Free program empowers Black entrepreneurs in Kalamazoo

KALAMAZOO, MI — At a lively event filled with the familiar faces of the Kalamazoo area’s entrepreneurship community, the newly graduated fourth cohort of the Black Entrepreneur Training Academy (BETA) celebrated their achievements on Nov. 6.

BETA, a collaborative effort between Black Wall Street Kalamazoo and Sisters in Business, is a free five-month, cohort-based program for Black entrepreneurs. Over the course of six virtual modules, students learn entrepreneurial skills from expert facilitators and new graduates participate in a pitch competition for up to $5,500. It’s an ambitious program, and graduates say it’s working.

“You’re coming out of here with the knowledge to make it in the marketplace,” says Lyonel LaGrone II, a 2024 graduate and the husband of Sisters in Business co-founder Alisa Parker-LaGrone.

Lyonel LaGrone II is the founder of Michigan Ambulatory Services, which provides non-emergency medical transportation in West Michigan.

Accomplishments motivate others

Having long been familiar with BETA, LaGrone joined after being impressed with the program and how its graduates fared. He cites in particular the accomplishments of Doreen Gardner, owner of Papa’s Brittle, as having enticed him to join the program.

Gardner’s success story speaks to BETA’s utility and to the interconnectedness of the Kalamazoo entrepreneurship community. A 2021 BETA graduate, Gardner joined Can-Do Kalamazoo — then called Can-Do Kitchen — which provided her with the tools to make her peanut brittle. She won the 2022 Catalyst University Makers’ Mart, an event organized by Southwest Michigan First, and rode that momentum to receive the NAACP Powershift Grant, a national competition that came with personal mentorship from Shark Tank’s Daymond John.

LaGrone describes BETA as all encompassing, providing students with a “360-degree approach from conceptualization to realization.” The programming “demystifies” entrepreneurship, helping graduates find a “realistic entry point into the market” and a plan to expand from there, he said.

In addition to learning skills like financial planning, marketing and establishing an LLC, students have free access to professional bookkeepers and business coaches.

But the program doesn’t end at graduation. BETA leaders check in with graduates for a year after graduation, with resources remaining available to graduates. A private Facebook group also helps students and graduates stay connected, both to each other and to opportunities in the community.

Collaboration and connections are key

Connections are key to BETA, said Sisters in Business co-founder Nicole Parker.

The program is dedicated to ensuring Black entrepreneurs have equal access to resources.

“If we can get into that (private) room and be a bridge, be a voice … that creates equitability,” Parker said.

As a joint venture between Sisters in Business and Black Wall Street Kalamazoo, collaboration is intrinsic to BETA. The event recognizing graduates served as a reminder of the Kalamazoo area’s interconnected entrepreneurship community.

Among many recognizable faces was Carl Brown, the executive director of Kalamazoo-based startup incubator Startup Zoo. Brown says BETA graduates often are part of Startup Zoo’s Pitch Nights, in which local entrepreneurs compete for funds. Startup Zoo and BETA also partner with Can-Do Kalamazoo.

BETA’s presence has also assisted outreach efforts. Tanisha Pyron-Clay, another new graduate, found out about BETA through Facebook and applied immediately. Pyron-Clay, an artist, photographer and theater performer, describes BETA as “transformative” to her business, Black Genius Black Famous.

The genuine intentionality behind BETA is part of its magic, she said.

“It’s not because they have to, but because they want to, Pyron-Clay said.

Pyron-Clay’s business seeks to provide “educational reparations” through a “fine-arts pedagogical approach.”

Moving forward, Parker sees equitability as a continuing focus for both Sisters in Business and BETA. Alongside lifting up Black entrepreneurs directly, she is careful to be an advocate and voice for Black and female entrepreneurs everywhere she goes.

“For things to be equitable, we have to engage in true collaboration,” Parker said, and that includes advocating for those who are not present.

The fourth cohort’s graduation brings the total number of BETA graduates to 49, a growth that shows no signs of slowing down.

This story is part of Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative’s dedicated coverage of quality-of-life issues and equitable community development. SWMJC is a group of 12 regional organizations dedicated to strengthening local journalism. Visit swmichjournalism.com to learn more.