Coverage from Spectrum News, published 2026-03-11.
A Kalamazoo acquisition accelerator is trying to keep small businesses open as their baby boomer owners retire, Spectrum News reported March 11, 2026. Tsunami Lab, launched by Kalamazoo Forward Ventures, connects underrepresented entrepreneurs with retiring owners and supplies capital for the purchase. Dwayne Powell Jr., the firm’s COO and Main Street managing partner, said boomers own the majority of U.S. small businesses, that the youngest will turn 65 by 2030, and that fewer than one in three has any succession plan.
He estimated more than 2 million businesses representing $10 trillion to $15 trillion in assets will change hands over the next decade, calling the situation a built-in recession without intervention. The program is intended for capital-constrained founders, including women, entrepreneurs of color and veterans, and focuses on companies earning $500,000 to $10 million a year such as snowplowing, HVAC, auto repair and dog boarding firms.
Marcel Fable Price, director of platform and programming, cited roughly 75 percent post-acquisition success rates. The pilot drew 39 applicants; applications closed March 19.
