July 5, 2016
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Growing up quickly draws attention to FormulaFolio
Jason Wenk acknowledges the Inc. 500 list of fastest-growing companies isn’t the best gauge of business, but he’s pretty happy with FormulaFolio Investments LLC’s 1,758 percent growth rate. Wenk, the company’s founder, learned last month that FormulaFolio will jump from No. 944, with a 471 percent growth rate, on the Inc. 5000 list and into […]
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School peacemaking program receives $50K
Grant money is going toward helping students at area high schools and middle schools get along. The Steelcase Foundation recently awarded $50,000 to the nonprofit Dispute Resolution Center of West Michigan, 678 Front Ave. NW, Grand Rapids. The center will use the money to further develop its restorative justice program in three area schools for […]
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Studio aims for the stars with planned feature film
West Michigan natives Matt Lohr and Steve Wygmans have a goal to make a major studio film in the next seven years. The two friends are co-founders of Grand Rapids-based GSM Creative film studio, 342 Market Ave. SW. “When we started this company (in 2013), we made a goal that we didn’t want to just […]
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Teamwork: the way to faster, better drug trials
Designing therapies that change the status quo is a complex balancing act. Clinical trials are at the heart of this endeavor, a gateway between the ever-accelerating pace of basic research and thoroughly vetted therapeutic strategies that have a positive impact on patients. In many ways, clinical trials are the real-world application of the paradigm-shifting discoveries […]
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When it comes to dealmaking, lack of confidence will cost you
You want the deal badly. You need the business. You suspect that your price is too high to begin with. So what do you do? You lower your price. Most salespeople are afraid to stand by their price structure because of a single mistaken assumption: “If I refuse to negotiate my price, I’ll lose the […]
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Change Ups: Construction of health clinic underway
Construction of a $15 million, 50,000-square-foot Family Health Center has begun that will serve low-income people on Kalamazoo’s south side. The new clinic will be on Alcott Street west of Portage Street in the city’s Edison neighborhood. Family Health Center and the city of Kalamazoo partnered to locate the clinic on a brownfield redevelopment site […]
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Monthly retail sales solid for four months running
Overall Michigan retail sales remained strong in May, the fourth consecutive month of positive performance, according to the Michigan Retail Index, a joint project of the Michigan Retailers Association and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. Seventy-eight percent of retailers reported May sales were as good as or better than a year ago — the […]
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Public Record
MORTGAGES Selected mortgages filed with Kent County Register of Deeds WEAVER, David T. et al, Ark-La-Tex Financial Services, Condo-Timber Ridge Estates Site Condominiums, $330,000 URBANSKI, Ken et al, FBC Mortgage, Condo-River Bluff, $352,000 BERGWERFF, Jeremy A. et al, Lake Michigan Credit Union, Glen Valley Estates, Lot 18, $205,000 GIZZI, Eric D. et al, Chemical Bank, […]
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Street Talk: More fresh faces
Walker city officials may be voting on their political fate later this month when a ballot question regarding term limits is presented. City Clerk Sarah Bydalek recently confirmed that petition signatures turned in by Walker Citizens for Municipal Term Limits exceeded the 859 required to place the proposal on the Nov. 8 ballot. The initiative […]
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Texas lender eyes Grand Rapids
Big money in Austin, Texas, is turning its eyes toward the Grand Rapids small business scene. Austin-based Able Lending recently announced it was committing to lend $5 million to about 20 small businesses in Michigan. The money marks Able’s launch in Michigan. Evan Baehr, Able cofounder and president, recently toured three Michigan cities to meet […]
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Transaction liability insurance gaining favor
For more than 20 years, transaction liability insurance has been an option for firms engaging in a merger or acquisition. But it’s only been recently that companies are beginning to take advantage of it. Since the financial crisis, the market for transaction liability insurance has “exploded,” according to Kyle Kalinich, Aon Risk Solutions senior vice […]
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Survey reveals optimism
Many Michigan residents feel pretty good about the economy these days. That’s the main finding from Michigan State University’s State of the State Survey. SOSS, founded in 1994, is administered by the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research, part of MSU’s College of Social Science. The survey is usually done about three times per […]
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Start Garden brings back pitch competition
5×5 Nights are back. Start Garden, Rick DeVos’ startup accelerator, is giving the popular pitch competition new life. The monthly pitch night was created in 2011, then brought back in 2015 through eMerge West Michigan. The event went on hiatus when Start Garden and eMerge joined, but now it’s time to bring it back, said […]
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Law can work in support of immigration, not against it
People say there ought to be “a law” that changes the way that we address immigration. Or maybe just “a wall.” Every time I hear that, I remember telling my parents to lower their voices. It was one of my first parent-teacher events at Forest Hills Eastern High School in Grand Rapids. I knew that […]
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Letter: Will state lawmakers act before gun violence hits home?
Editor: Orlando, Newtown, San Bernardino — who among us really hasn’t considered that Grand Rapids could be the next on the list? Who among us, as parents, hasn’t imagined how awful such a horrific event would be. It doesn’t always happen somewhere else. Too many communities strengthen their gun safety laws only after tragedy has […]
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Mary Free Bed CEO: Growth good for patients, region
(As seen on WZZM TV 13) It’s been an exciting half-decade for Mary Free Bed Rehabilitation Hospital, which recently celebrated its 125th year. And the past 18 months have seen some of the most drastic changes and improvements to the campus in recent history. With the completion of Phase One of Mary Free Bed’s $66.4-million […]
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Outsiders bring perspective to area business challenges
One aspect of doing business in Grand Rapids and West Michigan that has been repeatedly cited as “a problem” is access to capital and investor money. The sum of money and assets that cumulatively define the financial strength of a city, region or state — and access to it — have long been noted as […]
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KCAD architecture students follow a new blueprint
The Grand Rapids architectural community has been waiting for its first class of architects to graduate from a master’s program for nearly 30 years, and they finally crossed the stage in May. Discussions for a master’s program in architecture first started in the 1980s but didn’t officially get off the ground until two years ago, […]
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Entrepreneur, meet capital: GRABB fosters connections
Grand Rapids might be budding with entrepreneurs, but that doesn’t mean every entrepreneur in the city has an equal sense of easy access to capital. That’s why Grand Rapids Area Black Businesses, a local economic development group promoting success in predominantly African-American neighborhoods, is working to make sure local African-American entrepreneurs aren’t being left behind. […]
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Martial arts fighter takes Bloody path to biz success
A year ago, Emily Griffen was still a Muay Thai personal trainer. Now, she’s making Bloody Mary mix. Griffen was heavily involved in the martial art for six years, including fighting and training in Thailand for all of 2012 — until she saw a niche in the Bloody Mary business. So she started the health-conscious […]
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Inside Track: ‘Everything balances’
Oddly enough, Jeff Williams’ big career break came after he was already managing about $500 million. Overseeing that much money wasn’t the highlight of his career. Williams’ proudest moment, when everything changed for him, was when he set out on his own to start Grand Rapids-based financial management and investment firm Grand Wealth Management LLC […]
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Shaking up GR’s comfort zone
The West Michigan furniture industry could receive a healthy shot of originality from an overseas company very soon. In February 2015, United Kingdom-based furniture manufacturer Orangebox Ltd. kicked off its North American arm, Orangebox US Inc., headquartered in downtown Grand Rapids. Operating out of the co-working space at Worklab by Custer, 99 Monroe Ave., Orangebox […]
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Switch: What to expect
The future impact of Switch Ltd.’s SuperNAP in West Michigan has yet to be determined, but a Nevada economist said the company’s Las Vegas facilities have been transformative. In a community dependent on tourism, Switch helped start a southern Nevada technology boom, said Jeremy Aguero, principal at Las Vegas-based economic firm Applied Analysis. “We have […]
