Entrepreneurs collaborating around a table in the KZFV Cultivate 269 program image

NEWS

MLive Covers the Nine Cultivate 269 Finalists

MLive

March 30, 2026

Additional coverage from MLive. This summary is limited to facts confirmed in recovered coverage of the same event.

MLive was among the outlets covering the nine finalists in Western Michigan University’s inaugural Cultivate 269 competition. Because the MLive article body could not be recovered, this summary is limited to facts independently confirmed by WMUK, WMU News and the Western Herald. The competition drew 49 applications from students across the university.

Four finalists advanced through a campus vote and five were selected by judges, creating a field of nine student ventures. More than 2,000 students participated in the public vote. The finalists were preparing for an April 10 pitch night at the WMU Student Center.

A judges’ selection would receive $75,000 and the top public-vote pitch would receive $25,000. Kalamazoo Forward Ventures presented Cultivate 269 with Western Michigan University.

Read the original at MLive

ORIGINAL COVERAGE

MLive

Alcohol-free lounge, skin care with coffee grounds: The 9 finalists at WMU pitch competition

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