Crain’s Business: Innovation Park fosters new partnership connecting startups with expertise
August 11, 2023
As part of its relocation to downtown Grand Rapids this year, digital consulting firm Twisthink LLC has formed a partnership with new neighbor Spartan Innovations to lend engineering and development services to startups.
Last year, Twisthink announced plans to relocate its headquarters from Holland to a 10,900-square-foot space inside the Michigan State University Doug Meijer Medical Innovation Building that’s part of the school’s Grand Rapids Innovation Park campus in downtown Grand Rapids.
On a lower floor of the building, startup accelerator Spartan Innovations operates as a venture creation entity for the MSU Research Foundation, helping MSU entrepreneurs develop ideas, create business plans and successfully launch high tech ventures.
Twisthink’s move and an idea to make the park more of an ecosystem ended up igniting a partnership between the two companies.
“MSU is a big reason why we’re here in this building … and one of the thoughts even before we moved in was that it would be amiss if we all just coexisted in this building,” said Taryn Kutches, vice president of brand and business development at Twisthink. “It wouldn’t really add value to the Innovation Park if all we did was say ‘hi’ up and down the elevator or run into each other in the parking lot, then go about our business every day.”