Founder Mark Sellers: HopCat is the ‘anti-chain chain’
HopCat's success stems from defying many traditional restaurant norms, says its founder.
HopCat's success stems from defying many traditional restaurant norms, says its founder.
How do you succeed as an entrepreneur if your number one focus isn't your bottom line? Where do you find help to start a business that wants to use its profits to decrease homelessness or keep kids in school? While the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Grand Rapids continues to thrive, social entrepreneurs are still struggling to find their place, and the resources that will help them thrive, within that same ecosystem.
What makes a city a home? And, specifically, what makes Grand Rapids a place where people want to lay down roots? Or, on the other hand, want to leave? Current and former Grand Rapidians, from CEOs and entrepreneurs to musicians and retirees, weigh in on what our city does well to make people stay — and what it could do better.
Latesha Lipscomb isn't just making Grand Rapids a happier home for many in the city, she's showing the world how things get done. Along with working as a housing advocate for the Inner City Christian Federation, Lipscomb empowers women through her work at POSH Innovative Event Management, runs a successful makeup business, and leads others on the Seeds of Promise Entrepreneurial Impact Team.
You see it happening throughout our city, country and world: consumers trading in mass-produced goods in favor of hand-crafted, local items. From handbags to tables, silverware to sunglasses, products made by one person from design to completion are catching on proverbial fire and providing local artists with a platform for their creativity. Here in Grand Rapids, wood and leather goods are experiencing a resurgence as residents dedicate themselves to craftsmanship and the local economy.
Can you teach entrepreneurship? This question may not have a straight answer, but is it even the right question? There are those in the Grand Rapids startup community who are not only working to educate entrepreneurs as much as possible but are also changing the question by asking not if it can be taught, but how it can be taught.
When it comes to products changing the state, country and world, West Michigan should not be overlooked. This area is a hub for an incredibly diverse group of companies that have their sights set on success, and their efforts are making the globe more environmentally friendly, a better place for those battling mental health issues, increasingly delicious, and an all-around more interesting place to be.
Even though minority-owned businesses in Grand Rapids have grown in number in recent years and organizations like Spring GR have arrived on the scene to support startups in underserved communities, entrepreneurs of color continue to face distinct challenges and longer odds, especially in the capital-intensive high-tech sector.
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