Why founders, investors, and everyday leaders have more influence on Kitsap’s future than they realize.
Spring is one of my favorite times of year, because it has a way of revealing what was already growing beneath the surface.
In Kitsap, that means bursts of technicolor in the natural world around us—alongside fresh energy and real momentum across our business community.
For the past three years, this season has meant rolling up our sleeves at Matchstick Lab alongside local founders building the kinds of businesses that make this place special. Businesses like the Bainbridge Play Cafe, now preparing to open its doors to young families; Ardell Salsa, bringing bold flavor to tables across the Puget Sound; and Honey Bee Horticulture heading into another busy season of weddings and events.
This year feels different—and that’s a good thing. Our region is stepping into its next chapter.
Building the Right Conditions
It’s no longer enough to focus only on helping businesses strengthen their fundamentals. We also need to strengthen the ecosystem around them: access to capital, pathways to growth, and a community that believes entrepreneurship matters.
I keep coming back to three words: People. Pipeline. Place.
Strong regions are built through people: founders, mentors, educators, operators, and champions willing to show up for one another.
They are built through pipeline: pathways to customers, capital, commercialization, and growth.
And they are built through place: the spaces and civic infrastructure where ideas can collide and businesses can scale.
Momentum in Motion
That is why we recently hosted a session for women in Kitsap who are curious about angel investing and the role early-stage investors play in supporting entrepreneurs. Capital doesn’t appear by magic. It’s up to us to create ways for more people to participate: through a first check, new learning, or simply joining the conversation.
It’s also why we’re launching our first Firebrand Action Lab this month, with another in June, and a new Micro Business Accelerator Weekend this fall—practical support built for busy founders.
And people beyond Kitsap are noticing.
This month, I’ll be taking the stage at the Flywheel Investment Conference in Wenatchee—Washington’s premier gathering of entrepreneurs, investors, and ecosystem builders—to speak about the momentum building in Kitsap and what it takes to grow innovation-ready regions. I’m especially inspired by the fact that I won’t be showing up alone. A strong contingent of founders, business leaders, and community champions from Kitsap will be there, too, helping represent the talent, ambition, and collaborative spirit of our region.
Similarly, Kitsap will also be well represented at the NW Tech Bridge PNW Technology Showcase in Tacoma this month, where companies in robotics, advanced manufacturing, sensing technologies, industrial automation, and defense-ready systems will connect with investors, industry leaders, academic partners, and Navy stakeholders to tackle urgent real-world challenges faced by NUWC Keyport.
Why It Matters
Earlier this spring, Soka University returned to Poulsbo with a select group of global students for a learning journey through some of the Pacific Northwest’s most innovative organizations—including a powerful visit to Suquamish Seafoods, where tribal enterprise and economic sovereignty were on full display. Visits like this one remind me that Kitsap has something distinct to offer the world.
But recognition alone is not enough. Real momentum requires local participation—from founders and investors to educators, institutions, and civic leaders.
When municipalities help open doors to funding, land use alignment, visibility, and strategic collaboration, they strengthen the conditions that allow entrepreneurs to thrive.
The Future We Build
I believe Kitsap can become a place with hundreds of active local investors. A place where starting a business feels possible for anyone with vision and grit. A place where every founder can find support—especially in the hard seasons.
I also believe Kitsap is ready to create a space in Silverdale that can become home to a coordinated civic hub where entrepreneurship, workforce development, community services, culture, and economic mobility intersect under one roof.
Why? Because programs come and go, while infrastructure compounds.
Kitsap has never been so ripe with opportunity for founders, investors, and leaders willing to help shape what comes next, and that is a very special kind of power.
