El Caribe
Start Garden Demo Day is legendary. The Grand Rapids-based business incubator holds an annual pitch contest, beginning with a 100-second video pitch and ending with a raucous celebration, where 10 entrepreneurs are each awarded $20,000. The contest is open to everyone. In 2023, Northern Initiatives partnered with Start Garden to provide low-interest loans to all […]
Tienda Mexicana El Cuñao
The workers who grow our food need food. Vanessa Muniz makes sure they get what they need – and it goes well beyond food. Her store, Tienda Mexicana El Cuñao, in St. Louis, Michigan, is smack-dab in the middle of the Michigan mitten, surrounded by farms growing grains, fruit, vegetables and flowers, and the dairy […]
Eclipse Communications
In 1996, Christopher Varenhorst got his first computer. And it wasn’t long before he was fixing those of others. “I had a penchant to fix everything,” Varenhorst recalls. Now, the 40-year-old entrepreneur is running a million-dollar company, applying his technical expertise and knowledge to solutions on a bigger scale: Bringing high-speed Internet service to rural […]
MJ Design Co.
“Earrings, pendants, ornaments, signs, mugs, apparel and more – let your imagination run wild and bring your ideas to me!” says Jennie Zoll, owner of MJ Design Co., a new laser engraving business based in Mancelona. Zoll brings her expertise and passion for art and design to help all her clients design something special and […]
Hearth Sauna
A national tradition of Finland that likely originated in northern Europe around 2000 BC is now available to northern Michigan residents at Mt. Holiday thanks to the energy, inspiration and experience of entrepreneur Nick Olson, owner of Hearth Sauna. “We offer a high-quality Nordic sauna experience in a clean, thoughtful setting,” says Olson. “We greet […]
Motor City Brewing Works
Founded in 1994, Motor City Brewing works is the oldest Detroit brewery still standing. Located in Midtown, they create beer made by the hands of Detroiters with a quality taste known now far and wide. It is now the oldest operating brewery in Detroit for hand-crafted beers. Their location is made of salvaged equipment and […]
Detroit Farm and Garden
Detroit Farm and Garden understands how small business works at a community level. Founders Jeff Klein and Andy Ray (who are also co-owners of Classic – Landscape Architecture + Construction) recognized a need for a retail business that supported local farmers and gardeners as well as homeowners and contractors working within Detroit’s landscape. Opened in […]
Dabney & Co.
Daniel May has been organizing community celebrations in Kalamazoo for years, including a Juneteenth bar crawl that made a big impression. “There was a lack of space for People of Color to feel safe and comfortable,” he realized. So he created that space. Dabney & Co., a downtown Kalamazoo cocktail lounge, pays homage to the […]
Millie’s Farms
A loan to Millie’s Farms, a woman-owned family farm in Big Prairie Township near Newaygo, put Northern Initiatives over the $100 million mark in loans made since its founding 30 years ago. The milestone was lost on the cows. “They all get names because they’re like family to us,” said Amelia “Millie” Richardson, who works […]
Nisu Bakery and Café
It made perfect sense to Irma Boyd to settle on Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula. She’s Finnish and so is 35% of the rest of the population. When she realized no one in the area was serving authentic Finnish food – and that there was a dearth of cozy sit-down spots in downtown Hancock –she got to […]