Grand Rapids has much to be proud of over the past few decades. However, one of the less recognized changes is that a culture often labeled as “nice” was sometimes also unbelievably risk-averse and cautious to the point of paralysis, particularly when it came to starting small businesses. Gradually, and then suddenly (“Rapid” actually, like our name), this region has developed a series of positive-facing initiatives that, over time, have fostered a genuine culture of opportunity.

Several entrepreneurial service organizations (ESOs) have contributed to our region’s evolution, including GROW, GR Current, and many others that followed. 

However, SpringGR remains particularly notable to me. Since its founding in 2014, it has facilitated the creation of numerous new businesses, many of which are led by individuals who, whether by choice or oversight, lacked a clear entrepreneurial pathway, much less the guidance needed to navigate this area of business creation. 

SpringGR’s approach went beyond the basic programming of the past, which often served only a few aspects of business creation. Instead, they created a support system that offered a fresh approach, delivering comprehensive assistance, setting it apart from the city’s earlier efforts.

That context matters, especially when you consider the moment Spring GR emerged. In 2015, a Forbes article, “The Best and Worst Cities for Black Americans,” ranked Grand Rapids among the worst places for Black residents to succeed, based on disparities in income, employment, and homeownership. The data was drawn from the 2010 Census, but the lived reality it reflected was not new. What stands out, looking back, is that SpringGR didn’t wait for updated census data or further external validation of what so many already knew. Instead, they moved forward with a series of programs that have only grown to be more expansive. They acknowledged the gaps and built solutions to address them, planting a flag of success with each new business they helped launch.

Revisiting Ashley King’s Dec. 20, 2023, story, “SpringGR uplifts local small businesses,” today reads less like a program profile and more like a blueprint that others may be looking to replicate, as West Michigan has repeatedly landed on the best-of lists over the last decade. 

At its core, this story reminds me (and as someone who has been a contract player here for more than three decades) that starting a business here has never been only about individual drive. It’s about education and access delivered through training and mentorship, fueled by the power of relationships that build working networks to help turn an idea into something sustainable.

What SpringGR understands and executes well is that not everyone starts from the same place. By offering practical education, peer support, and modest financial resources, it lowers the barrier to entry for those without traditional access to capital or business networks. In doing so, it reframes entrepreneurship as something that can be cultivated within a community rather than pursued alone. The result isn’t just stronger individual businesses—it’s a more inclusive local economy.

Looking back, this story enables our team to reflect on this moment as we celebrate 20 years of reporting on our region’s evolution. It also mirrors how we’ve evolved at Rapid Growth. In our early years, we did important work documenting the city’s physical transformation—buildings, development, and the visible signs of progress. 

But over time, especially since 2015, we’ve shifted our focus to the people who inhabit those buildings. As cranes reshaped the skyline, we began asking who benefits, who participates, and who gets left out—and then sought to tell the stories of hope that over time have shifted the answers to those deeper questions.

Over more than twenty years of observing the city’s development, the key takeaway is this: when Grand Rapids invests in our essential infrastructure – learning spaces, guidance for individuals, and accessible systems – more residents gain the opportunity to become owners of our success, not just beneficiaries. What once appeared hidden or inaccessible is gradually becoming part of our past, being replaced by a supportive ecosystem that Spring GR has certainly helped establish.

And should you believe this is a one-and-done organization, then a recent conversation with a friend, who is on her second turn at Spring GR, is a reminder that this organization is delivering in ways many of us could not have imagined at its start. This is a sign of success and of the health of our region, showing folks seeking to build something here that they have a friend within Spring GR’s programming. 

It may have been a quiet shift, built over time, but it’s also a meaningful one worth committing to memory as a vital door to walk through when starting a small business in our region. And Spring GR continues to shape not just how this region grows, but also who gets to be part of building it, changing the outcomes and making our city truly worthy of being called Grand (Rapids). 

SpringGR uplifts local small businesses

By Ashley King 

On average, approximately 4 million businesses are started every year in the United states. However, many of those businesses are destined to fail. Twenty percent of those new ventures will close within the first two years.
 
However, businesses in Grand Rapids have resources to lean on. SpringGR is an organization that provides up and coming business owners with the intellectual, social, and financial capital necessary to grow a successful enterprise. They work with people at all stages of entrepreneurship and provide assistance along the way as they grow. SpringGR offers five different programs.
 
Each program spans 14 weeks with a fall and spring session every year. Idea Lab is a program meant for those in the early stages of building their business. This program is meant to have participants come in to test their ideas and decide if they want to start their business or not. There are two small business accelerator programs, one in English and one in Spanish. The program in Spanish is the Emprende program. Both accelerators focus on small businesses already open. The Kitchen Incubator program focuses on food entrepreneurs and provides access to commercially licensed kitchens in the event participants are hoping to expand into catering. The final program is the 250 Project that spans over six months instead of 14 weeks. This program is meant to provide extensive training and create a plan for growth over the next few years of the business. Four of these five programs had cohorts graduate earlier this month.
 Karla Velis-Brito

“We had the Emprende graduation and Idea Lab graduation with a small expo or demo day. For some of them, this was their first time talking about their potential and presenting it to others. The Emprende graduation was fully in Spanish, including the agenda, and served as a celebration for already established businesses that went through the program,” says Karla Velis-Brito, director of SpringGR.
 
The Emprende and Idea Lab graduation had around 200 attendees, with 40 to 50 being participants and the rest family and friends. At each graduation the SpringGR Forward award was given out. The focus of this award is to highlight the best way for an organization to move forward and provide some financial assistance to do so.
 
“We give out certificates of $200 to $500 depending on the need. It’s a small amounts, but more than the amount, we believe the recognition and encouragement at graduation is just as important. We want to celebrate in front of everyone and show people how much potential our participants have. In the past we have also given out scholarships to other programs. If someone is in Idea Lab, and they’re ready to launch, sometimes we help them start the next program,” says Velis-Brito.
 SpringGR is an organization that provides up and coming business owners with the intellectual, social, and financial capital necessary to grow a successful enterprise.

While the financial awards are useful, SpringGR likes for the focus to remain on the social capital that they provide. Participation in a program allows for many businesses to experience mentorship and one on one coaching for the first time. Completion in the program allows new business owners to become a part of a network that will help their business grow. Many choose to continue their mentorship relationships well after the programs end.
 
After completion of the programs and graduating, many participants describe their experience as having had a great impact on their businesses.
 

“Recently I received a message from one of the Emprende grads saying they have done business for so many years in Mexico, and when they came here they were struggling to adapt to a new place, away from family. But coming to SpringGR allowed them to not only learn more about business here but also just believe in themselves again. Beyond that class and beyond the resources, they said SpringGR gave them a network and experience that allowed them to trust in their dreams again,” says Velis-Brito.
 
Registration for the next SpringGR cohort has begun. Any budding entrepreneur interested in participating in one of the programs should visit the SpringGR website.
 
“At SpringGR we’re looking forward to celebrating our 10th year anniversary in March, and at that point we will have over 1,000 alumni that graduated from SpringGR,” says Velis-Brito.

No matter the stage a new business is at, SpringGR is ready and willing to help, and looking forward to celebrating their participants come graduation time.