesses.…
West Michigan’s political, financial, and social environments are seen by many as conservative and slow moving. Shedding light on the intricacies of doing business in the region and the difficulties entrepreneurs face while navigating this business environment, John Kerschen, Managing…
Tree Huggers is an environmentally responsible business, dedicated to educating customers in leading environmentally sustainable lives. Owners Angela and Dan Topp, opened their first store in Holland two years ago and a second store on Wealthy Street in Grand Rapids…
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