Coverage from Yahoo News, published 2026-02-24.
KALAMAZOO, Mich.: WOOD TV, in a report carried by Yahoo News, said WMU student founders had an opportunity to secure substantial funding for new ventures through Cultivate 269, a pitch and mentorship competition funded by the investment firm Kalamazoo Forward Ventures. As of the Tuesday of the report, 28 applications had been submitted. Nine students would be selected to deliver six-minute pitches about their businesses.
Dwayne Powell Jr. of Kalamazoo Forward Ventures said the effort was about shifting the culture on campus and across the region toward innovation with courage and toward economically empowering students. One entrant chosen by judges would receive $75,000, while a second would be selected as the people’s choice for $25,000.
Marcel Fable Price of Kalamazoo Forward Ventures said organizers wanted students to understand they could create, plant and grow businesses in Kalamazoo. Submissions were being accepted until that Friday, and winners were to be chosen at a pitch night in early April.
