Meet the Team

She/Her/Hers

    Born and raised in Kalamazoo, Desi is the founder of multiple businesses, including Kalamazoo Start-Up Center and Cluventure Travel. In 2019, she graduated Cum Laude from Western Michigan University in Social Psychology, Spanish, and Entrepreneurship. Desi has participated in many small business accelerator programs, including WMU’s Starting Gate and WMU / Michigan Tech’s Integrated Customer Discovery Program. She was awarded 1st place in WMU’s 2018 Bronco Pitch Competition, 2nd place in PitchZoo’s 2018 Pitch Competition, and was the 2018 recipient of WMU’s Wendell Christoff Award for Entrepreneurship. During her time at WMU, she served as President of the PeaceJam Mentors RSO and earned the opportunity to give opening keynote speeches for multiple Nobel Peace Prize winners. Her businesses have been featured in National Geographic Traveler, The Travel Channel, Frommer’s Travel Guide, various WMU magazines, and even a textbook about logical creative thinking in commerce – all before the age of 30. For the last 7 years, she has trained extensively in the areas of bookkeeping, business finance, and small business structure and compliance. In her free time, she is a musician, foster parent, pinball wizard, and master jigsaw-puzzler.

He/Him/His

    With over 8 years of experience installing and repairing security systems, Blaine is Kalamazoo Start-Up Center’s resident tech support guy. He has a unique ability to organize information, solve problems, and dive into the small details that make a big difference. He loves crunching numbers and breaking hearts, and is an absolute wiz with a spreadsheet. He has a passion for helping people and joined KSC to put his passion to work for his community. Blaine is an excellent logical thinker and communicator –  if you need someone to help explain the rules of a new card or board game, Blaine is your guy. His hobbies include video/tabletop games, running, and playing pinball. He has one dog, two cats, and a fish that do not pay rent. Although he prefers “staycations”, one day he would love to travel to Japan and try those really fluffy pancakes.

He/Him/His

    Noah moved to Kalamazoo to study at Kalamazoo College, graduating in 2010. He holds degrees in Economics, Business, and History, with a specialization in Small City Microeconomics and Urban Development. Noah has nearly 10 years of experience managing over $40 million of inventory for a major corporation, and has even worked as a professional poker dealer. If there are numbers around, you can bet that Noah will count them. After working for large corporations for many years, Noah decided to switch gears in order to focus on helping small businesses succeed. Noah believes that small businesses are the heart and backbone of a community and brings a whole new level of energy and passion to the KSC team. His hobbies include pinball, poker, and watching too much Star Trek.