GRAND RAPIDS — The Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce celebrated entrepreneurial, progressive, innovative and collaborative local business leaders at its 10th annual EPIC awards Wednesday evening.

MUSKEGON — The origin of HyVIDA Brands Inc. goes back six or seven years when Rick Smith took a taste of sparkling water.

GRAND RAPIDS — The company that owns the popular Grand Rapids breakfast spot Anna’s House has sued the owners of the newly-opened Morning Belle restaurant. 

Since securing a $40 million capital investment last spring, Vestaron Corp. has been assembling commercial and operating teams as it prepares for the broad launch of a brand of eco-friendly pesticides in 2020.

ADA — Software development firm Michigan Software Labs LLC expects to nearly double its headcount as part of an expansion at the company’s Ada location. 

Backed by a key small business advocate in Lansing, a bipartisan group of lawmakers have proposed a legislative package to boost state support for companies operating in the space between small startups and larger corporations.

Two years before Craig Wassenaar stepped into the role as president and CFO of Skytron LLC, a Cascade Township-based medical device company owned by the Mehney family, the plan for his next role with the business was already well underway. 

Operating a family-owned business comes with unique circumstances and considerations that other companies and corporations don’t face. 

WYOMING — Midstate Security Co. LLC, a West Michigan-based electronic security and monitoring systems firm, is under new ownership. 

GRAND RAPIDS — An Atlanta-based pharmacy company that serves long-term care facilities and senior housing communities entered the Michigan market by buying a majority stake in TruCare LTC Pharmacy LLC in Grand Rapids.

GRAND RAPIDS — Thornapple River Capital LLC invested $10 million in a Denver, Colo.-based company that developed a digital marketplace for private parties to buy and sell vehicles and borrow money for a purchase.

After a 40-year career at direct-selling giant Amway Corp., former Vice Chairman Bill Payne wanted to find a way to stay involved in the West Michigan business community. 

When doctors in Wisconsin wanted to put Bonnie Demos on a morphine pump for pain, she decided instead to move to Michigan and grow her own medicine.

Federal legislation pushed by U.S. Sen. Gary Peters would boost the ability of Small Business Development Centers to help small employers guard against cyber attacks.

A new sentiment survey finds business owners still feel good about present conditions, despite outlooks for slower economic growth and ongoing worries about talent and health care costs.

GRAND RAPIDS — Start Garden Inc. says it’s gaining traction on an effort launched two years ago that put more emphasis on diversity.

Shoppers often visit Great Northern Trading Co. to look around and ask about products. Many visitors to the Rockford-based home decor and gift store also pull out their smartphones to compare prices with online retailers. 

GRAND RAPIDS — Carl Erickson began thinking 12 years ago about how Atomic Object LLC would eventually carry on without him.

A majority of retailers across Michigan report higher sales this spring and expect to sustain growth well into the summer.

DOUGLAS — Laundry Tyme, a laundry service company based in Douglas, sold recently to investor Brian Gowen.

The recent announcement that Grand Rapids Drive founder and President Steve Jbara joined forces with Royal Oak-based startup WaitTime LLC had been five years in the making. WaitTime CEO Zachary Klima said he had leaned on Jbara for guidance since 2004 when he launched the company, which uses a proprietary system to measure crowd density around restrooms and concession stands inside arenas and venues.

GRAND RAPIDS — If Steve Jbara needed a sign that he made the right decision in turning down a recent request to relocate his Grand Rapids-based NBA Gatorade League basketball team to Detroit, he got one rather quickly.

GRAND RAPIDS — The $2.05 million in funding Sportsman Tracker Inc. raised this spring will go to further develop a social media platform and mobile app for hunters. As some social media platforms begin to give lower value to hunting content, Sportsman Tracker CEO Jeff Courter saw an opportunity to further build his HuntWise app that has been downloaded by 2 million users.

GRAND RAPIDS — At 15 years old, Elevator Up LLC had come to what founder Aaron Schaap called a “big milestone.” The Grand Rapids digital design consultancy for products and services had grown nicely from the early days. Schaap began considering what the next 15 years would look like, putting together goals, and weighing what leadership and talent Elevator Up would need.

LANSING — A partnership between the state and an economic development organization for the Lansing area is providing an incubator and investment for high-tech, innovative insurance startups.

GRAND RAPIDS — Many companies offer employees an anonymous way to report to management various problems, impropriety or other violations, often via a telephone hotline or a dedicated email account. But a new startup company is offering workers a better way to blow the whistle, and in doing so, could allow businesses to get a better handle on potential issues before they spin out of control.

Matt Emery felt ready to move on from the automotive industry after 15 years, so last fall he began looking around for a business to buy. After considering a contract manufacturer, machine shops, an HVAC business and others, Emery found the “perfect fit” in Think Chromatic LLC, a Comstock Park-based small company that does 3-D rendering and animation.

MARNE — McCann Industries Inc. will expand to Michigan with a new facility currently under construction in Marne. The equipment and construction supply sales company hopes to open the new location in September, said James Maioho, Michigan branch manager for McCann.

Novi-based I.T. firm Red Level Group LLC has acquired West Michigan business and technology consultant C/D/H.

J.D. Collins became state director of the Grand Rapids-based Small Business Development Center in mid-December. He spent years at larger organizations — Fifth Third Bank, Amway, Spectrum Health — working as a technologist and innovator “before I really found my niche.” Collins also ran his own consulting firm, Collins Innovations LLC, and was chief innovation officer at a heavy equipment technology startup.

The federal tax reform Congress enacted at the end of 2017 comes with significant complexity that tax professionals say they’re still sorting through as the 2019 tax season begins. For the first time, tax advisers are beginning to prepare and file returns for clients under the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Given the depth of the changes and the complexity of the new federal tax code, the only certainty for the 2019 tax season is the expectation that business owners will need to spend more time with their CPAs and tax advisers as they dive into the details and work through their returns.

The state chapter of a small business advocacy group is among the supporters of a bipartisan bill package introduced this month to reform the way law enforcement seizes property from people suspected of crimes.