Business Sector: Business Services

Hope College Entrepreneurial Program provides hands-on coursework, workshops and summer fellowships for students to create startups. Students from all majors are invited to explore entrepreneurship and join teams. From greeting cards and granola bars to video resume apps and underwater drones, the program is a hub for innovation where students are making a positive impact […]

The Muskegon Innovation Hub (the Hub) is a business innovation center that provides coaching, funding, networking, and a synergistic work environment to help businesses and entrepreneurs maximize their growth potential. We are a key partner in the region’s innovation ecosystem, supporting startup businesses, entrepreneurs, and corporate innovation teams.

Spartan Innovations is a venture creation subsidiary of the MSU Research Foundation, provides startup services designed to accelerate growth. These include accelerator programs, early-stage funding opportunities, connections to university and corporate partners, mentorship from entrepreneurs-in-residence, as well as workshops, speaker series, pitch events, and networking opportunities.

Starting Gate is a student business accelerator that gives WMU students rich and valuable resources to develop their startup companies. Since its inception in 2013, the program has helped over 55 student companies prepare and launch their startup. The free program is open to all WMU students and runs across both fall and winter semesters, […]

The University of Michigan’s Economic Growth Institute leverages the University of Michigan’s expertise, research, technologies, and other resources to work with small- and medium-sized enterprises to foster innovation and boost local, state, and national economies.

At Eastern Michigan University (EMU), much of the research has the end goal of developing or improving a product with commercial potential. The Technology Transfer Office at EMU is responsible for business engagement and dissemination of University-developed technology into the marketplace, much of which has broad application in industry. Numerous opportunities for collaboration on research […]

Lake Superior State University (LSSU) Product Development Center offers prototyping and engineering services, provided by students and managed by administrative professional staff with extensive industrial, manufacturing and entrepreneurial experience. LSSU engineering students get real world project experience, and clients benefit from economical engineering services. The related LSSU Business Development Center can provide business plan support, […]

The Entrepreneurship Center at Washtenaw Community College is a meeting place and resource hub open to the public. Their purpose is to connect the community to resources and professional assistance in order to help entrepreneurs bring their ideas to market. In addition to many free workshops, the Entrepreneurship Center has an open coworking space available […]

WMU’s Business Connection is an office of Western Michigan University dedicated to strategically matching Western’s resources to the needs of the local business community. By working together with the numerous resources available on campus, the office serves as a “one-stop-shop” for companies that want to engage with the University.