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ICYMI: Flint & Genesee Small Business Support Hub Will Host the Business Validation Exchange For Emerging Entrepreneurs

July 30, 2026

Michigan Business Network

(Flint, Mich., 07/16/2026) — Need some validation for your business idea? The Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance Small Business Support Hub will host its first Business Validation Exchange on Thursday, Aug. 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Blackstone’s Smokehouse (531 S. Saginaw St.) in downtown Flint.

“The Business Validation Exchange is about creating space for entrepreneurs to test their ideas in a supportive, constructive environment,” said Karena Hamlet, program director of business services for the Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance. “By connecting emerging entrepreneurs with business owners who have already navigated the startup and growth process, we can help more people move forward through partnership.”

To read the full news release, visit https://developflintandgenesee.org/flint-genesee-small-business-support-hub-will-host-the-business-validation-exchange-for-emerging-entrepreneurs/

Flint & Genesee Small Business Support Hub will host the Business Validation Exchange
for emerging entrepreneurs

Need some validation for your business idea? The Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance Small Business Support Hub will host its first Business Validation Exchange on Thursday, Aug. 6, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Blackstone’s Smokehouse (531 S. Saginaw St.) in downtown Flint.

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“Together We Will”: Local leaders to headline Women’s Equality Day luncheon

Each year, on Aug. 26, Women’s Equality Day celebrates the adoption of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and honors the women’s suffrage movement in the United States. Locally, festivities will include a special luncheon hosted by the Flint & Genesee Group’s women’s employee resource group and the Flint & Genesee Chamber’s Women’s Leadership Committee.

The event will be held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Genesys Banquet and Conference Center in Grand Blanc. It will feature three talks from local women leaders speaking to the theme, “Together We Will.”

From vacancy to venue: inside Genesee County’s reimagined wedding spaces

When Abbie Hoffman first toured Cruwood with her fiancé, Christopher Bleich, they didn’t step into a finished ballroom. They stepped into a construction site.

There were ladders in the hallway, tools on the floor, and walls in various stages of transformation. Still, Hoffman could see it: the wedding she’d always imagined, unfolding amid the renovations.

“You could see where the reconstruction was going, and the potential was just enough for me to commit to getting married there,” said Hoffman, 26, a Grand Blanc physician assistant.

Bolstering sports tourism with the Vehicle City Sports committee

Under the lights at historic Atwood Stadium — a place intertwined with Flint’s long, proud sports tradition — the Vehicle City Sports Committee is finding new ways to keep that legacy alive.

Over the last decade, the nonprofit, grassroots coalition has quietly turned Flint and Genesee County’s passion for youth sports into a steady stream of tournaments, visitors, hotel stays, and community pride.

“We love bringing together some of our region’s most competitive football, basketball, and soccer programs and giving their players an opportunity to compete,” said Duncan Beagle, president of the Vehicle City Sports Committee and retired Genesee County judge.

This “sports tourism,” as it’s known in the travel industry, is also big business for Flint & Genesee.