PRESS & COMMUNITY COVERAGE
In the News
Kalamazoo stories with roots.
Follow the people, partnerships, and ventures shaping a more inclusive economy across Kalamazoo and Michigan.
FROM LOCAL NEWSROOMS
LATEST COVERAGE
Reporting, interviews, milestones, and ecosystem coverage from KZFV and the communities we serve.
WMUK
WMU Names Nine Cultivate 269 Finalists
March 30, 2026
Western Michigan University named nine finalists competing for $100,000 in funding through Cultivate 269, a student pitch competition backed by investment firm Kalamazoo Forward…
WMU News
Nine Students Advance in Cultivate 269 Competition
March 30, 2026
Nine Western Michigan University students advanced from a field of 49 applicants to the inaugural Cultivate 269 pitch competition, a Kalamazoo Forward Ventures partnership…
WOOD TV
WOOD TV Covers WMU’s Cultivate 269 Finalists
March 30, 2026
WOOD TV covered WMU’s nine Cultivate 269 finalists, selected from 49 applicants to compete for $75,000 from judges and a $25,000 public-vote award.
WWMT
Tsunami Lab Responds to West Michigan’s Ownership Shift
March 18, 2026
WWMT examined the coming wave of baby boomer business retirements in West Michigan and Kalamazoo Forward Ventures’ Tsunami Lab, which will train 15 local entrepreneurs to acquire…
Yahoo News
Yahoo Examines West Michigan’s Silver Tsunami
March 18, 2026
A WOOD TV report carried by Yahoo News examined West Michigan’s exposure to retiring boomer owners and Kalamazoo Forward Ventures’ Tsunami Lab, which aims to train 15…
First and 42
Kalamazoo Conversation Focuses on Business Succession
March 12, 2026
Southwest Michigan First and The Chamber scheduled a March 12 conversation at The Catalyst Center on business succession, spotlighting Tsunami Lab and a goal of moving 50-plus…
Spectrum News
Tsunami Lab Helps Entrepreneurs Buy Existing Businesses
March 11, 2026
Tsunami Lab, launched by Kalamazoo Forward Ventures, is supplying capital and training so underrepresented entrepreneurs can buy retiring baby boomers’ Main Street businesses…
Crain's Grand Rapids
Tsunami Lab Builds a Pipeline of Local Business Buyers
March 10, 2026
Kalamazoo Forward Ventures launched Tsunami Lab with Kalamazoo Valley Community College, a 14-week program training up to 15 people to buy businesses from retiring owners, backed…
First and 42
Ownership Transition as a Kalamazoo Economic Strategy
March 04, 2026
A Kalamazoo Forward Ventures column in FIRST & 42 made the case that succession planning and entrepreneurship through acquisition, backed by patient capital, could be Kalamazoo’s…