Post by Kalamazoo Forward Ventures

The Man Behind the Curtain has officially been caught in 4K! 🕵🏿‍♂️✨ If you have ever been to a ribbon cutting, a Black and Brown Connect mixer, our own launch, or watched the inaugural Tsunami Lab cohort take flight, you have probably played a game we like to call "Where's Clarence?" Most of the time, Clarence Lloyd, the Vice President of Southwest Michigan First, is happily operating in the background, making sure the wheels of the Southwest Michigan entrepreneurship ecosystem keep turning without ever asking for a single ounce of credit. He is hands-down one of the hardest-working humans in our regional business scene! But the gig is officially up, Clarence! The man who avoids the spotlight is on the COVER of the latest issue of Encore Magazine! 📰🤌🏿 This is a massive moment, not just for Clarence, but for our entire city. As Clarence has beautifully stated before, one of the things Kalamazoo has historically missed is the storytelling around our local entrepreneurship. We need to show people that not only can you do business in Kalamazoo, but that our founders do it, continue to do it, and do it incredibly well. Kalamazoo punches way above its weight class, and we truly believe this city can inspire the world! This feature is also a beautiful testament to the vital importance of local journalism. A massive thank you to the teams at Encore and the Southwest Michigan Journalism Collaborative for dedicating their platforms to shining a light on the changemakers building our city. Swipe through to see Clarence in his natural habitat (and yes, we deliberately zoomed in on him in the background of these photos because we love a good photobomb). Join us in giving Clarence his well-deserved flowers in the comments! 💐🪄 #Kalamazoo #EncoreMagazine #SouthwestMichigan #EcosystemBuilding #LocalJournalism #CommunityLeadership #KzFV #SupportLocal #Storytelling